Peter Stansky, Historian and Writer, in Conversation: George Orwell and the Spanish Civil War

By that time the Cold War was entrenched, and ideological positioning and a terrifying military arms race were undeniable realities. Cultural warfare for the 'battles for men's minds' also became part and parcel of the Cold War. Orwell's books and essays - spawned by his participation in the Spanish conflict - were used as weapons in this cultural cold war. The Authorised Biography (1991), describes Stansky and Abraham's books as 'wellwritten, lively accounts] of [Orwell's] early life and career, with good comments from a range of interviews' but which were handicapped by the adamant opposition and refusal of Orwell's widow Sonia 'to allow them to quote from her late husband's works.'2 Text What follows is essentially the verbatim transcript of the conversation that took place.