Guernica and Total War

 In this book Ian Patterson gives us an excellent history not only of the bombing of Guernica during the Spanish civil war but also the origins of aerial bombardment. From the zeppelin raids of World War 1 to the first bombs dropped from an Italian aeroplane over Libya in 1911 we can chart the beginning of state power's deliberate targeting of both civilians and civilian infrastructure. The experimental destruction of the Basque town of Guernica with the loss of thousands of lives was a gruesome foretaste of events to come throughout the 20th century and up to today.