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The best primer of Portuguese History
Portugal, oftentimes overlooked because of its neighbor Spain, has a lot of cultural, socio-economic, and historical lessons to share.From its wrestle with Galicia for its independence to the age of empire, to the backlashing of the French Revolution, to the accession into the EU, this book has it all and thensome.

I laughed, I cried, I cheered, and I jeered."Portugal, A Companion History" is, without a doubt, the best primer on Portuguese history available.The text is sufficiently academic and reads narratively.The topics are well organized and the trend is to shy away from formal periodizations.Complete with various chronologies, black and white photos, and a glossary, the history covers the faint beginnings from the northern Iberian peninsula up to the modern (Third Republic) era.

I also strongly recommend "The Portuguese Empire, 1415-1808" by Russell-Wood.

Anyone interested in Portuguese history should, without question, begin here.

The history of a country in a nutshell
This history of Portugal contains a remarkable amount of information for such a small book, small enough to go into your pocket or handbag. It covers the pre-history of Portugal and the founding of the country in the 12th century and its history all the way to the end of the 20th century. I like this book because it is so informative, concise and readable. It also has lots of illustrations including very clear maps. Another aspect I like in this history is that it is very objective, no bias in favour or against the country. This is the best history of Portugal I know and I would recommend to anyone interested in this subject. Great value for money. ... Read more

Product Description
This informative, concise, and engagingly written work provides the most up-to-date history of Portugal, current through 1999, and gives a full picture of the political, social, cultural, and economic influences that shaped the history of Portugal. Covering the period from Portugal's early conception as a nation through its long history, with emphasis on the dramatic period of the last several decades, this volume culminates with the demise of the Salazar dictatorship and the independence of its colonies. Complete with a timeline for easy reference to events, brief biographies of important people, lists of monarchs and heads of state, and a bibliographic essay, it is the ideal companion for the student or interested reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Good Basic History of a Culturally and Historically Comple
Anderson ofers the reader a well thought out and researched basic history of Portugal.If you want to get a quick feel and appreciation for the country ,this is a good book to pick up.There are a few errors in the spelling of Portuguese words and some historical innacuracies.These, however, are minimal.

Anderson, despite his substantial knowledge and experience in Portugal, also seems to have a less than complete appreciation for the ethnic composition of the Portuguese people.Most of the Northern and Central parts of the country are a Celtic, Roman, Suevian and Visigothian mix.The far north is clearly more Celtic in ethnicity than other regions.The people of the southern areas are essentially a blend of Roman, Arabic, Greek, Northwest Saharan and a minor amount of Vandal and other Germanic blood.Anderson's reference to "African" slaves as being part of the Portuguese "stock" is rather stange. In fact, it is toally false in the context he seems to be using the term.Incorrect phrasing, or maybe incorrect sentence structure?Yes, Portugal did have a black slave (and some "Arab African" slaves as well) population from the mid 15th century but, these people were never absorbed into the population in any significant manner.They were used as servants and agricultural laborers ands were hardly treated as being part of Portuguese society at large. Slaves were found mainly in Lisbon, the Alentejo and the island of Madeira.The majority of black, and some Arab slaves, that entered Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries were actually transhipped to other European nations such as Spain, the Netherlands and parts of England.Liverpool and Manchester, England, for example, are well-known for having had important black slave societies that came from Portuguese ports in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.

Overall, the book is a well written and informative read. ... Read more

Product Description
When José Saramago decided to write a book about Portugal, his only desire was that it be unlike all other books on the subject, and in this he has certainly succeeded. Recording the events and observations of a journey across the length and breadth of the country he loves dearly, Saramago brings Portugal to life as only a writer of his brilliance can. Forfeiting the usual sources such as tourist guides and road maps, he scours the country with the eyes and ears of an observer fascinated by the ancient myths and history of his people. Whether it be an inaccessible medieval fortress set on a cliff, a wayside chapel thick with cobwebs, or a grand mansion in the city, the extraordinary places of this land come alive.
Always meticulously attentive to those elements of ancient Portugal that persist today, he examines the country in its current period of rapid transition and growth. Journey to Portugal is an ode to a country and its rich traditions.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

This book could be more, but it failed.
I picked up, Journey to Portugal, excited to find hidden treasures from Jose Saramango's expertise on his native soil, instead it was a flop.

