“Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly,againsttotalitarianism andfordemocratic socialism as I understand it.” Thus wrote Orwell following his experiences as a militiaman in the Spanish Civil War, chronicled inHomage to Catalonia. Here he brings to bear all the force of his humanity, passion, and clarity, describing with bitter intensity the bright hopes and cynical betrayals of that chaotic episode.