Fear and Progress - (Blackwell Ordinary Lives) by Antonio Cazorla Sánchez (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Utilizing hundreds of confidential documents from authorities in the Franco government, Fear and Progress: Ordinary Lives in Franco's Spain, 1939-1975 recounts the experiences of Spanish citizens who lived during the 40-year Franco dictatorship.

• Rejects traditional explanations of the length of Franco's power and the dictator's legacy
• Utilizes hundreds of confidential documents from authorities in the Franco government
• Provides insights into life during the Franco era: how political violence and repression were experienced; how the dictatorship exploited illusions of peace and prosperity for its own benefit; and how the regime's legacy was manipulated
• Reveals the Franco government's social callousness and manipulation of events

From the Back Cover

"Antonio Cazorla Sánchez succeeds in capturing the complexity and contradictory character of life in Spain under Franco in a unique way. This book penetrates beneath the surface of politics and government to deal with the lives of ordinary people and helps to open a new perspective on the Franco years."
Stanley Payne, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"This is a pathbreaking study of the Franco regime as experienced by ordinary Spaniards. Cazorla Sánchez paints an impassioned portrait of a people subjected to decades of violence who built a prosperous society and left fear behind to become citizens and make the most impressive transition to democracy in twentieth-century Europe."
Adrian Shubert, York University, Canada

Between 1936 and 1939 Spain was caught in the dual throes of profound social revolution and brutal civil war. When the dust finally cleared, few could imagine that General Francisco Franco's victory over a short-lived republican government would lead to a dictatorship that would endure for nearly four decades. It wasn't until his death in 1975 that Spain ushered in an era of modern democratic rule. How can we account for the longevity of Franco's regime?

Fear and Progress: Ordinary Lives in Franco's Spain, 1939-1975 rejects traditional explanations of consensus or repression as broad oversimplifications. Separating myth from the reality of Franco's legacy, this compelling book recounts the vivid memories and traumatic experiences of Spanish citizens who lived, suffered, and died during the Franco dictatorship. Hundreds of confidential government documents reveal fresh insights into life during the early years of the Franco era: how political violence and repression were experienced; how the dictatorship exploited illusions of peace and prosperity for its own benefit; and how the regime's legacy was manipulated. Also explored are the social cost of political decisions for ordinary Spaniards, and the exodus that was responsible for the decline of rural Spain's traditional way of life.

Fear and Progress is an enlightening journey through the 40 years of turmoil and strife that shaped modern Spain.

Review Quotes

"A good solid history. ... The real-life stories of real-life people are presented and it is to these bread-and-butter issues that historians should be listening." (Reviews in History, April 2010)

About the Author

Antonio Cazorla Sánchez is Associate Professor of History at Trent University. He is the author of two books and numerous articles on Franco's Spain.