The Spanish Civil War (book)

The Spanish Civil War is a book by Hugh Thomas. It provides a scholarly historiographic account of the Spanish Civil War. Begun in 1957, it was first published in 1961 simultaneously in the United Kingdom by Eyre & Spottiswoode and in the United States by Harpers'. It won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1962 and during the following few years was translated and published in Portugal, France, Germany, Denmark and Italy. Despite initial approving reviews, in Francoist Spain the book received unfavorable treatment and was never published.

The work was revised and enlarged in 1965, 1977 and 2001. It was re-issued many times, the last edition during the lifetime of the author in 2012 and the last known edition in 2022. Over the decades it remained the most popular monograph on the war and was translated into at least 13 languages, reportedly selling over a million copies around the globe. It continues to be quoted in scholarly works on the war. It is usually acclaimed for its unbiased perspective, high level of detail and lively narrative. Detractors claim that it emphasizes storytelling at the expense of historical analysis, that some interpretations advanced are doubtful, and that it relies too heavily on some sources while neglecting others.