Guernica and Other Myths

THERE ARE good points to this biography of the Spanish dictator. It is well written, packed with interesting details, and, while it does not give its subject due credit for his achievements, it does bring the man and his family to life. More is the pity that the author, although a professional historism, avoided writing a genuine history, which might have interfered with some of his adverse judgments.

Here is one such judgment. Twenty-one years ago, NR ran a seven-page cover story under the title “Getting at the Guernica Myth.” In an earlier issue, Jeffrey Hart had written an article entitled “The Great Guernica Fraud.” Yet as treated in this immense tome, the myth and fraud of Franco as a murderer of innocent non-combatants re-emerge, intact.

BC

About the Author

Brian Crozier

THERE ARE good points to this biography of the Spanish dictator. It is well written, packed with interesting details, and, while it does not give its subject due credit for his achievements, it does bring the man and his family to life. More is the pity that the author, although a professional historism, avoided writing a genuine history, which might have interfered with some of his adverse judgments.

Here is one such judgment. Twenty-one years ago, NR ran a seven-page cover story under the title “Getting at the Guernica Myth.” In an earlier issue, Jeffrey Hart had written an article entitled “The Great Guernica Fraud.” Yet as treated in this immense tome, the myth and fraud of Franco as a murderer of innocent non-combatants re-emerge, intact.