Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War by Michael Petrou. Published by UBC Press. Includes black and white photos, appendix of all the Canadians who fought in the war, notes and an index. ISBN: 978-1-896941-52-3. Paperback: $24.95

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Last February I

made a brief trip from the snow of the nation s capital and headed to Catalonia. Starting in the quaint French town of Collioure and through the Pyrenees Mountains to the Spanish cities of Figueres, Girona and Barcelona, I got a glimpse of the rugged countryside and earned an appreciation of Catalan culture.

Sitting on a train and staring at the green mountains of this region, and walking through the streets of Barcelona with its gritty, charm, it was easy to feel that this was a land baring deep scars of history. Indeed, hidden in the alleyways of the old city the occasional stone wall is pierced with hundreds of small dents from the ground to a height of roughly six feet--a testament to Franco's assassination squads.

The Spanish Civil War was a conflict that seems to get scuttled in the telling of the inter-war period--a training mission for the Nazis. However, this battle between the fascist army of General Francisco Franco and Spanish Republicans certainly served as a microcosm of the broader international struggle over ideology and the conflicts within. In total it is believed that more than 500,000 people were killed between 1936 and 1939, including more than 400 Canadians.

In Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War author Michael Petrou offers an expansive look at the Canadians who left this country in the midst of the Depression and headed abroad to fight in a war few could understand. According to the author, who is also a writer with Macleans magazine, more than 1,681 Canucks actually travelled to Spain to fight with the Republicans. Like veterans of other wars, many headed abroad simply for adventure at a time when Canada was stuck in a Depression.

In his acknowledgements Petrou states that this book began as a doctoral thesis he wrote at the University of Oxford in 2006 and it certainly does not come as a surprise. Immediately upon reading the first few chapters one can tell that the author did a significant amount of research on this subject, combing through a number of declassified Russian and Canadian documents. Of the latter, Petrou focuses on the RCMP's efforts to monitor volunteers before, during and after the war based on their involvement with the Spanish (and Russian) communists.

One of the strongest attributes in his research is the fact that Petrou interviewed a number of veterans. I was happy to note that the author spoke with one Arne Knudson, a Spanish Civil War and World War Two vet whose fascinating story graced these pages three years ago.

Overall, Renegades certainly is a fascinating read. I would highly recommend it for any student of history looking to better understand the Canadian involvement in this bitter conflict or any backpackers returning home from a sojourn in Catalonia.