reading Mine Were of Trouble: A Nationalist Account of the Spanish Civil War (Peter Kemp War Trilogy)

REVIEW: Mine Were of Trouble – Peter Kemp (1957; Mystery

At least”, he tells a friend on the day of his departure, “the experience is bound to be useful, and anyway I’ve nothing to lose.” On his brief stint on the Madrid front, fighting house to house in the Carabanchel neighborhood in the south of the city… This is arguably one of the most interesting, thrilling, and charming books I have ever read, and most certainly is a contender for my favourite of the year. The author, Peter Kemp, has a superb skill for structure, detail, and storytelling that makes it extremely difficult to put this book down. It gives you just enough detail to help you understand the situations he was in without being too heavy-handed and boring. At some moments, 'Mine Were of Trouble' reads almost like an adventure book; not because the events are so unbelievable, but because of the great lengths the author went to describe the acts of heroism and horror he saw in real life.He is, in other words, a private university kid taking a gap year – one that just happens to include some very bloody trench warfare. Existence is not itself a good thing, that we should spend a lifetime securing its necessaries: a life spent, however victoriously, in securing the necessaries of life is no more than an elaborate furnishing and decoration of apartments for the reception of a guest who is never to come. Our business here is not to live, but to live happily.” Peter Kemp War Trilogy - VOL. #1 Mine Were of Trouble: A Nationalist Account of the Spanish Civil War; VOL. #2 Alms for Oblivion: Sunset on the Pacific War: VOL. #3 No Colours or Crest: The Secret Struggle for Europe Here are a few more quotes to give you an idea, but you should really read the whole book if you’re interested in the topic.

Mine Were of Trouble by Peter Kemp - AbeBooks

Boys of fifteen and old men of seventy alike rose to defend la Fé and la Tradición, following in the steps of their ancestors who had fought under Zumalacárregui in the last century.” Kemp, p 10.If they became prison guards, they’d be no better than the state apparatus they hated… so, they ended up as executioners instead. In other words, those were tough times for a lot of people. Mine Were of Trouble: A Nationalist Account of the Spanish Civil War (Peter Kemp War Trilogy) excel Forgotten the title or the author of a book? Our BookSleuth is specially designed for you. Visit BookSleuth On a few occasions, Kemp describes meeting the people in the towns they win from the Reds, who are apparently overjoyed to see Nationalist soldiers taking over the city. This doesn’t fit with the standard good guy vs bad guy story very well, but it may have been true. It’s also possible that non-combatants who were sympathetic with the nationalist side at the time later had decades to change their minds. Or that people will be polite to whoever happens to be marching through their town with a lot of guns.