An editor from Slate magazine stated that "Homage to Catalonia" was one of his top three non-fiction books. That's a strong claim, and also what motivated me to download this to the Kindle.
Orwell paints a vivid picture of the Spanish civil war prior to WWII. It is well written and a compelling read. Orwell travels from Britain to Spain and joins the Independent Labor Party and POUM [...] anti-fascist army in the fight against dictator Francisco Franco. His detailed descriptions of fighting on the front with ill-prepared comrades and antiquated weapons provide a palpable sense for trench warfare.
At a few points in the book, Orwell departs the narrative and provides deep political analysis of the interactions between the PSUC, PCE, POUM and the various societal components of Spain at the time (bourgeois, farmers, workers, the Basques, etc). For the detail-oriented buff of Spanish history, these would no doubt be valuable nuggets, but I admit that I found these sections pretty dry and that I longed for the return of the story line. Suffice it to say that the political and social landscape in Spain around 1936 was extremely complex on one hand, and yet simplistic with regard to the world view of the rise of fascism elsewhere.
Homage to Catalonia gave me perspective that I'd not had prior, and first-hand perspective regarding the views of Orwell himself. Recommended, but I'd fall shy of calling it one of the top non-fiction books.
-jGet more detail about Homage to Catalonia.
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