- Paul Preston
Paul Preston (born 1946) is a British
historian , specialized in Spanish history, in particular theSpanish Civil War , which he has studied for more than 30 years. He is currently based at theLondon School of Economics , but is a frequent visitor to Spain, where his work appears in translation. He also speaks very good Catalan and has been distinguished with the Ramon Llull International Prize in Catalonia (2005), where his support for the return of the famousSalamanca Papers is very much appreciated.In 1996 he published the book "A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War" (Fontana Press, 1996), where he describes the final victory of
Francisco Franco 's troops as "an international war that happened in Spanish fields, that wasn't decided in Spain but in the hands of the great powers."Fact|date=April 2008 Perhaps the novelty of this book is the idea that "the presence ofItaly in Spain wasn't by accident, as one could consider the German troops, but it must be understood as a non-formal declaration of war from Italy to the Republican Government."Fact|date=April 2008He has produced an authoritative biography of Franco (Basic Books, 1994). Preston is quoted as saying that "Franco wasn't a
fascist , but something much worse, as he brought the African mentality of repression and coldness, and treated the Spanish the same way as the natives ofMorocco ."Fact|date=April 2008 He has been strongly criticised by Spanish historianPío Moa as "simply absurd"Fact|date=April 2008, though Pio Moa is hardly considered a serious historian in Spain. He has also published a biography ofKing Juan Carlos I (2003). In 2006 he published "The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge" (Harper Collins). More recently he has published on the subject of foreign correspondents who reported the Spanish Civil War (a surprisingly varied collection includingKim Philby ) [ [http://www.elpais.com/audios/cadena/ser/Escuche/ventana/entrevista/Paul/Preston/libro/i/Idealistas/balas/i/elpaud/20070601csrcsr_17/Aes/ Cadena Ser interview"]El País website"] and Franco's control of his generals.Miscellaneous
Professor Preston is a fan of
Everton Football Club . [ [http://www.bluekipper.com/toffee_celebs/1.htm Everton FC - Toffee Celebs - Famous Fans] ]References
Links
* [http://www.lse.ac.uk/people/p.preston@lse.ac.uk/ Paul Preston at the "London School of Economics"]
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