My expectations were high because Portugal has such a rich history of intrigue within its borders. Instead Saramango's reference to its Jewish and Moorish past was nonexistent. This is shocking knowing that he has won a Nobel Prize in literature. Yet the past in which Portugal was framed like its other Iberian neighbor was purposefully withheld?

A man of letters such as Saramango must realize that this past, as dark as it might be, should be addressed. Instead only a few lines were devoted to its Jewish and Moorish heritage as if to say, "ah, they(the Jews and Moors) did not make a big difference here"

Mr. Saramango, this is what makes Portugal what it is, your dark past, surely you of all men should know that.

You should know that the Inquisition, persecuted men as yourself, men of letters, who were associated with Judaism! Men who escaped their past by becoming adroit at wielding letters, instead of swords. Where is your honra Senor?

In my humble estimation this book is as worthless as rags.

NOT Bill Bryson
This is Jose Saramago's spiritual journey through (primarily rural) Portugal.It's not a light-reading travel narrative.The feeling of this book is something of a cross between Henry Adams and James Michener.It's a book to read slowly and savor, in order to appreciate Saramago's tremendous metaphorical skill.He paints the picture slowly, with deliberate brush-strokes that reveal the masterpiece when viewed from a distance.

Yes, his descriptions of churches, winding roads, rain and his seemingly unconscious cultural insecurity (his came from a poor family and was not a university graduate) can become tedious, but that's only if you don't grasp the larger picture:Portugal is a settled land with hundreds of years of historic layers.Saramago wants to peel those layers back for you to expose the core.Only the reader can decide if he's been successful.

A spiritual and spatial journey
I eventually struggled through to the end of "Journey to Portugal", more as a duty than a pleasure.After the first third, the sameness of the descriptions of churches, buildings and art works became a bit boring.

Sarmago certainly writes with insights that would resonate with readers who are familiar with the history, culture and art works of Portugal.I am not, so many of Saramago's allusions and comments on the churches and buildings he saw were opaque to me.

Having read (and reviewed) "Seeing", "Blindness" and "The Cave" by Saramago, I was a little disappointed at first with "Journey to Portugal".However, my disappointment was relieved by beautiful passages sprinkled through the text.

Saramago was born in Portugal and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998."Journey to Portugal" is nominally a travel book, but of a special kind: it describes spiritual as well as spatial journeys.

The book is written in the third person, with Saramago referring to himself throughout as "the traveller".

Reflective travellers will understand when Sarmago says "...when the street descends once more to the old cathedral so does the rain; it overflows the gutters and, as one idea follows another, the traveller remembers how the waters of the Minho ran down the hard shoulders beside the street, how small the world is, all its memories jumbled together in the minimal space inside the traveller's head."

He also gives beautiful little word pictures of the lives and people he encountered on his journey.These are the real gems in this book, and why it is worth reading.

In one especially memorable story ("The Man Who Could Not Forget") Saramago gets into conversation with the waiter at dinner about his travel plans and learns that the waiter was born in Cidadelhe, one of the small, remote villages Saramago plans to visit.

Many years ago, when the waiter was a child, his sick young sister died on the way to get medical help, because none was available in their impoverished village.The waiter has never forgotten this family tragedy.His emotions are still raw as he talks to Saramago, who asks the waiter to come with him to the village and show him where he lived.

Saramago concludes thus: "The traveller returns to his room.He spreads out his big map on the bed and looks for Pinhel.There it is, and the road which heads off into the hills.At some point in this space a seven-year-old girl died; then the traveller finds Cidadelhe, on the heights, between the Rivers Coa and Massueime, it really is at the ends of the earth, the end of life.If there is no one to remember."

The book resonated with me for another reason.To quote Saramago:"The traveller preferred to admire the late afternoon gazing down towards the River Torto . . . . and then spent a long while leaning back against a wall . . . because from behind it there wafted the most exquisite perfume of flowers . . ."

