August Spies

HTC covers a very small time period of the spanish civil war, and after the Anarchists had started losing power. If you don't know much about the spanish civil war it might be good to read up on it before reading Homage.... just a thought.

Sakpo

I think Homage to Catalonia is a great place to begin with study of the Spanish Civil War, it's jst a horrible place to end. But Orwell gives an intelligent, intrigueing, very worthwhile account that will really draw you in and give it a human face even when reading more generalized impersonal accounts.

With what Gurdur was saying about the Stalinist purging, yes, it went well beyond the Soviet borders or ranks. One of my favourite bits of the book is when Orwell describes walking down a street (in a parade or something), fearful a Stalinist or another person ostensibly on the same side as him will shoot him, noting such a death would not be a worthwhile or noble one. With Stalins purging, it was in fact one (amongst others equally and more important) of the reasons Stalin entered Russia into the war, so he could purge potential on-side opponents from other countries and soldify his ideological grip on power. Some very interesting bits of writing have emerged about this in recent years (in addition to the worthwhile writing on the subject we already had). Anyway, I have yet to read all of Orwell's works, but Gurdur is right, the ones I've read are worthy of reading and rereading. Animal Farm, Homage to Catalonia, Burmese Days, and 1984 (what I've read, the four most prominent ones) are all neccessary reading (and rereading).

Gurdur, seeing as I've read those four numerous times, what would you suggest next?

RED DAVE

The best book on the Spanish Civil War is Hugh Thomas' The Spanish Civil War.

RED DAVE

Gurdur

It's useful to distinguish between labels and what's meant by them; meanings change over time.

Orwell was a member of the (rather small) Independent Labor Party, which meant in practice he got shuffled off to the (Trotskyist) POUM when he arrived in Spain - rather accidentally.

Such are the vicissutudes of accidental fate.
It's worth a small note that most American volunteers were shuffled off to the Communist organizations, while many Brits were mostly Labor or Independent Labor and got shuffled off elsewhere.

Orwell is best described as an anti-authoritarian socialist, not as an "anti-Bolshevik socialist"; the best label that fits him nowadays is "social democrat" --- itself a very loose label.
Social democracy is an ill-defined collection of wishes and principles; it's not a consistant ideology. You could also try "Fabian socialist" as a more or less fitting label for him.

It's also worth mentioning Orwell was incredibly generous; while he did have TB, what really killed him in 1946 was the fact that he gave so much of his food rations to other people, and was consequently weakened.

It was a major tragedy that he died so young; I would have loved to see a work of his attacking McCarhyism; as it is, I love Charlie Chaplin's film attacking and parodying McCarthyism.

August Spies

Gurdur:
ahh... yes anti-authoritarian socialist is the phrase I was looking for. I understand you on the social democrat label, I was just wondering if I had missed him call himself that.

seeing as I've read those four numerous times, what would you suggest next?

well personally id read "down and out in paris and london", it is his factual account of being dirt poor in paris and then london. very interesting.

RED DAVE

Here's a good intro to Orwell's political writing. Libertarians would do well to read Politics and the English Language.

Orwell's Political Writings

RED DAVE

Gurdur

Let's do a summary:

I ♥ Orwell


Eric Blair is watching you !


Wigan Pier rules OK !

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OK, so you have to know Orwell's real name and know Brit soccer as well as Orwell's writings to get these, but hey.