Yesterday, I read the first three folders of the James Lardner. In the finding aid, I found his short bibliography and learned that he belonged to the upper class in New York City. He attended Andover and Harvard and after school was hired as a reporter for the New York Herald Tribune. He transfered from the office in NYC to the office in Paris in 1938. A few months after arriving in Paris, he traveled down to Spain to report on the war, and after witnessing an aerial battle on the Ebro, decided to enlist. I got a better sense of this story from Lardner's personal letters.

January 28, 1938- The first three folders contained outgoing correspondence written by James, mostly to his mother and also to his brother Ring. The first letter of the first folder is addressed to Ring. It mentions that Ring sent James a newspaper called The New Masses. James is happy to receive because he says it is very difficult to learn of news in the U.S. in Paris. James mentions two books that Ring should read, The Life and Death of a Spanish Town and Ends and Means. He writes that the second book, which was written by Alduous Huxley, "does not impress me very much." James tells Ring of the political affairs in France. He says that the only strong force in France that wants to back Spain was the Communists and that "they have pretty much given up the idea." He also says that Radical Socialists are "sincerely anti-fascist," but not sincerely Popular Front. Interestingly, he relays accurate predictions made by a French reporter, Genevieve Tabouis, as so what is happening or is about to happen in Germany. James disregards her prediction of the German take-over of Czechoslovakia.

February 18, 1938- The second letter in this folder is also addressed it Ring. James makes an interesting comment about the efficiency of communication and its affect on the way we perceive world events. He writes " If you were not so many days away, I should indulge in some amazing predictions on the course of European events, but am afraid that by the time you get this letter, the situation would be so different as to make me look kind of silly.”

March 23, 1938- The third letter is addressed to his mother and is much different from his letters to his brother. It is obvious that James tries very hard not to worry or distress his mother in any way. He says that he is going to Spain for his vacation and talks about how nice the weather is down there. He talks about trivial things like baseball and family gossip.

March 31, 1938- This letter is a short, one page letter to his mother saying that he is going to Spain to do some reporting (and also a little vacationing) and that he will be under an assumed name and won't be able to correspond for the time being.

The second folder contains correspondence entirely to his mother.

May 3, 1938- This is a particularly interesting and beautiful letter. It contains a moving list of reasons for his volunteering that he sent to his mother. This strategy for "breaking the news" is the best I have found yet. Rather than lie to his mother, he explains to her exactly what he believes in and who he is so that she can understand him better and better accept his potential self-sacrifice.

May 8, 1938- In this letter, James relates that he couldn't get in to the ALB on his first try because they were too disorganized and that he is going to keep trying until he does. He also tells her that she can check on his safety by cabling to the American Consulate in Barcelona.

May 22, 1938- He addresses his mother as "Darling" and relates that he hasn't been in battle yet, but is currently listening to a battle in the distance. He is very anxious to get into battle and actually accomplish something.

May 27, 1938- In this letter, James writes that he is about to go in to action and that he was been promoted to corporal with command over four men. In this letter, distances and locations are blotted out completely. I wonder who this was done by? James ends the letter inquiring after his pregnant sister and her baby.

The third folder also contains only letters written by James to his mother.

July 20, 1938- In this letter, James says something very interesting and useful for me. He explains to his mother that "there is no better way of finding out what goes on here in the International Brigades than by reading the Daily Worker.” Also in this letter, he discusses the difficulties of getting through Spanish customs and then ends the letter talking about two parties that he went to and how nice the weather was.

July 6, 1938- This letter is a response to a letter he received from his mother in which he defends his belief in Communism and explains to her why what she thinks and is told about Communism is wrong. Then, maybe to make up for the shock or the harshness of the first part of the letter, he writes beautiful descriptions of the Spanish food and landscape which sound almost Plutonic.

June 27-28- In this letter, James describes his experience at the rigorous school for corporal that he attended for 12 days. He also talks about his friends and defends Communism by saying that his friends are good guys, the best soldiers, and Communists.

June 12, 1938- In this letter, there isn't much more news, but James describes his "appearance as a Spanish soldier." He writes: "Face and hands are bronzed, more than ever, I think, and my arms and body above the waist are quite brown. I have a short haircut, so that I don’t have to comb my hair. It is about an inch long now. My weight is down a little, but I am stronger.”

June 2, 1938- James writes "this is a busy, yet uneventful life."He still has not gotten in to battle. In this letter, he tries to get his mother used to the idea that he may never come home, at least not until the war is finally over.

July 13, 1938- In this letter, James doesn't say much else, but that he still wants her to try to send a package and he still wants to know about the expected child of his sister (sister-in-law?)