Freedom My Dream. The Autobiography of Enrico Arrigoni





Freedom – My Dream and is the autobiography of Enrico Arrigoni (aka Frank Brand) Italian-born anarchist illegalism who lived during some of the most exciting times in Europe of the past century. He was active against communists and fascists before, during, and after wars, news correspondent in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and was staunch in his beliefs from beginning to end. This autobiography, the story of a life of resistance to church and state, bullshit and fascism, is full of adventure and heart, stories well told from a life rich with adventure, near escapes, good friends, and better enemies.Arrigoni lived through the Russian Revolution, and was an anarchist war correspondent during the Spanish Revolution, seeing first hand and reporting on the iniquities of the communists as well as the fascists during that war.This autobiography was originally published by Arrigoni and the Libertarian Book Club (which he helped start, in New York, and which still continues to this day), and went out of print and has been hard to find. This is an updated version that we are excited to present to anarchist readers who are interested in history, of who just like an exciting life story well told. Arrigoni went by many names (most commonly Frank Brand) in his illegal travels around the world, and escaped from many harrowing situations, including being held in one of the most brutal jails in Spain during the civil war there (his release was effected only through the personal efforts of some people including Emma Goldman).The book is in two main sections, the first about his life and travels and adventures, the second about Spain – being reprints of his articles sent to the USA from many of the fronts of the war.Arrigoni’s character comes through every page, with humility, humor, a love of life, and a dedication to egoism, a kind of anarchy that was less popular in his day than it is even today.Introduction & Youth 7Autobiography 14Spain 231A Visit to Montjuic 234On My Way to Madrid 236On the Jarama Front 245On the Guadalajara Front 248An Italian Prisoner 253Following the Footprint of theGlorious Army of Mussolini 254An Interview with Federica Montseny 258Conversing with Diego Abad De Santillan 262When the Moon Shines It is a Night of Tears in Madrid 267The Revolutionary People of Barcelona in Arms 270The Party of Falsehood And Gallows 280On the Aragon Front 284For La Mancha and the South 287Catastrophic Revolutionarism 295On the Andaluz Front 300The Incurable Anarchists Faith among Creators 309On the Front of Malaga 312Freedom under the Anarchists in Catalonia and Now 321The War on the Sea of Spain or the Unknown War 327On the Front of Teruel 335Again on the Guadalajara Front 336Anarchist Simplicity of Mind 337Behind the Bars of the Counterrevolution 343Postscript: The Libertarian Book Club