[Colby was an educator, journalist, and author of books about contemporary world politics. In the following review of Spain under Franco, he comments on Gallo's journalistic style and his mixing of historical fact with personal opinion.]

Having recently published a detailed and perceptive volume by this author on Italy under Mussolini, Dutton now comes along with a translation from the French of the same author's history of the Spanish under Franco. (The translation [of Spain under Franco] by Jean Stewart is done with all the ease of original writing, with little trace of alien idiom.) Like the work of any master of political studies, and lecturer on them, this book is rich in detail of trends, forces, and influences, with occasional (but not too many) statistics from other fields—agriculture, industry, and education. It touches on the origin of the Opus Dei and upon its intrusion into public affairs.

The tale starts with the appalling conditions in Spain before the Civil War, treats military events always with their political emphasis, and goes right through the rise of Franco, his increase in personal appeal, his leanings on "repression and restriction," his use of the army "to maintain order," his "life and death struggle" to primacy. Then there was the steadiness of the postwar period followed by "grief, bitterness, despair, and flight" for some and terroristic control, with a slowly transforming and settling situation and still "Franco remained in charge." Students demonstrated, strikes began again. Young poets (oft quoted) were "harried," and the Church continued as "a political force," until finally things seemed to settle down with the nation transformed and Franco still "in charge."

The author has written with the same deliberate detail which he showed in his book on Mussolini, and which we praised him for. He has used an impressive bibliography, but also has shown this almost contemporary history in such detail by very frequent use of reference or quotation from contemporary journalism—for instance: New York Times, New York Herald-Tribune, Washington Times-Herald, United States News, Le Monde, Paris-Match, and L'Illustration, to name a few. He writes for a daily newspaper in Paris, and has the narrative style of a sober journalist. Certain specific facts which he inserts are curious to note, at least, even if they are not very significant.

He says that "when (F. D.) Roosevelt died, the Falangists felt a real sense of relief and joy" for they thought him not conservative enough. He digs up the fact that Ambassador Carlton Hayes was "demanding" during the war that the Soviet communiques be included in the Spanish newspapers. He says that when V-E day came "few hung out their flags for victory," and the falangists were "embarrassed." He declares that Franco "naturally enjoyed the support of the military men in the Pentagon and this contributed considerably to his strength" in 1963. He strongly alleges that in 1968 "the majority of the Spanish people turned their backs on politics, even of the proletariat." He mixes facts with opinionating and strong judgements.

But perhaps this is merely nit-picking at the usual professorial pertness. The volume well deserves to stand beside the Mussolini volume and is a detailed history of important events of our time: I finish this review on the day of the assassination of the Fascist premier Carrero Blanco, in days dominated by politics and placing front-rank emphasis on the Falangists. I paste the new item in my copy as being in tone and tune with the book.