A Concise History of Spain

In a departure from usual practice,Cambridge University Press has approached two North American history experts to compose this concise history reader and the result is a beautifully written piece of history for this most complex of European nations.In a brief 308 pages,the early inhabitants of Spain are identified, notably the Romans and Visigoths and their impacts are identified. Then we are treated to thorough analysis of the widespread Islamic impact with a description of all the political and social trends of that interesting time. With great clarity,the authors make sense of Spain's rise to a global power and then its eventual decline. With broad brush strokes,their last chapter captures the great social changes that took place after General Franco and the halting steps to a modern democracy. In this soft-bound edition,this history of Spain is beautifully crafted and is highly recommended.

This book is exactly what it claims to be - a concise history of Spain. I found it to be a pleasant and informative read. It avoids getting bogged down on any one topic and presents a clear and comprehensive chronology of Spanish political developments. It serves as an excellent introduction to the subject.

This general history of Spain certain covers all the bases. In some areas they must have been covering their pet academic topics because, for instance, there is no way any reader of a general history would ever want to know as much detail about the sheep trade in 16th century Spain as these guys will give you. But it you want a good overview and to know in some detail the general outline of the history of Spain, this one's for you.

Very much a text book primer on the history of Spain. Frustratingly brief on the Roman period, the book only starts to come alive when Ferdinand & Isabella appear. With a date of 2010 it cannot take account of Paul Preston's work on The Spanish Holocaust. And we now know that Spanish political culture can be rotten under the surface, which makes the book's concluding section look bland and superficial. A useful tour d'horizon but I wouldn't trust its judgements, which feel oddly second-hand and manage to lack authority - strange, given the authors' cv's. The prose is serviceable but colourless. Production values are also bizarre. The book is printed on high quality paper but just has a few low quality black and white pictures at the end of chapters. A big opportunity missed here.

El libro está bien. Las paginas del libro, las letras, se pueden leer bien. El libro en si mismo qui saz demasiado exhaustivo, pero una buena lectura.

We went to Spain for a trip and I got interested in the history. I wanted something that wasn't so high level that all the detail was washed out, but not so terribly deep that the level of trivia involved became tedious. I thought this one was just right. Spain is such an interesting place and it's history has impacted the world deeply. But in the U.S. we don't really learn much about it in our normal history classes.

A historical profound work about Spain and its history, moreover, the history of the Jewish population that was inhabiting Spain for centuries and was expelled one day in the year 1492, aka the inquisition of the Jews by the Roman Catholic church, or the Spanish Inquisition in short

i liked this book because it covered spain from the earliest times and onward. it can be a little dry. it reads like an encyclopedia or cliff notes - not that i feel it is bad in that way but if you want a story go elsewhere, if you want the information this is a good place to be.

I am planning a trip to Spain and realized I knew very little about the history of Spain except for Ferdinand and Isabella supporting Columbus. This excellent little book gave me an overview of the rise and fall of Spain and the modern emergence of Spain as an important part of the EU. I am now even more eagerly anticipating my trip.

Short but not elementary. It is just the right combination between a scholar's insight and popular writing.

This is a very good overview of Spanish history. Plenty of detail but not difficult to read. I recommend this book.

I am currently still reading this. It is so interesting. So much information. It is well written,too. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history, Spain, or traveling to Spain. 5 Stars.

well written book. it is concise history of Spain, good starting point but if you want detail of different period like the arab/islamic period then you need to do further reading. Would recommend it as it is good read.

In a departure from usual practice,Cambridge University Press has approached two North American history experts to compose this concise history reader and the result is a beautifully written piece of history for this most complex of European nations.In a brief 308 pages,the early inhabitants of Spain are identified, notably the Romans and Visigoths and their impacts are identified. Then we are treated to thorough analysis of the widespread Islamic impact with a description of all the political and social trends of that interesting time. With great clarity,the authors make sense of Spain's rise to a global power and then its eventual decline. With broad brush strokes,their last chapter captures the great social changes that took place after General Franco and the halting steps to a modern democracy. In this soft-bound edition,this history of Spain is beautifully crafted and is highly recommended.

We went to Spain for a trip and I got interested in the history. I wanted something that wasn't so high level that all the detail was washed out, but not so terribly deep that the level of trivia involved became tedious. I thought this one was just right. Spain is such an interesting place and it's history has impacted the world deeply. But in the U.S. we don't really learn much about it in our normal history classes.

A historical profound work about Spain and its history, moreover, the history of the Jewish population that was inhabiting Spain for centuries and was expelled one day in the year 1492, aka the inquisition of the Jews by the Roman Catholic church, or the Spanish Inquisition in short

i liked this book because it covered spain from the earliest times and onward. it can be a little dry. it reads like an encyclopedia or cliff notes - not that i feel it is bad in that way but if you want a story go elsewhere, if you want the information this is a good place to be.

I am planning a trip to Spain and realized I knew very little about the history of Spain except for Ferdinand and Isabella supporting Columbus. This excellent little book gave me an overview of the rise and fall of Spain and the modern emergence of Spain as an important part of the EU. I am now even more eagerly anticipating my trip.

Short but not elementary. It is just the right combination between a scholar's insight and popular writing.

This is a very good overview of Spanish history. Plenty of detail but not difficult to read. I recommend this book.

I am currently still reading this. It is so interesting. So much information. It is well written,too. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in history, Spain, or traveling to Spain. 5 Stars.

well written book. it is concise history of Spain, good starting point but if you want detail of different period like the arab/islamic period then you need to do further reading. Would recommend it as it is good read.

This book is exactly what it claims to be - a concise history of Spain. I found it to be a pleasant and informative read. It avoids getting bogged down on any one topic and presents a clear and comprehensive chronology of Spanish political developments. It serves as an excellent introduction to the subject.

This general history of Spain certain covers all the bases. In some areas they must have been covering their pet academic topics because, for instance, there is no way any reader of a general history would ever want to know as much detail about the sheep trade in 16th century Spain as these guys will give you. But it you want a good overview and to know in some detail the general outline of the history of Spain, this one's for you.

Very much a text book primer on the history of Spain. Frustratingly brief on the Roman period, the book only starts to come alive when Ferdinand & Isabella appear. With a date of 2010 it cannot take account of Paul Preston's work on The Spanish Holocaust. And we now know that Spanish political culture can be rotten under the surface, which makes the book's concluding section look bland and superficial. A useful tour d'horizon but I wouldn't trust its judgements, which feel oddly second-hand and manage to lack authority - strange, given the authors' cv's. The prose is serviceable but colourless.Production values are also bizarre. The book is printed on high quality paper but just has a few low quality black and white pictures at the end of chapters. A big opportunity missed here.

El libro está bien. Las paginas del libro, las letras, se pueden leer bien. El libro en si mismo qui saz demasiado exhaustivo, pero una buena lectura.