Norman Bethune in Spain: Commitment, Crisis and Conspiracy(LSE Studies in Spanish History)

Born to fanatical religious zealots, deeply wounded by an unloving mother and a weak father whom he hated, Norman Bethune struggled throughout his life to overcome deep emotional scars. Sexually inhibited, given to outbursts of near psychopathic rage, this wounded doctor healed himself through healing others. In the mid-1930s, Bethune emerged as a renowned surgeon fighting the twin plagues of disease and fascism. When Franco launched his offensive, Bethune travelled quickly to Madrid, organised a mobile transfusion service and, often under fire, brought blood to the wounded at the front. David Lethbridge presents the complex of Bethune's unique activities and personality as they intersected with history: His engagement with medical, political, and military civil war players, and the Communist party; his cadaver blood transfusion work with the Nobel Prize-winning geneticist, Hermann Muller; the profound effect that the Malaga atrocity had on him, and the role it played in his attempt to build "children's cities" outside war zones; his meeting with Graham Spry a high-ranking functionary in the Canadian social democratic party, the CCF; the unravelling of Bethune's romantic relationship with the Swedish journalist Kasja Rothman; the implications of his friendship with Henning Sorensen, a possibly secret member of the Communist Party of Canada, and the circumstances of the conspiracy that led to Bethune's ejection from Spain. The book concludes with Bethune's political tour throughout North America raising funds and public awareness on behalf of the Spanish Republic.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Linda Palfreeman Author’s Preface Acknowledgements List of Illustrations PART ONE Wounded 1 A Rotten Childhood 2 Nothing He Would Not Do 3 Last Night Rose Low and Wild and Red PART TWO Capitalism Breeds Fascism the Way a Fly Breeds Maggots 4 The Double Pyramid 5 Men of Iron, Men of Gold 6 The Frankenstein Project 7 Imperialism Prefers Fascism 8 The Butchers’ Revolt 9 Imperialist Betrayal 10 They Killed My Soul PART THREE Life’s Blood 11 The Plan 12 Based on Blood: A New Type of Human Relationship 13 I Would Not Be Anywhere Else 14 Slaughter of the Innocents 15 Every Minute is Beautiful 16 The Blood of the Dead 17 I Killed My Own Son 18 The Conspiracy 19 They Are In Me, They Have Changed Me PART FOUR In Defense of the Republic 20 A Tumultuous Welcome 21 Sharply Raising the Question of Class Struggle 22 You See Now Why I Must Go 23 People Let Me Tell You, Now Is the Time to Wake Up 24 Will You Come? PART FIVE Aubade 25 A Dream of Himself Notes Index About the Author

About the Author :
David Lethbridge is a college professor of psychology with BA and MA degrees from Concordia University in Montreal, and a PhD from the University of Regina. He began researching Bethune's life in 1998, discovered an original 16mm copy of Bethune's 1937 documentary film Heart of Spain, and has lectured on Bethune's life across Canada. As well as his many scholarly and scientific publications, Prof. Lethbridge has authored Bethune: The Secret Police File and an article on Bethune's role in cadaver blood transfusion in the Canadian Bulletin of Medical History.

Review :
"Norman Bethune in Spain gives a compelling and thoroughly researched account of a key episode in the life of the legendary Canadian surgeon who achieved world fame 'fighting the twin plagues of disease and fascism.' David Lethbridge grants Bethune's work in Spain during its civil war the central place that it deserves. In the process, he shows that Bethune's decision to go to Spain, the institution of his blood transfusion service there, and the way his Spanish adventures came to an end, were anything but accidental." --Sebastiaan Faber, Oberlin College, and Chair, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives "David Lethbridge's solid scholarship and clear analysis adds particularly valuable insight into Bethune's commitment to the Spanish cause and his complex family relationship." --The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, author, Norman Bethune "In this ground-breaking new biography, David Lethbridge sets out to reveal 'the Bethune whom we do not know.' Although the revolutionary Canadian doctor is already the subject of five written biographies and three films, much about what propelled him through the troubled 1930s remains tantalizingly mysterious. One biographer has summed up the puzzle of Bethune by describing him as 'arrogant in the service of humanity.' Lethbridge cuts through the contradictions by approaching his subject from an entirely new perspective. Looking closely at Bethune's childhood, Lethbridge brings the reader to a profound understanding of Bethune's psyche. Keeping a sensitive finger on Bethune's psychological pulse, Lethbridge brings the reader to a new appreciation of Bethune's troubled and accomplished life. In Norman Bethune in Spain, we gain insight into Bethune's attachment to children, to his unsatisfactory relationships with women, to his apparent conceit that was married to an intense devotion to the wounded. No less significant, the depth of detail Lethbridge unveils about the six months Bethune devoted to the anti-fascist cause in the Spanish Civil War leads the reader to a deep admiration for his immense contributions to the struggle there. Lethbridge not only corrects the historical record about Bethune, he carves out an entirely new understanding of the interior of a man of great complexity and ability. Lethbridge paints a revealing portrait of a 'wounded doctor [who] healed himself through healing others.' This is a novel assessment of a fascinating, brilliant man that has eluded previous biographers." --Larry Hannant, Editor, The Politics of Passion: Norman Bethune's Writing and Art "Superbly researched, insightful, and extremely well-written, it is a significant contribution to Bethune scholarship." --Roderick Stewart, author, Bethune and The Mind of Norman Bethune