Fascism in Spain, 1923-1977

by Stanley G. Payne

Book Overview

Fascism in Spain, 1923-1977, by celebrated historian Stanley G. Payne, is the most comprehensive history of Spanish fascism to appear in any language. This authoritative study offers treatment of all the major doctrines, personalities, and defining features of the Spanish fascist movement, from its beginnings until the death of General Francisco Franco in 1977.

Payne describes and analyzes the development of the Falangist party both prior...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0299165647
• ISBN13: 9780299165642
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Length: 648 Pages
• Weight: 1.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Not for beginners

As a newcomer to Spanish history in general and Franco's regime in particular (prior to this, the only book I had read about the Spanish Civil War was Orwell's Homage to Catalonia), I frequently became exasperated with Payne's detailed history of the fascist movement in Spain. It is overwhelmingly a political history, devoting most of its pages to the gradual construction of a recognizably fascist party under Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, and then, after Franco's triumph in the Civil War, the appointment of political officers of various ideological stripes. Payne sticks very closely to his subject and rarely places it within a larger historical context, which will make it difficult for readers who don't already possess a basic understanding of the Civil War and the Franco regime. Nonetheless, Payne's writing is incisive, well documented, and even fascinating if you happen to share his exclusive interest in the evolution of a political party that, by his own conclusion, played a secondary, dependent role in Spanish history. The last ten or so pages of the conclusion would almost be sufficient for the general reader who doesn't have the time to wade through Payne's exhaustive (and sometimes exhausting) detail.

Good thorough introduction into Spanish Fascism

So THIS is why Franco was able to rule for 39 years! Payne has done a fantastic job of explaining how Primo de Rivera could come to power, fall, then nine years later Franco could become Spain's "Caudillo". Payne's detailed account makes one feel as though they have experienced what it was like in Spain from the beginning of Primo de Rivera's dictatorship to the restoration of democratic institutions in 1977. Overall, a good read.

Error in review

I have not read this book yet, but I intend to buy it soon. I have to call attention to an error in the online book review -- Francisco Franco died Nov, 20, 1975, not in 1977. Spain's first free elctions in decades were held June 15, 1977.