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The Story Of Spain: The Dramatic History Of Europe's Most Fascinating Country (2000)

by Mark R. Williams(Favorite Author)

3.71 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

8489954135 (ISBN13: 9788489954137)

languge

English

genre

Middle Grade & Children's

publisher

Santana Books

review 1: I read this in preparation for a trip to Spain (actually I only made it about 2/3 of the way through before I got to Spain, but anyway...), and it was ideal for that purpose. It is a comprehensive overview, which is a lot to ask of 350 pages, so parts of it feel rushed and with the constant turnover of the various incestuous royal dynasties there is considerable name dropping that probably won't stick unless you really, really are determined to remember. That said, I felt like it covered most of the major stuff and this was confirmed by all the tour guides and museum displays, everything I learned and saw fit into context and made sense thanks to the background provided by this book. In particular, there were many cases where Spaniards were talking about Spain and the Span... moreish government, and it mostly made sense and was amusingly interesting thanks to the context provided here.
review 2: This book covers an enormous amount of time; literally from the famed pre-historic caves of Altamira to the death of Franco in 1975. In general, history is way too complicated to be summarized in this fashion; many of the historical figures we are introduced to are summed up neatly for us when in reality they were involved in much more messy, intricate historical timelines. Yet this is precisely why this book deserves praise. Williams manages to take the most important people and events in Spanish history, and boil their intricate stories down to a nevertheless coherent -- and entertaining -- story. His narrative is engaging enough to encourage further study of the periods and people he discusses. less

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