Spain's Cause Was Mine

Hank Rubin is a restaurateur, freelance writer, teacher, and wine critic.

"[Rubin] tells the gripping story of the seventeen months that he served in the International Brigades, sometimes as a soldier, mostly as a medical officer who gave blood transfusions to the wounded and who helped develop the triage system that's used in hospitals today. "Spain's Cause Was Mine is about Rubin's own personal journey-by bus and boat and train-from Los Angeles to Barcelona and back to Los Angeles. It's also about his own rite of passage, his coming of age as a young man-his initiation in battle and bordello-growing a mustache, becoming a lieutenant, and making love for the first time. "For readers who don't know the complex and often tangled history of the Spanish Civil War, Rubin's memoir is an excellent place to begin."-The [Santa Rosa] Press Democrat "Spain's Cause Was Mine is not just a soldier's account of battles lost and won, but a moving and important book that offers a fresh look at the unforgettable journey that the author and his comrades took, a journey that spans most of this benighted century, and is not yet concluded."-The Volunteer "This engaging memoir gives us a glimpse not only of Rubin's experience but also of the young men and women who left their homelands to fight for the Spanish Republic. All were not ideologues. Like Rubin, they volunteered for various reasons: they were young men and women seeking adventure, fighting fascism, and searching for the elusive sense of self."-Lancet "[Q]uite gripping . . . . [Rubin's] contribution is moving, angry, and deeply convincing."-Kirkus Reviews