''Making Francisco Franco''s long life and 38 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently'' PAUL PRESTON ''A magisterial, ground-breaking new portrait ... Sets a gold standard in Spanish Civil War history'' ELISABETH DRAYSON From a scrawny, overlooked military graduate to the youngest general in Europe, Francisco Franco was known for his ambition, talent and calculated risk-taking. Yet his reputation remains a topic of fierce debate. Did he destroy Spain and stifle its democracy or rescue the nation from left-wing tumult? In this compelling biography, Giles Tremlett unravels the complex life and legacy of the enigmatic dictator who shaped twentieth-century Spanish history. This book will delve into the complexities of Franco''s character, exploring his volatile relationship with a domineering father, his traumatic experiences fighting in Morocco and the formation of his authoritarian ideology. The narrative follows Franco''s ruthless leadership during the Civil War, his alignment with Hitler and Mussolini and the subsequent Cold War era that brought him international rehabilitation. Tremlett interrogates Franco''s transformation of Spain through a lens that challenges the conventional view of him as a bumbling leader. Instead, he argues that Franco was a deliberate and pragmatic dictator who wielded terror to maintain an iron grip on power , and whose lasting (and most surprising) contribution was the period of peace that allowed Spain to challenge the absolutist spirit he embodied. Nuanced and comprehensive, El Generalisimo offers a fresh perspective that reveals the intricate interplay of ambition and fearlessness of Francisco Franco; and examines his enduring legacy that continues to shape Spain''s political and cultural landscape.

Autorentext

Giles Tremlett is a prize-winning biographer, narrative historian and journalist based in Madrid, Spain. He has lived in, and written extensively about, Spain almost continuously since graduating from Oxford University. He has been a Visiting Fellow of the Can~ada Blanch Centre at the London School of Economics, writes opinion and long-form reportage for the Guardian and is a former Madrid correspondent for the Economist.

Klappentext

A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR: Telegraph, Financial Times, i Paper
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'Making Francisco Franco's long life and 36 years of dictatorship enjoyable reading is a daunting challenge ... Giles** Tremlett nonetheless succeeds magnificently' PAUL PRESTON

'An excellent biography - compelling, authoritative, even entertaining - of this highly dislikable creature' SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, DAILY TELEGRAPH

From a scrawny military graduate to Europe's youngest general, Francisco Franco was known for his ambition and calculated risk-taking. But his reputation remains a topic of fierce debate. Did he cripple Spain's democracy or save the nation from left-wing tumult?

In this definitive new biography, Giles Tremlett lays bare the story of a tyrant who deliberately wielded terror to maintain an iron grip on power. He traces Franco's ruthless Civil War leadership through to his alignment with Hitler and Mussolini and the Cold War years that followed. Packed with fresh insight and chilling details, El Generalisimo unravels the life and legacy of the enigmatic dictator who shaped twentieth-century Spanish history.

'A magisterial, groundbreaking new portrait ... Sets a gold standard in Spanish Civil War history' ELIZABETH DRAYSON