Far too often in our travels we are driven onwards by an inexorable schedule that allows little time to stop and actually enjoy moments such as Saramago describes.

A Reflective Journey, Thoughtful and Passionate
Understandably, this book will be difficult reading for many American readers.It is not filled with action, sex, violence, or touristic visions.It is neither efficient nor pragmatic.Nevertheless, Jose Saramago is a Nobel Prize Winner for good reason.He writes with a depth of feeling and intense love that cannot be missed.The translation loses, as most translations do, the poetic passions of the author.However, if one can accept a very different style of writing, one that is decidedly not British nor American, this work will indeed be a journey.

Journey to Portugal Review
I am reading this book and am laboring through it hoping it will get to something interesting or useful because I am planning on traveling through Portugal later this year.So far it has been very boring.I don't get a great insight of Portugal's history or culture. It is mostly a travelogue of his town by town personal encounter with little to relate. So far its been very disappointing and I feel like its a waste of time. ... Read more

Product Description
The Kingdom of Portugal was created as a by-product of the Christian Reconquest of Hispania. With no geographical raison d'être and no obvious political roots in its Roman, Germanic, or Islamic pasts, it for long remained a small, struggling realm on Europe's outer fringe. Then, in the early fifteenth century, this unlikely springboard for Western expansion suddenly began to accumulate an empire of its own, eventually extending more than halfway around the globe. The History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, drawing particularly on historical scholarship postdating the 1974 Portuguese Revolution, offers readers a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of how all this happened - the first such account to appear in English for more than a generation. Volume I concerns the history of Portugal itself from pre-Roman times to the climactic French invasion of 1807, and Volume II traces the history of the Portuguese overseas empire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Well-executed history
I much enjoyed this history of Portugal to 1807 (when the royal family makes its way to Brazil). Disney writes in an easy-to-read style that is not at all academic and is simple to digest. This is very much a political narrative -- not too much on social history. I don't know enough about Portuguese history to evaluate the contents, but Disney seems to have considered the relevant sources and opposing points of view and drawn fair conclusions. As stated in the TLS review of a few months ago, Disney might have made a mistake in dividing his history into two volumes, since the history of Portugal is difficult to separate from that of her colonies. But in any case, I'm looking forward to reading Volume 2 on the overseas empire. ... Read more

Product Description
This concise, illustrated history of Portugal presents an introduction to the people and culture of the country and its search for economic modernization, political stability and international partnership. The first single-volume account of Portugal's history since the days of dictatorship and colonization, this updated second edition also covers the state of historical writing on Portugal at the turn of the millennium.First Edition Hb (1993): 0-521-43308-8 First Edition Pb (1993): 0-521-43880-2David Birmingham is a Professor of Modern History at the University of Kent, Canterbury.He has written extensively on Portugal and Africa including, among others, The Decolonization of Africa (UCL Press, 1995), History of Central Africa, Volume Three (Longman, 1998), and Portugal and Africa (Macmillan, 1999) and, more recently, a survey of Trade and Empire in the Atlantic, 1400-1600 (Routledge, 2000). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

mediocre but blessedly short
Birmingham's Concise History of Portugal is concise, straightforward, and well-illustrated.There is little else to be said in its favor.Portugal's distinctive national character--so different from that of neighboring Spain--owes much to the circumstances of its past.Until I read this book, it had not occurred to me that any author could make Portugal's history sound quite so dull.

Birmingham plods through a great deal of information about Portuguese history, but he has no gift for storytelling, so the facts spill onto the page in a disconnected heap.The reader learns next to nothing about such fascinating characters as the sixteenth-century king Sebastian and the seventeenth-century brothers Afonso VI and Pedro II, and important female characters are in most cases not even identified by name.Moreover, Birmingham provides little historical context, so it is often difficult to discern how the events he mentions related to larger trends in European and world history.Birmingham addresses some of the major themes of Portuguese history, such as the tension between centralized and aristocratic power and Portugal's special relationship with England, but he skims over other crucial topics, such as the creation of Portugal's far-flung colonial empire.The coverage of the Portuguese people's ethnic and cultural origins is weak, as is the coverage of religion and geography.The book conveys no sense of the Portuguese national character.

