Are these books good?

I'm working on building a little library of books on Spain, and I'm creating a "wish list." I'm especially interested in books on medieval life, before 1492, although other books look good, too. I've dug up these titles, and I'd love to hear from anyone who has read any of them. Are they good? Worth buying? Interesting and readable?

Quest for el Cid, by Richard Fletcher

The New Spaniards, by John Spaniards Hooper

Moorish Spain, by Richard Fletcher

Convivencia: Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Medieval Spain, by Vivian B. Mann (ed.)

To the Heart of Spain: Food and Wine Adventures Beyond the Pyrenees, by Ann and Larry Walker

Jews of Spain: A History of Sephardic Experience, by Jane S. Gerber


Thanks in advance!

i have both books by richard fletcher. he is a very engaging and readble writer of history. fletcher is quite witty and equally critical of all sides. never seems to lose himself in the fog of over romanticizing a particular subject. he brings in some very good points in an attempt to be as objective as possible. he does often reveal his own opinion. mind you this is what i found to be interesting. i found myself agreeing and disagreeing with his socio-historical conclusions regarding that period of spain's history. however, thats a sign of a good historian. you have to understand that much of this is editorial history. the author's conclusion is there for you to agree or disagree with.

I also have Fletcher's books, but in contrast find that the presentation of the information in "Quest" is not up to snuff. His writing style is not polemic enough for my taste. I've read about 6 books on El Cid, and Fletcher presented nothing new.

Moorish Spain is engaging, but again suffers from the same illness as Quest for El Cid.

I purchased The New Spaniards a few years ago and having been trying to unload it on Ebay ever since. In reality, I felt misled by the title, and disillusioned by the content. Not really a title on medieval life, either...

I've found that one of the freshest perspectives on Spain can be found in "The Buried Mirror" by Carlos Fuentes. Although a Mexican author, Fuentes spends the first 250 pages or so of this work giving a superb treatise on Spanish culture up to and including the age of discovery and somewhat beyond. His style (internationally recognized and lauded) is clear, poignant and takes chances. Of course, many hear the name Carlos Fuentes and would buy the book simply on the name alone.

I have The Spanish Inquisition by Jean Plaidy as well. Although utilitarian, the book gives good information on the Inquisition, and was an intersesting read. The drawback is the painfully evident bias of the author.

The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky is absolutely fabulous, and provides you with an as-yet-unwritten vista of how the Basques fit into the Iberian picture. (Now you see MY painfully evident bias) I highly recommend this book.

Currently I'm reading Guernica, the Crucible of World War II, by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan Witts. They seem to be taking a point of view that allows them to tell their story from both perspectives (Nationalist and Republican). I'll let you know "how it ends".

Any suggestions from you on books I should add?

Off the topic a bit but...after reading The Buried Mirror I then purchased the video set. Narrated by Fuentes, It's a great cultural resource for class and I especially enjoyed his portrayal of bull fighting in Spain- non an easy topic for some. The passion comes alive with Fuentes as the narrator.

i do concur calibasco. however, the fact the fletcher does have the tendency to present his evidence on a somewhat surface level, he's far from arguing against any previous conclusions. granted his attempts to be objective mutate into editorializing. this was by far his greatest fault. in terms of surface overviews, the two are books are adequate. i wouldn't turn anyone away from them. i would worn that those who've delved deeply into the subject might be a bit disappointed. however, its medieval spain...read and decide for yourself.

i do hope that at some point someone writes a thorough history of medieval spain in the style hugh thomas' the spanish civil war. that's it, i'll move to spain and do just that for the next twenty years!!!!

I'll buy your book!

I see your point...perhaps those books should just be checked out and not purchased. That way if you don't like, you're not out the $$$ I am.

