The first edition of this book was published in 1966. It became a standard work as a survey of economic, social, and political origins of modern Spain leading up to the apparent defeat of the liberal tradition with General Franco's victory in the Civil War. Since 1966 there has been a revolution in Spanish historiography. The more modern history of Spain, a neglected, even dangerous field, virtually unexplored, has since come into its own. In this edition, Raymond Carr has added new chapters that examine Francoism, its political system, and the society it sustained. He brings the story up to the death of General Franco in 1975, and in an extensive bibliographical essay considers the recent contribution of Spanish scholars to the period 1808-1939.

Raymond Carr's succinct and elegant volume is recognised as the classic account of the war, 'brother against brother', which established the Franco regime in Spain. Carr focuses on the disparities in Spanish society, between classes and the regions, and within these between centralists and separatists. He exposes the pitiful weaknesses of the political parties, which enabled Franco, 'the iron surgeon', to overthrow Catalan separatists and proletarian socialists alike. It was a war in which the riven country of Spain became the battleground of international forces, a war which aroused the fiercest political passions, and which became the vicious preliminary skirmish in the great clash of ideologies fought out in World War Two.

The hardback edition of this title, published in 1982, is now made available again after being out of print for some time.

From Roman times to the present day, Spain has occupied a significant role in the evolution of our Western world. In this one volume, under the editorship of Sir Raymond Carr, leading scholars present an overview of the political, economic, social, and intellectual factors which have shaped Spanish history over the last two thousand years.

Starting at the `September Revolution' of 1868 and going up to 1980, Raymond Carr explains much of modern Spanish history - often a strange mixture of advanced liberal politics imposed upon a conservative society.