I do not recommend this book.It might be useful as a quick reference, but it will not give you a nuanced understanding of Portuguese history, nor is it enjoyable to read.

Covers the people, culture, economics, politics, and history
Students and travelers requiring an introduction to the people, culture, economics, politics, and history of Portugal will benefit substantially from reading A Concise History Of Portugal by David Birmingham (Emeritus Professor of Modern history, University of Kent at Canterbury). Now in its second edition, A Concise History Of Portugal is a modern account and the first to be written in English since the termination of dictatorship. No international history series can be considered complete without the inclusion of this Cambridge University Press edition of David Birmingham's A Concise History Of Portugal.

A distorted picture of the country and its history
In my view, this history of Portugal gives a distorted image of the country. It stresses the country's problems and plays down its achievements. The book pictures Portugal as a country struggling to establish a place on the world scene; modernise its economy and society; and secure political stability (!). In contrast, one can not find much on Portugal's gold age of the voyages of discovery and a worldwide maritime empire in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In fact there is not much on the first centuries of Portugal as a country. The whole book is rather biased, giving a one-sided and not particularly flattering picture of Portugal. I much prefer the more objective and well-balanced approach of 'Portugal: A Companion History, by Jose Hermano Saraiva et al.

Maybe too concise
Anticipating a trip to Portugal, I picked up this book to prepare myself figuring this would give me a bit of background on the country.

First, I was suprised with the things I learned of its governmental and social history.It is not the typical western European country, but nonetheless has held its own.I did not realize that Britain played such a big role.

Although I learned a bit about the government and economy (and through this, a little about the population), I did not see much about the humanities and arts.The author does mention that as the country was getting gold from its colonies, it built some beautiful buildings.Nothing else was covered.I would like to know more about the arts, and this book does not give that.

The book is also not the quickest read.Given that it is a history, I would like things to be in chronological order.Birmingham will follow some actions a few decades forward to show the outcome, but then jump back to where he was without comment.This makes the flow a little distracting.I found myself jumping back a few pages to try to follow the narrative.Not the easiest of tasks.

If you know nothing about Portugal, this book will give you a brief glimpse which will get you on the right path to understanding Portugal, but it by no means gives you the most authoritative or the most readable history.

Poor is a Generous Rating
I have been to Portugal many times and know quite a bit about the country's culture, it's people and history.I have to say that I must agree with most of the criticism that previous reviewers have written.

It is hard to believe that Birmingham, despite his vast experience with Portugal and things Portuguese, could have produced such a mediocre book.Parts of it are almost fictional.Too much of the information Birmingham presents is just plain wrong, particularly regarding Portugal's colonial empire in Africa.After reading this I got the distinct feeling that Birmingham has no real depth of knowledge about the Portuguese people, let alone the history of Portugal. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
The Kingdom of Portugal was created as a by-product of the Christian Reconquest of Hispania. With no geographical raison d'être and no obvious roots in its Roman, Germanic, or Islamic pasts, it for long remained a small, struggling realm on Europe's outer fringe. Then, in the early fifteenth century, this unlikely springboard for Western expansion suddenly began to accumulate an empire of its own, eventually extending more than halfway around the globe. The History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, drawing particularly on historical scholarship postdating the 1974 Portuguese Revolution, offers readers a comprehensive overview and reinterpretation of how all this happened - the first such account to appear in English for more than a generation. Volume I concerns the history of Portugal itself from pre-Roman times to the climactic French invasion of 1807, and Volume II traces the history of the Portuguese overseas empire. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A brief portuguese history
A.H. de Oliveira Marques is one of the brightest historians in Portugal, studyind both medieval and contemporary subjects. As for such he was able to create this masterpiece which combines in a very short narrative all of the most important facts and structures of the history of Portugal. This is the first volume of the work, covering a period since the romanisation to the fifteenth century. If you are looking to know more about portugal be sure to have for it was originally made for foreign students. ... Read more

