Out of his own experience as a soldier of the line Bessie has written a powerful story of the International Brigades in Spain. ["Men in Battle"] is not a pleasant book to read because there is little pleasant in war; but it is an honest picture of men in battle, of heroism and cheap cowardice, of sacrifice and demoralization, of soldiers and of phonies dressed in uniform. Bessie has tried hard to tell his story plainly, and his success is shown by the characters who live on every page of the book….

[Bessie] is at his best when describing the actual battle scenes—in vivid narrative that spares the reader none of war's horrors but, because Bessie is no pacifist, brings forth the positive convictions of soldiers who knew why they fought.

Samuel Romer, "Volunteers in Spain," in The Nation (copyright 1939 The Nation magazine, The Nation Associates, Inc...