The International Brigades is nothing less than magisterial, and provides the first 'comprehensive, global history' of that conflict written in English in over 40 years.

[A] sweeping and brilliant new history of the International Brigades.

[Tremlett's] gripping narrative recreates the heartbreak and heroism of the conflict.

Tremlett has chosen a chronological narrative, foregrounding the voices of the fighters themselves. Inevitably, that means treating the political, diplomatic and military history of the war as background. This approach makes it difficult, at times, for the reader to judge the significance of a specific tactical engagement against the strategic situation.

Tremlett, a skilled researcher and solid writer who has lived in Spain for two decades, delivers a fine history.