Product Description
With the opening of sea routes in the fifteenth century, groups of men and women left Portugal to establish themselves across the ports and cities of the Atlantic or Ocean Sea. They were refugees and migrants, traders and mariners, Jews, Catholics, and the Marranos of mixed Judaic-Catholic culture. They formed a diasporic community known by contemporaries as the Portuguese Nation. By the early seventeenth century, this nation without a state had created a remarkable trading network that spanned the Atlantic, reached into the Indian Ocean and Asia, and generated millions of pesos that were used to bankroll the Spanish empire. A Nation Upon The Ocean Sea traces the story of the Portuguese Nation from its emergence in the late fifteenth century to its fragmentation in the middle of the seventeenth and situates it in relation to the parallel expansion and crisis of Spanish imperial dominion in the Atlantic. Against the backdrop of this relationship, the book reconstitutes the rich inner life of a community based on movement, maritime trade, and cultural hybridity. We are introduced to mariners and traders in such disparate places as Lima, Seville and Amsterdam, their day-to-day interactions and understandings, their houses and domestic relations, their private reflections and public arguments.
This finely-textured account reveals how the Portuguese Nation created a cohesive and meaningful community despite the mobility and dispersion of its members; how its forms of sociability fed into the development of robust transatlantic commercial networks; and how the day-to-day experience of trade was translated into the sphere of Spanish imperial politics as merchants of the Portuguese Nation took up the pen to advocate a program of commercial reform based on religious-ethnic toleration and the liberalization of trade.
A microhistory, A Nation Upon The Ocean Sea contributes to our understanding of the broader histories of capitalism, empire, and diaspora in the early Atlantic. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Great Book
The one-line, anonymous review of January 10, 2010 is inappropriate and should be withdrawn. The book is a first-rate work of economic and social history. I highly recommend it for the study of Atlantic history and Ibero-Catholic and Sephardic diasporas.

this book sucks
this author has about 3 facts about portugal. then repeats the same filler over and over. save your money and dont buy this piece of crap
... Read more

Product Description
The book is a popular history of Spain and the Spanish Empire from prehistoric times to the present day. It provides description and analysis of political, social, economic and cultural events over the centuries, which together shaped the history of this distinctive country. The book offers 60 illustrations and maps, including 16 pages of color photographs, as well as lists of historic places to visit at the end of each chapter. There is a dynastic chart, suggested readings, and index. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (30)

The story of Spain: Dramatic History of Europe's most fascinating country
This book isvery informative, giving an insight into how Spain became the country we all know and love. From the Romans and the Moors to the Civil war and onwards to today it's a most interesting and detailed account of life on theIberian peninsula. Highly recommended.

so-so read
It was farily interesting to me but it took me quite a while to read.

Así así
1:

I read through parts of this book in college and it makes for an interesting "story" but not a "history."Williams is very familiar with his history, but by no means a historian, as is disclaimed.The text reads very dramatically and there is an element of a movie-like narrative.Filled with information surrounding some of history's better known emperors and kings, and also with some of history's lesser known events, "The Story of Spain" is in my opinion suited for the high school level or as a lenghty travel guide.It is clearly not academic (no bibliography or works cited) and over familiarity with the reader does not sit well on the consciences of history investigators.The book, though, does have hope.The text needs to be revamped and expounded on the surrounding issues involved in history than just the "story" itself, which leads me to >>>

2:

When one examines Spanish history, Portugal (or, for the sake of generality, the then Gallaecia and the Suevic provinces) is usually omitted or swept under the carpet.Though not a kingdom until 1128 AD, the areas untouched by the present author almost cry out for attention.Though the book is on Spain, the entire Iberian peninsula is involved.Too little, I feel, was brought in to better illumine the occupation by the Romans and later the Visigoths (who, have no "real" mention in the third chapter) and even less was said on Portugal, or Lusitania.

Unsatisfactory
Did not receive the book, order not filled, complaints filed but no satisfactory resolution to date.

