Spain is still arguing about the bitter legacy from the Franco years. Passions are aroused about events during the long years of dictatorship. A new law, the Ley de la Memoria Histórica, aims to heal some of the lingering wounds but has only succeeded in exacerbating the fierce debate.
Thus, Between Two Fires could not be more timely. This important new book throws fresh light on a forgotten war, which raged years after Spain’s Civil War and went largely unreported.
Author David Baird has scoured official archives from Barcelona to Washington and interviewed scores of survivors to dig out the true story behind the anti-Franco resistance movement.
Now — after more than five years’ research — his book, Between Two Fires — Guerrilla war in the Spanish sierras, is out.
This is the true story of what happens when humble country folk find themselves in the front line in a secret war. Leading the guerrillas against Franco’s Civil Guard was a legendary figure, Roberto, a veteran of the Civil War and the French Resistance, charismatic but doomed.
Guerrilleros, villagers, Civil Guards give a moving account of bloodshed and betrayal, courage and heroism. Little did they know that as the guerrilla war raged, politicians as far apart as London and Moscow were pulling the strings.
In the words of noted British historian Paul Preston: “As exciting as any thriller, yet deeply moving, it deserves to be read by everyone concerned with the history of contemporary Spain.”
See the pages of this Maroma Press website for more details and how to order this fascinating and significant book.
Maroma Press 
Not sure if this is where to write, but feel the need to say how much I appreciate that at last I can begin to understand the history of this area. I have been in Spain for nearly six years, and most literature is either above my head or is tourist stuff. When walking in the hills I always wonder what has happened here, the old ruined cortijos, the caves….. now I can understand so much more.
Thank you David Baird, your book was written just in time before the last of the wonderful old people passed on.
We often walk to Acebucal, when first it began to be redeveloped I was astonished, but its been done with care, and I understand is only available to the families driven out. A grand walk and grand place to eat.
Again, many thanks, am only half way through but its hard to stop and make beds and sweep as want to read it in one go.
Best wishes, Gina Day
I want to thank David Baird for a wonderful and heart-rending book. I wish You had written the book more than 30 years ago when I started coming to Frigiliana. It would have given me a better understanding of Frigiliana and its people.
It ought to be required reading for everybody who wants to settle down in Frigiliana or its surroundings, both spaniards and foreigners.
Thank you.
Kamma Ladegaard
An eye opener for visitors, ideal for getting the feel of the place. I love Andalucia and the sierras and was shocked by what i read. I return as often as possible, driven by some magnetism. I sit and contemplate in the cafe in the old Ingenio, nowadays peacefull and relaxing-forevermore i hope. Thanks to David Baird. My visits to Frigiliana have been enriched by his vivid accounts and the testimonies gathered from ‘the old timers’
I wish to have the oppertunity to purchase the book’Between two Fires’ Please, is it available in the U K ?