Review by Booklist Review
Spain once ruled the seas, creating a vast empire with its investment in New World exploration and its subsequent gain of wealth. Its history is a tale of division, distrust, and internal unrest. Its literature is plentiful and rich. And Spain has seldom been allotted the kind of well-researched narrative historical overview that this excellent volume gives it. Due to Francoist restrictions and forced historical revisionism, it is only now that Spain's history can be given an objective look, by both Spanish and non-Spanish historians. As restrictions and access to historical documents become relaxed, only this generation's authors have fully realized the fascinating and epic nature of Spain's history. Edited by Oxford historian Carr, Spain presents a journey through the nation's entire history: from its prehistoric settlement through Roman, Visigothic, and Islamic rule, and from its golden age of exploration to the Spanish civil war in the 1930s, Franco's resulting rule, the monarchy's reestablishment, Basque separatists, and modern Spain's political unrest. Despite its slow moving density, this is a wonderful overview of an oft-unexplored history. --Michael Spinella
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Potent yet palatable, this history of Spain is remarkably seamlessÄespecially considering that it traces the development of a fractious society and that it is the creation of nine collaborating authors. The work's fluidity is both evidence of editor Carr's diligence and a manifestation of the authors' unity of purpose. Together and individually they dismiss the romantic notion that, to preserve traditional values, Spain has repeatedly resisted social change and intentionally sacrificed its own prosperity. Instead they propose that Spain's unique path toward integration with modern Europe has been the result of the perpetual clash of its diverse inhabitants and conquerors. Far from isolating itself from Europe, they argue, Spain grew in power by exploiting its ties to other European societies. The authors' shared thesis spans the centuries from Roman domination, to the Islamic invasion, to the tyranny of Franco, but their narrative styles and interests are by no means uniform. Carr (a former warden at St. Anthony's College at Oxford and author of Modern Spain, 1875-1980) displays what amounts to contempt for Spanish culture of the mid-19th century; Felipe Fern ndez-Armesto (professor of history, Oxford) combines effervescence with erudition in his discussion of the Spanish Golden Age; Sebastian Balfour (assistant director of Spanish studies, London School of Economics) employs the brevity demanded by the book's structure to heart-wrenching effect in his account of the Spanish Civil War. As era is layered upon era, the events of history become linked not only by a causal relationship, but by a creative one as well: this book suggests that the concept of Spain has evolved through the continuous and repeated reinterpretation of a rich and controversial past. 8 pages color and 70 b&w illus. not seen by PW. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
For most students of European history, Spain is significant only briefly during the late 15th and 16th centuries in connection with discovery and conquest in the Americas; otherwise, knowledge about its history is often lacking. Carr (former warden, St. Antony's Coll., Oxford Univ.; Modern Spain, 1875-1980) and eight other international experts on Spanish history have contributed essays that will fill in the fascinating span of Spanish history from prehistoric and Roman Spain to the country's emergence as a dedicated and energetic member of the European Economic Community. A careful and pointed selection of color and black-and-white plates bring historical figures and events to life. However, this is not a superficial and popular history. The essays are serious and scholarly in tone and certainly provide grist for further reading and discussion. Fortunately, a well-selected bibliography of items (in English) will facilitate further study and deeper consideration of the historical facts. Recommended for larger historical and travel collections.DOlga B. Wise, Compaq Computer Corp., Austin, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Insightful essays by the leading English-language experts on the history of Spain from its prehistoric origins to today. Deftly edited by Carr (Warden/St. Antonys Coll., Oxford), this survey will serve scholars and students equally well, but the general reader may have some difficulty. Its chief purpose is to debunk myths and bring us up to date on recent interpretations of Spanish history. Spain is no longer considered to be a different country on a special historical path; rather, its history should be seen within its European context. But the richness of Spains heritage has also been its tragedy: conflict, from within and from without, has been the one constant. A.T. Fear shows how archaeological finds are illuminating various aspects of prehistoric and ancient Roman life in Spain, while Roger Collins stresses the importance of the Visigothic influence on the late antique and early medieval periods. Richard Fletcher corrects some persistent errors of opinion about early medieval Spain (such as the belief that the Church grew rich on the spoils of the Reconquest of Muslim territories). Angus Mackay tells of the late medieval art in the Muslim palace at Alhambra that depicted human and animal forms in violation of the Islamic prohibitions of figural representation. The height of Spanish power is recounted in two essays, one by Henry Kamen (on imperial successes and failures) and the other, the most original of the lot, by Felipe Fernández-Armesto (on the social and political currents of the new empire). Richard Herrs fascinating chapter on Spains failed attempts at Enlightened rule is followed by Carrs own tale of woe, documenting a centurys (18331931) worth of political struggle between the privileged and the oppressed as Spain grappled with liberalism and modernity. Sebastian Balfour rounds out the opus nicely, showing 19th-century problems continuing into the 20th and leading to the deadly Spanish Civil War and the oppressive dictatorship of Franco. He is informative and hopeful regarding Spains newfound democracy within the European Union, its relative internal peace (minus bombings by the Basque terrorist group ETA), and its modern prosperity. A worthwhile and informative synthesis on Spains long road to the 20th century. (72 b&w illustrations, 4 maps)
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