Good read, nice background.
I bought this book in preparation for a trip to Spain this year.It was a pretty quick and enjoyable read.Helpful too, are the lists at the end of each chapter where you can go to see some of the history described in that chapter.Every historian has a "slant" or "bias" but there appeared to be minimal interference from that in this book.Williams writes about the good and bad points of Spain and covers it pretty well from Celtic through modern times.I was going to read additional books on Spanish history, and may yet, but I feel this book gave me an adequate enough sense of history to add significantly to my trip. ... Read more

Product Description
Prior to 1492, Jews had flourished on the Iberian Peninsula for hundreds of years. Marked by alternating cooperative coexistence and selective persecution alongside Christians and Muslims, this remarkable period was a golden age for Iberian Jews, with significant and culturally diverse advances in sciences, arts and government. This work traces the history of the Sephardic Jews from their golden age to their post-Columbian diaspora. It highlights achievements in science, medicine, philosophy, arts, economy and government, alongside a few less noble accomplishments, in both the land they left behind and in the lands they settled later. Several significant Sephardic Jews are profiled in detail, and later chapters explore the increasing restrictions on Jews prior to expulsion, the divergent fates of two diaspora communities (in Brazil and the Ottoman Empire), and the enduring legacy of Sephardic history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Telling the story of Sephardic Portuguese and Spanish Jews
This is a good reference book to read if you want to know the history of the Sephardic people of the Iberia Peninsula. It tells the story in a confortable way. A story told like a conversation between the generations and lifetime. Its an excellent read for people either studying the period, their joys and trauma, the consequences, the diaspora. I like the process- the explanations, the translations, the maps. It helps the reader having the visual to follow the complexities of life during that era. The account of the most famous people of that period, with information I had never read before. She also explains the daily life, even the games children played. The history and life of the Portuguese and Spanish Jews. The great troubles of the inqusition period. Up to, during and afterwards.Very informing. I also like the poetic way in which she uses the titles of the chapters, eg: Chapter Six - "Thou preparest the table before me" etc, and the way it ends.
The poem written by Judah Abravanel to his kidnapped son. Real life stories. Real people, Troubled times. Very nicely done. ... Read more

Product Description
Portugal, the 'ancient ally', is a country easily accessible, with an enviable climate, welcoming inhabitants and famous beaches. English and Spanish apart, Portuguese is more widely spoken than any other European tongue. This historical guide draws on personal experiences ranging from a residence of three years to regular visits since 1936. It combines introductory chapters on eight centuries of nationhood, and sections on the Roman and Islamic past, architecture, painting, music and birds, with visits to the great cities of Lisbon and Oporto, and to the country's varied regions. The author's aim is not merely to describe; rather to account for the emergence of what the visitor may expect to see. He avoids jargon, preferring clarity and moderation - although permitting himself an occasional expression of saudade (the nostalgia for Portugal which haunts all who have loved this land).Harold Livermore studied in Portugal in 1937 and taught there, in Cambridge and in Canada. He was educational director of the Luso-Brazilian Council in London and is a member of the Lisbon Academy of Sciences and of the Portuguese Academy of History. His first 'History of Portugal' was awarded the Cames Prize and was followed by a 'New History' and a 'Shorter History'. He has also published a history of Spain and an account of the medieval origins of both countries. A selection of his articles, 'Essays on History and Literature', appeared in 2000.* * *Harold Livermore places the scenes and monuments of England's oldest ally in their historical and cultural context, recreating vividly the century of Portugal's great contribution to the intellectual advances in the West and the expansion of geographical frontiers with the discovery of the New World. He writes vividly about Portugal's history, Roman and Islamic Portugal, architecture, painting, music, birds; and he devotes chapters to the great cities of Lisbon and Oporto, the route between them, the North, inland Portugal, and the Alentejo and the Algarve, with shorter diversions to many smaller places. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Portugal: A Traveller's History
The review is not focused on histoory, as the title would suggest.

