Hombres en guerra

by Alvah Cecil Bessie

Men in battle [perfect] Alvah Bessie [Jan 01, 1977]

Genres: Spanish Civil War, Spain, History

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1975

Reviews

[Manray9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alvah Bessie was a successful American screen writer -- he wrote the Errol Flynn war movies Objective Burma and Northern Pursuit -- who was jailed and then blacklisted during the anti-Communist frenzy in the U.S. in the late 1940s and early 1950s. His crime? He fought in Spain with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade against Franco's fascist forces and refused to betray his comrades. Men in Battle is his first-person account of fighting in Spain as a "premature" anti-fascist."

[Jon Zelazny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've heard historical and romantic stories about the anti-Franco volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War, but this account—by "Al" Bessie, of the famous Hollywood Ten—is the first grunt’s-eye-view I’ve read. Like Oliver Stone’s alter ego in PLATOON, Al was an intellectual who enlisted for both idealistic reasons as well as vague notions of personal growth. In direct, unfussy language, he depicts the day-by-day grind of his 1938 service, from the funneling of volunteers across France, their “secret” border crossing, months of haphazard training and cross-country maneuvering, and eventually frontline combat.

Al and his fellow “comrades” in the Lincoln Brigade—a melange of nationalities augmented with youthful Spanish recruits—rarely have any idea what’s going on, and the quality and reliability of their Soviet-financed support—uniforms, equipment, food, water, and shelter—is abysmal. Al depicts himself as an intelligent and dedicated solider, but you also get the feeling he's almost pathological adverse to taking responsibility for other men’s lives. Neither cowardly nor heroic, he performs his assigned tasks, and finally seems more observer than combatant. None of his fellow soldiers are particularly memorable, even those he most admired and served with longest. They’re an odd lot: misfits, losers, dreamers, schemers, slackers—yet the best of them willingly endured deplorable military conditions for a cause the Allied powers were still months-to-years away from supporting. And yes, Hemingway makes a cameo appearance when the two writers meet up on a roadside one day.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Про этих людей никак не скажешь, что они выкованы из железа, и тем не менее они герои."




Я не знаю, каким будет век ХХ1, но век ХХ был калейдоскопично монументален и пронзительно безумен. Мировые войны – феномен ХХ века. Ипр. Освенцим. Атомная бомба. «Холодная война», периодически плавно перетекающая в горячую (локально). «Чего же бояться мертвеца, в самом деле, чего тут бояться — разве только того, что он — это всегда и ты.» - говорит Бесси, американский доброволец 15й интербригады им.Линкольна, год 1938, Испания, ад. Колокол всегда звонит по тебе…

*Люди в бою* - книга-воспоминание, написанная по горячим следам (издана в 1939). Книга о годе, переломившем ход войны, о времени заката звезды испанской Республики, о времени, когда - "Артиллерия бьет по нашим убогим укреплениям на вершине; бьет обычными и бьет противотанковыми снарядами, молотит слева направо и справа налево, смотреть на это больно; от этого болит, саднит душа, так же как саднит разбитое колено, когда опять и опять ненароком его ушибешь. «Так-растак, этих мерзавцев, этих сукиных сынов», — бормочу я, но брань не помогает. Фашисты бьют по нашим позициям, бойцы выскакивают из окопов, пытаются укрыться от огня на голом склоне и опять возвращаются в окопы. Фашисты снова и снова молотят по одному и тому же месту, и ты видишь, как какие-то фигуры замедленно поднимаются в воздух и опускаются вниз, точь-в-точь как куклы на трюковых киносъемках. Но ты знаешь, что это — люди."


И еще, это книга о любви – любви к жизни, какой она должна быть *Иначе зачем у тебя руки в крови?* и самое страшное, странное, …обыденное – человек, который смотрит на тебя сквозь прицел, с той стороны, возможно тоже думает об этом, о любви...


[Tabuyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alvah Bessie, escritor y guionista cuenta en este libro su experiencia dentro de una de las brigadas internacionales que participaron en la Guerra Civil española. El autor no solo se centra en detallar los momentos bélicos en los que participa sino también en el día a día junto a sus compañeros.

Reseña: http://contandoteunlibro.blogspot.com...

[El Mago de los Libros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Decir Alvah Bessie es recordar, inevitablemente, a los Diez de Hollywood. Esos diez artistas que se convirtieron en proscritos en el 'País de las Libertades' simplemente por pensar distinto.

Sin embargo, aunque es lo primero que nos suele venir a la cabeza, no es menos cierto que Alvah fue un excelente novelista, además de una persona que no solo fue capaz de luchar por sus ideales con la pluma; también fue capaz de bajar al fango para defender lo que él creía justo arma en mano.

Y es eso, precisamente, lo que Alvah Bessie nos cuenta en este Hombres en Guerra.

(El resto de la reseña, como siempre, en mi perfil de Instagram)

[Luis Frauca remacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alvah Bessie was part of the Lincoln Battalion, XV Brigade, and fought at the Battle of Ebro, the final attempt by the Republican Army to gain some strategic clout on the war. The daring move was halted and ultimately crushed by the enormous material superiority of the nationalist army, supported by the fascist powers. Bessie depicts extremely well the daily routine at the front, in the trenches, and the horrors of a war that these idealists were to take part in such a distant and remote place from their homes and families...

[jmbadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alvah Bessie es va fer famós com a guionista, però sobretot per ser un dels 10 de Hollywood, gent del cinema represaliada per ser sospitosa de pertànyer al partit comunista. Alvah abans havia sigut brigadista internacional i va lluitar a la serra de Pàndols durant la batalla de l'Ebre. Aquest llibre és una biografia honesta i senzilla centrada en la seva participació en la guerra civil espanyola. Imprescindible si us interessa el tema.

[Cris Nitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hemingway lo calificó como el mejor libro que se ha escrito. Siento que mis estándares no tienen nada que ver con el gran escritor. Este libro tiene una temática que promete, un inicio con un buen ritmo que engancha, pero ahí se acaba la parte que más me ha gustado.

No acaba de ahondar en lo que fue la Guerra Civil española porque se trata de la experiencia de un soldado raso y poco toca de la parte global o histórica del conflicto. Tampoco es una visión 'desde las trincheras' porque se centra en la experiencia autobiográfica del autor.

En mi opinión se queda corta en muchos aspectos, aunque hay que reconocerle que está bien escrita, hilada y desarrollada. Un libro entretenido pero sin más, porque no todas las historias son trascendentales, también hay hombres sencillos que juegan un papel pequeño, pero no por ello menos relevante en la historia de la Humanidad.

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because Hemingway stated it was "one of the best war books ever written" . I didn't find that true. Bessie's book is short, concise, and matter-of-fact. We don't learn much about the war's politics (other than Republicans good, Franco bad) or his fellow soldiers. Nor do we get a lot of action (he was in Spain for about six months). Bessie's rank and position are often unclear. Sometimes he appears be a Rifleman, at other times - someone at Company HQ who occasionally visits the front. In any case, he doesn't seem to have done much shooting.

We do get some good "you are there" scenes where Bessie writes about being shot at or shelled. Never does he question whether it worth all the blood and sacrifice - and if anyone deserts - or expresses doubts about the cause - we don't read about it. Its an above-average battle book - but I'd skip unless you're specifically interested in the Spanish Civil War.

Later, I found out that Bessie was a close friend of both Martha Gellhorn (ex Mrs. Hemingway) and "Papa" - which no doubt accounts for the variance between the High Praise and reality.

[Florida BogJig · Rating 1 out of 5]

Antifa propaganda written by a traitor of Western Civilization. The only good thing about the book is that the Nationalists win. That's the only reason I gave it 1 star.