{"title":"Paul Preston","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the gripping world of 20th-century history with the works of Paul Preston, one of the foremost historians on Spain. His meticulously researched books offer insight into the complex political and social landscapes that defined this era. Dive deep into the tragedies and triumphs of Spanish history through his compelling narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong his notable works, \u003cem\u003eA People Betrayed\u003c\/em\u003e unravels the devastating impact of corruption and political incompetence on Spain over the past century. This book provides an eye-opening analysis of how these factors have shaped the country's past and present.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAnother engaging read is \u003cem\u003eArchitects of Terror\u003c\/em\u003e, where Preston details the ruthless figures and ideologies that propelled Spain towards one of its darkest periods. With a knack for storytelling, he makes historical events accessible and engaging for both avid historians and casual readers alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDiscover Paul Preston's works in our History \u0026amp; Military section, where you'll find his expert analysis and vivid portrayal of historical events that have left a lasting impact on the world. Whether you're a student of history or just beginning your exploration, his books are essential reads that will enrich your understanding of Spain's fascinating past.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"a-people-betrayed-by-paul-preston-9780007558391","title":"A People Betrayed","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the foremost historian of 20th century Spain, \u003cem\u003eA People Betrayed\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of the devastating betrayal of Spain by its political class, its military, and its Church.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis comprehensive history of modern Spain chronicles the fomenting of violent social division throughout the country by institutionalised corruption and startling political incompetence. Most spectacularly, during the Primo de Rivera and Franco dictatorships, grotesque and shameless corruption went hand-in-hand with inept policies that prolonged Spain’s economic backwardness well into the 1950s.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA People Betrayed\u003c\/em\u003e looks back to the years prior to 1923 when electoral corruption excluded the masses from organised politics and gave them a choice between apathetic acceptance and violent revolution. Bitter social conflict, economic tensions, and conflict between centralist nationalism and regional independence movements then exploded into the civil war of 1936-1939.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt took the horrors of that war and the dictatorship that followed to break the pattern. The moderation shared by the progressive right and a chastened left underlay a bloodless transition to democracy after 1975. Yet, as before, corruption and political incompetence continued to have a corrosive effect on political coexistence and social cohesion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSparkling with vivid portraits of politicians and army officers, some corrupt and others clean, recounting the triumphs and disasters of Kings Alfonso XIII and Juan Carlos, \u003cem\u003eA People Betrayed\u003c\/em\u003e unravels the mystery of why both right and left have been unable or unwilling to deal with corruption and the pernicious clash between Spanish centralist nationalism and regional desires for independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46653373841644,"sku":"9780007558391","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/18503813482190.jpg?v=1752456205"},{"product_id":"architects-of-terror-by-paul-preston-9780008522155","title":"Architects of Terror","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003cem\u003eTIMES\u003c\/em\u003e HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the preeminent historian of 20th century Spain Paul Preston, \u003cem\u003eArchitects of Terror\u003c\/em\u003e is a new history of how paranoia, conspiracy, and anti-Semitism were used to justify the military coup of 1936 and enabled the construction of a dictatorship built on violence and persecution.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt is the previously untold story of how antisemitic beliefs were weaponised to justify and propagate the Franco overthrow of liberal Spain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Spanish military coup of 1936 was launched to overturn the social and economic reforms of the democratic Second Republic, and its educational and cultural challenges to the established order. The consequent civil war was fought in the interests of the landowners, industrialists, bankers, clerics, and army officers whose privileges were threatened.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, a central justification for a war that took the lives of around 500,000 Spaniards was that it was being fought to combat an alleged scheme for world domination by a non-existent ‘Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevik Conspiracy’. Despite the fact that Spain had only a tiny minority of Jews and Freemasons, Franco and his inner circle were ardent believers in this fabricated conspiracy and spread the notion that the survival of Catholic Spain, as well as the establishment's economic interests, required the total annihilation of Jews and Freemasons.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eArchitects of Terror\u003c\/em\u003e is the story of how fake news, mendacity, corruption, and nostalgia for lost empire generated violence and hatred. The book presents vivid portraits of the key ideologues who propagated the myth of the Jewish-Masonic-Bolshevik Conspiracy and of the military figures who implemented the atrocities that it justified.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAmong the convictions shared by these individuals was their belief in the idea that Freemasonry was responsible for Spain’s loss of empire and in the factual veracity of \u003cem\u003eThe Protocols of the Elders of Zion\u003c\/em\u003e, the notorious fiction about the global domination of the Jews.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a history that reverberates in our own political moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46653425811692,"sku":"9780008522155","price":26.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/55663482191.jpg?v=1752456455"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.live\/collections\/paul-preston.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}