The style is somewhat erratic

Thank you!
This traveller's history takes the visitor to Portugal on a tour of the country exploring historical links everywhere. It digs deep into the history of Portugal, even before Portugal, and Lusitania (the Roman province where most of Portugal is now), and discusses treasures like the recently found cave drawings of the Coa valley in the Douro. It also has other interesting features like a chapter on music and one on birds. There is one on wine too. This is a serious work that also makes good beach or bedtime reading. It is something to be thankful for at a time when a lot is being published on Portugal, but the quality varies. I have read some amateurish books on Portuguese language life and culture and World cultures Portugal. After that experience, it is refreshing to have something you feel is a competent work like Livermore's traveller's history. Thank you! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A very good book about beggining of the century in Portugal
A very independent look about the role of the army in the portuguese 1926's revolution that leadAntónio de Oliveira Salazar to power. ... Read more

Product Description
In this up-to-date and engaging tour of Spain through the ages, one of the world's leading authorities on the history of Spain, Sir Raymond Carr, provides an authoritative overview of a country that has played a vital role in the history of the Western world.
He tells of prehistoric Spain and of the imposition of Roman rule, which created the idea of Hispania as a single entity. There are knowledgeable discussions of the Visigoth monarchy, Moorish Spain, the establishment of an empire, and the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Carr examines not only the political and economic development of Spain, but also the extraordinary artistic and literary achievements of the Spanish people. He charts the rise and fall of liberalism in the nineteenth century, and the subsequent period of political instability culminating in the Civil War and authoritarian rule. The book concludes with a look at modern Spain as a fully integrated and enthusiastic member of the European community.
Attractively illustrated throughout, Spain: A History is the best historical account of Spain currently available for general readers.Amazon.com Review
Spain, influential historians once maintained, was an"exceptional" country--meaning that, in many key respects, it layoutside the course of European history. Unlike any other nation ofWestern Europe, Spain was for centuries the province of Islamicrulers, and the crowned heads of other parts of the continent scornedit as an "oriental," necessarily backward nation--when in many ways itwas considerably more advanced than its neighbors.

The exceptionalist view of Spanish history was misguided and damaging,writes the eminent historian RaymondCarr, but it was one that many Spanish people accepted: to them,it helped explain why Spain, once so mighty and rich an empire, shouldhave fallen behind while the rest of Europe grew stronger andwealthier, and why a retrograde ruler like Franco could have remainedin power when democracy flourished elsewhere.

Carr and his colleagues, including several Spanish scholars, seek torestore Spain to the mainstream of European history in this highlyuseful survey. Taking in a view that extends deep into prehistory andforward to the recent presidential elections, the contributorsemphasize the diversity of Spain's many peoples, whose union under thekings and queens of Castile and Aragon would bring so much of theworld under Spanish dominion, and the difficulty of maintaining thatpolitical union in the recent climate of ethnic and regionalrivalry. --Gregory McNamee ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

I Should Have Paid Attention ToThe Less Than Stellar Reviews
Excellent compilation of well written essays on the history of Spain. Comprehensive and succint, but boring as all get out.Having trouble with insomnia?Then give this book a try.I was hoping to get a grasp on Spanish history and this book certanly made me aware of the complexities, but it did nothing to ease the burden that the lay reader faces on the subject. I would recommend this book as a reference but not as a starting point or a casual read, despite its relative brevity. Those with a stronger background on the subject may have more of an appreciation.

good stuff
It was really well organized and added good tid bits to along with the facts presented.Unfortunately, a ttimes the author used terms that needed to be looked up in the dictionary.

Turgid Prose
Each chapter of Spain: A History, is written by a different author.Each chapter roughly covers a defined period of Spanish History.However, the authors their approach to reviewing history from one chapter to another, in addition, the historical periods are not usually completely different and wash over each other.Some of the writing is excellent.Some chapters are written by academics who are confused by their own writing.I had to buy a different book.

Great Expectations
I bought this book for my Russian daughter-in-law who had little knowledge of Spanish history. I also hoped for an update on my own knowledge. Both of us were disappointed. Indeed such was the masking of basic facts that I found myself acting as teacher to an avid intelligent puipil. Perhaps I should have known that a composite history of this type was bound to fail because in this day & age no academic is going to subordinate his opportunity to shine as against subordinating his ego to honest scholastic team work.

