Espana: a Brief History of Spain

Description

Bestselling author Giles Tremlett traverses the rich and varied history of Spain, from prehistoric times to today, in a brief, accessible primer for visitors, curious readers and hispanophiles. Spain's position on Europe's south-western corner has exposed it to cultural, political and actual winds blowing from all quadrants. Africa lies a mere nine miles to the south. The Mediterranean connects it to the civilizational currents of Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians, and Byzantines as well as the Arabic lands of the near east. Bronze Age migrants from the Russian steppe were amongst the first to arrive. They would be followed by Visigoths, Arabs, Napoleonic armies and many more invaders and immigrants. Circular winds and currents linked it to the American continent, allowing Spain to conquer and colonize much of it. As a result, Spain has developed a sort of hybrid vigour. Whenever it has tried to deny this inevitable heterogeneity, it has required superhuman effort to fashion a 'pure' national identity - which has proved impossible to maintain. In Espana, Giles Tremlett argues that, in fact, that lack of a homogenous identity is Spain's defining trait.

Giles Tremlett is a prize-winning historian, author and journalist based in Madrid, Spain. He has lived in, and written extensively about, Spain almost continuously since graduating from Oxford University thirty-five years ago. He is Visiting Fellow of the Canada Blanch Centre at the London School of Economics, writes opinion and long form reportage for the Guardian and is a former Madrid correspondent for The Economist.

PRAISE FOR GILES TREMLETT: 'Tremlett skilfully transports the reader back and forth from the medieval atmosphere and tragic events of Spain's mid-twentieth century, to its modern and sophisticated present' Guardian. 'An invaluable book... Ghosts of Spain has become something of a bible for those of us extranjeros who have chosen to live in Spain... A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored chronicler of its present' New York Times Book Review. 'Lively and well-informed... At once a history, a journalistic inquiry and a travel book' Sunday Telegraph. 'A feast of a book' Irish Times. 'A transfixing, elegantly written account of Spain today' Metro. 'Tremlett writes with humour, modesty and a great affection for his subject' * Daily Telegraph *