Utilizing hundreds of confidential documents from authorities in the Franco government, Fear and Progress: Ordinary Lives in Franco's Spain, 1939-1975 recounts the experiences of Spanish citizens who lived during the 40-year Franco dictatorship.

• Rejects traditional explanations of the length of Franco's power and the dictator's legacy
• Utilizes hundreds of confidential documents from authorities in the Franco government
• Provides insights into life during the Franco era: how political violence and repression were experienced; how the dictatorship exploited illusions of peace and prosperity for its own benefit; and how the regime's legacy was manipulated
• Reveals the Franco government's social callousness and manipulation of events