The Epitome of a Scholarly, European History Boook
Words that define this book:accurate, engaging, reliable, fascinating, scholarly, solid...Even the Spaniards awarded this exacting Englishman with the famed "Prince of Asturias Award" and an honorable doctorate from the University of Madrid.

This book is a must read for any Iberophile! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good - though a bit dry at times
These books definitely provide readers with a good background to Portuguese history.I read both books with a specific interest in 2 areas of Portuguese history: the establishment of Portugal's overseas empire, and Portugal's experience under the government of Antonio Salazar.Professor Marques provides a thorough discussion of both topics, along with other key eras of the nation's history. He uses a lot of statistics in many areas of the books, to the point where they take away from an otherwise interesting narrative.The books are a little dated, as they were written in 1973, and so many pivotal changes have taken place within Portugal since then.Overall, I would recommend this book as a way to get a basic knowledge of Portuguese history. ... Read more

Product Description
During its "golden age," Spain was a political giant whose influence spanned the world from Germany to the Western Pacific. Rich on American gold and silver, Spain was able to send the Armada against England, defeat the Turks and challenge France for the hegemony of Europe.

This book will unlock the secrets of Spain's vibrant and colorful past, its people and culture for the interested traveller. It takes the reader on a journey from the earliest settlements on the Iberian Peninsula, through the influences of the Romans, the Goths and the Muslims, the traumas of expansion and the end of the Empire, right up to the present. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Very Unapproachable...
A word of caution: this book is not in any way a pleasure to read. I tried several times to slug through it but maybe got as far page 60-something. I don't want to dwell on how scattered this book was. I'm still looking for that great book about Spanish history - or at least a comfortable overview.As for the title, "A Traveller's History of Spain" who is the traveller, is it supposed to be the 'reader' or the 'author'? If it is the latter, it must have been a book meant for him because I couldn't follow along. This book is arduous.

Read Iberia instead
Having read several other Traveller's History books (Turkey, China, Greece) and enjoyed them, I expected much more than I got from this book. The author makes no connections and assumes the reader already knows a lot about Spanish history, in which case, why read this one? I was particularly turned off by the author's terrible punctuation and sentences that went on for 10 lines. Doesn't anyone edit anymore? Wish I had read the other reviews before buying this book. Someone planning a trip to Spain should read James Michner's Iberia instead Ñ not as much history, perhaps, but a lot more understanding of the country and what shaped it.

Biassed history always unwelcome
While shallow enough for those like me who have little patience forover-scrupulous books, it is strikingly biassed and opinionated. Someremarks about historic figures are blatantly subjective, and bias reachesits zenith when the author goes to great length criticising the Socialistgovernment of Felipe Gonzalez. As a Spaniard who has lived that period,while I acknowledge the right of the author to hold an opinion onGonzalez's period in office, his comments go way beyond admissibility in ahistory book. I cannot recommend this book.

Biassed history always unwelcome
While shallow enough for those like me who have little patience forover-scrupulous books, it is strikingly biassed and opinionated. Someremarks about historic figures are blatantly subjective, and bias reachesits zenith when the author goes to great length criticising the Socialistgovernment of Felipe Gonzalez. As a Spaniard who has lived that period,while I acknowledge the right of the author to hold an opinion onGonzalez's period in office, his comments go way beyond admissibility in ahistory book. I cannot recommend this book.

Terribly disappointing
This is neither a good history text nor helpful in any way to the traveller. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

History and Story
Historians should be as dettached from the subject matter their dealing with as possible. That's NOT the case with Mr García de Cortázar who offers a partial -if not devious- account of Spanish History. Especially his way of dealing with the March 11, 2004 terrorists attacks in Madrid is simply shameful, reeking of his undisguised ideological sympathies.

How can we be sure that he's actually honest in the preceeding chapters?

Amazing
If you want a fresh, humorous-style , fact- based review of the spanish history,this should be your election...not recommendable if you only want to confirmate your collecction of topics about Spain. ... Read more