At the time of its first publication in 1937, The Life and Death of a Spanish Town was the first book to interpret to Americans the struggle of a people whose idyllic life was shattered by Fascist terror; it foreshadowed, with burning indignation against aggressors and outspoken sympathy for the obscure and simple men and women of Santa Eulalia, the alignment of forces all over the world today. Popular American author Elliot Paul, Elliot Paul's reputation rests securely on this book and his 1942 national bestseller, the Last Time I Saw Paris.