Thanks, everyone, for your comments. I really appreciate them. Calibasco, I'm going to try to check out what I can first, like you said. I hate buying a book I end up not liking. Luckily, I have access to some pretty good libraries. I had in my hands a few weeks ago The Basque History of the World and the Buried Mirror, in Borders. I'll have to take another look at the first after your recommendation! The second I thought was more about the Americas, so I put it back on the shelf. Perhaps I should look at it again. Since I was armed with a 20% off coupon, I did end up buying a book called A Drizzle of Honey - The Lives and Recipes of Spain's Secret Jews. It's technically a cookbook, but it's absolutely filled with anecdotes about Jews living secretly in Spain in the years after 1492. It looks like it will be very interesting reading, if only I can find the time (work, family and grad school are taking their toll)!

Thanks again!

wow. that sounds really interesting. These books all sound so tempting; I can't stand it. I wan to read them all! You should see my christmas wich list on amazon. Filled with books on Espana (all through MadridMan's all Spain Market, of course).

I can't decide between books on spain, art supplies or desparately needed classes for next quarter. I hear you Diana. Not enough money or time (at least I don't have kids - as it is I can't get through the week end without a few solid siestas)

[This message has been edited by Nicole (edited 12-04-2000).]

i certainly appreciate the vote of confidence calibasco. ah me, well....if i ever attempt a marriage between my historical and literary minds i'll let you know. i'd be sure to send you an advanced copy that you won't be out either bookstore or library fees. you have to give me roughly twenty years to this. i should hire you as my editor in the event of weeding out any fletcherisims. let's just hope that someone comes up with this sooner or later. ah, if only wil and ariel durant had devoted their time to writing on spain.

Diana, I have read a good chunk of Gerber's Jews of Spain book and found it to be a good read and very informative. In fact, I just pulled the book out of my bookcase tonight, as I will be leaving for Madrid at the end of this month, and thought I should read further.

As a side note, an ancester of mine is Don Isaac Abravanel, who is all over any books about Jews in Spain. Along with being a great Jewish scholar, he financed the ships for Columbus to sail to the New World.

Where did you find this "Drizzle of Honey"? I'd love to get something full of history AND recipes. What a bonus!

Btw, do you know about a living Jewish community in Spain? All I hear and read about is about the Inquisition.

Hi, Joy!

Thanks for the comment on the Gerber book. I will definitely look for your ancestor once I really get going with the reading!

I found out about A Drizzle of Honey while browsing through amazon.com one day. I then found it at a Border's bookstore, and bought it there with a coupon I had. I know you can get it on amazon. I keep picking it up and flipping through it - it looks so interesting - but I have to get through another week of major projects before I can really read it!

I met several Jewish families in Madrid, but they were all somehow connected with the Israeli embassy, and they weren't Spanish. Lucia Graves (daughter of poet Robert Graves) has written a really good book about growing up in Mallorca and later living in Cataluña. It's called A Woman Unknown, and it's just recently become available in the US. (I got my copy from the UK, but I saw it in Border's the other day. Amazon should have it too, now). Among other topics, she wrote a chapter about the Jews in Spain. She made an interesting comparison between the Sephardic Jews and the Catalanes, especially the Republican Catalanes at the end of the Civil War. Anyway, it's also a good book to read. She is a beautiful writer, and she even managed to get me all choked up about some of her experiences and thoughts about Spain.

Now if only I could get more time to READ!! (And the little voice says, Gee, Diana, maybe you should spend less time on the computer..... )

One more thing...

If you like books on Spain, food, and history, try to get a copy of The Heritage of Spanish Cooking, by Alicia Rios and Lourdes March. It's full of excellent recipes, stunningly beautiful artwork spanning centuries, and interesting history of food in Spain. It's a large, orange, coffee table type book. I never tire of flipping through the gorgeous pages, and I've tried several of the recipes, which turned out very well. The bad news is that it's no longer in print, but I've found it on bargain tables in bookstores (bought a copy for my mom a few weeks ago), so it's worth looking for. I've never tried one of those internet searches for out of print books, but you may want to try that, too.

Thanks for all the info, Diana. Enjoy! (And make sure you share your findings with us!)