Hell and Good Company

The Spanish Civil War and the World it Made

By: Richard Rhodes

Narrated by: Christian Coulson

From the Pulitzer Prize–winning and bestselling author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, “The most extraordinary book about the Spanish Civil War ever encountered” (The Washington Post).

The Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) inspired and haunted an extraordinary number of exceptional artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Martha Gellhorn, Ernest Hemingway, George Orwell, and John Dos Passos. The idealism of the cause—defending democracy from fascism at a time when Europe was darkening toward another world war—and the brutality of the conflict inspired some of their best work: Guernica, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Homage to Catalonia, The Spanish Earth.

The war spurred breakthroughs in military and medical technology as well. New aircraft, new weapons, new tactics and strategy all emerged during this time. Progress arose from the horror: the doctors and nurses who volunteered to serve with the Spanish defenders devised major advances in battlefield surgery and frontline blood transfusion. In those ways, and in many others, the Spanish Civil War served as a test bed for World War II, and for the entire twentieth century.

From the life of John James Audubon to the invention of the atomic bomb, readers have long relied on Richard Rhodes to explain, distill, and dramatize crucial moments in history. Now, he takes us into battlefields and bomb shelters, into the studios of artists, into the crowded wards of war hospitals, and into the hearts and minds of a rich cast of characters to show how the ideological, aesthetic, and technological developments that emerged in Spain and changed the world forever. “Hell and Good Company is vivid and emotive…thrilling reading” (The Wall Street Journal).

Really good book ...

Rhodes does a great job of mixing his narrative with the memories and recollections of the actual protagonists.

For all to read

The Spanish civil war, so easily forgotten by most, still has a profound impact on Spain and many Spaniards many of those not even realizing that.

Franco’s successors are still around and in may unexpected and influential roles, political parties cherishing the memories of the Caudillo and his wat still het voted on by many. Some pretend to be different and not related but in their acts and plans the heresy is clearly there. Still no opening books and allow memories to be whipped out is often the goal of right wing Spain. Caught in 1930s wording and sometimes propaganda vocabulary it will take even more time for wounds to finally heal.

A must read for many

Interesting but not compelling

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. It was a so what book for me.

What was most disappointing about Richard Rhodes’s story?

I didn't feel that I learned anything.

What didn’t you like about Christian Coulson’s performance?

Maybe the book was underwhelming because listening to an Englishman pronounce Spanish words is like a fingernail across a blackboard. The producer could have at least found a reader fluent in Spanish for the audio.

Do you think Hell and Good Company needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No comment

Any additional comments?

None

The Spanish Civil War live on it's feet

What made the experience of listening to Hell and Good Company the most enjoyable?

The writer's courage and enthusiasm for bringing us a different slice of this important civil war

What was one of the most memorable moments of Hell and Good Company?

The writer's ability to create the feeling of adventure and comraderie...and inexperience of the American idealists who fought in Spain against facism...

What about Christian Coulson’s performance did you like?

Consistent energy and voice who handles the Spanish accents quite well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I still find reading about this intense civil war to be paintful and exciting to a degree that I appreciated taking R & R.

Such an incredible story about a pivotal moment of history. Such a confluence of medicine, art, culture, and politics.

Nothing at all it was fantastic stop asking for negatives really it is obnoxious to pester me for this review