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Chipp, H. Picasso's Guernica: History, Transformations, Meanings. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 1988. Print. In the third chapter, the actual events that lead up to, during, and after the village of Guernica is described in detail. The village was relentlessly bombed on Monday, April 26, 1937 (Chipp 24). Hundreds of bombs were used on a defenseless town. The places that were supposed to be targeted were untouched at the end of the almost four hour bombing mission. In the twelfth chapter, Guernica's political means are discussed but since Picasso could never give a consistent answer the political meaning of Guernica is unknown. Also, the two main figures of the painting, the bull and horse, were described by a poet by the name of Juan Larrea (Chipp 196). According to Larrea, the bull was a heroic figure of "Spanish life" (Chipp 196) and the suffering horse represented the end to "Francoist regime" (Chipp 196).

Martin, R. Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica and the Masterpiece that Changed the World. New York: Dutton, 2002. Print. Martin's book describes Adolf Hitler's target practice on the Basque village of Guernica in 1937. This attack sparked Picasso into depicting the terrible event; the painting is known as Guernica. Although Picasso was living in Paris, France at the time of the attack he felt an obligation to depicting the terror that Hitler unleashed on his beloved homeland. The themes, events and individual scenes are discussed throughout the book.

Rosemblum, R. Picasso and the War Years: 1937-1945. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1998. Print. Picasso's political choices are referred to. Picasso was apart of the the Spanish Republic. According to Picasso, while the painting hung in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, it was not a political piece it was simply a depiction of the horrible events of the bombing of the village of Guernica. However, later Picasso told one of his friends that Guernica is a political statement that hangs "in the middle of New York City" (Rosemblum 73). Nazi Germany ignored Picasso's works and called it "the work of a either a lunatic or a of a four-year-old" (Rosemblum 72), although it was a political statement to Nazi Germany and what they did to damage Picasso's homeland of Spain.

Beardsley, J. First Impressions: Pablo Picasso. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1991. Print. Beardsley discusses what cubism is and Picasso's partner in creating cubist works. Cubism uses geometric shapes to express an object. Picasso's partner in cubism was Georges Braque, they would create works together. In Chapter 8, Beardsley explains how the brutal bombing of a small Basque village in Spain by General Fransisco Franco was Picasso's inspiration for Guernica. Guernica is painted in a distorted fashion with many hidden images of that April day.