Portugal Books

This is a work that in its day was seriously underrated because of what was considered its "unbalanced", "confused" structure (a mix between genre comedy with an attempt with serious historical reconstruction and Biblical criticism). But then it is actually a "premature" postmodern novel, reflecting good humouredly on the relations between truth and lie, history and legend, reality and writing. Therefore the fact that what could not be fully appreciated in the late XIXth Century, and that it should be universallt praised in the early XXIst. Century.

It is closing time at a New York Museum. Two brothers are lost in the long corridors and hallways of the big museum. They find a stair case leading to the dark subbasement. One boy pleads not to go down, but the other says that they are going. Then they go down, not knowing they will never return. This is a very good and very intense. If you are into horror and suspense, read it! It is not for the squemish, and it is very long read. It is told in such detail that you feel you are in the story. The movie and book have no compare, the book rocks, and is the best read i ever read!

Actually, I just want to correct the first on-line review about Eça's The Relic. That review or whatever that is does NOT refer to Eça's book. There must have been some kind of mistake. There are no brothers, haunted museums or anything of that sort in Eça's Relic which I, as a Portuguese enthusiastic reader and...professor of Literature, have read several times and studied/taught in College. Eça is unique, his writing equals only Saramago and Pessoa and he is the best possible approach to the Portuguese masterpieces of literature. I discovered his work when I was in my early teens and that decided my career. Please try to find a good translation of The Maias, Cousin Bazilio, The Sin of Father Amaro, The Illustrious House of Ramires or The City and the Mountain and bring them to the american public. I know some good translations by Carcanet Press in Manchester, UK. But please,correct your on-line review!

This is not, in my opinion Eça's best book. But for me everything he wrote has to be "5 stars" rated. it's a shame other books of his are not available on amazon.com. I consider Eça de Queiroz to be the best Portuguese novelist so my suggestion is that you discover his magnificence through those I consider to be his best novels: (I'll translate them but I'm not sure these are their titles) "Cousin Basílio", "The Maias", and "Cousin Basilio" (you can see this is my favourite). If you want to know about the Portuguese society of the late 18th century you'll find it all there. It's not that it had much to be proud of...

One has to be very cautious when reviewing this book, since there is much to give away about the plot and then ruin the reading for people. Teodorico Raposo becomes orphan as a child and is sent to Lisbon to live with his aunt, a terrible, unlikable and tyrannical religious fanatic who terrorizes everybody around her with her puritanism and obsessions. But she happens to be very rich and Teodorico her only relative alive. So he has to pretend ALL the time that he is just as fanatic as her aunt, while living a double life of pleasure and sin. One day, his aunt decides that before dying someone has to go to the Holy Land and get her some authentic relic of Jesus' times. And guess who she chooses to go there.
So Teodorico embarks towards Egypt and Palestine in what becomes a very funny adventure alongside his companion, the wise scholar Dr. Topsius. To go further would, as I said, risk giving away parts of the plot which are really unexpected and good. Suffice it to say that the travel includes a wonderful, colorful and vivid narration of the day when Jesus was crucified. It turned out to be a very enjoyable book by one of the best writers of the XIX century.

Morrow's book concludes with a chapter entitled "Two Roads," to revolution or to counterrevolution, to workers power or to Franco. It was not only the abstract need for socialism, that Morrow explains the Spanish revolution could have won only by going to workers power. The disastrous policies of the Stalinists, the social democrats, and the anarchist labor bureaucrats subordinated the struggle to the dictates of big business in Spain and imperialism abroad, the same forces that welcomed Franco.
Morrow is very good at explaining how this policy prevented the workers, peasants, and oppressed peoples in Spain from solving the many national and democratic tasks, supposedly solved in the US in 1776 and in France in 1789: land to the tiller, freedom from feudal rights and powers of nobility and church, national independence for the colonies in Africa, linguistic freedom and national rights up to self-determination for Catalonia and the Basque Country, to name a few. Fighting for these things was the natural reaction of popular masses in Spain as soon as Franco tried to overturn the republic. Sadly, Morrow shows how the Republican government lost because it turned its back not only on these rights, not only on socialism, but even the basic democratic right of workers and peasants to organize political parties, unions, workers councils, to publish and speak freely.
Morrow is not all depression and criticism. He saw with his own eyes the natural response of the working peoples in Spain to fight beyond the limitations of class collaboration. He saw how that power nearly defeated Franco and how it could have defeated Franco especially if the Republic had joined with the struggle of the colonial masses and oppressed nationalities to gain freedom Read Morrow and learn how the coming struggles will be victories and not defeats.

Socialist correspondent Felix Morrow writes a powerful account of the revolutionary uprising of Spain's workers and farmers in the 1930's and the heroic battles they waged to defend the rights and organisations won through struggle.

The counter revolution began in Spanish Morocco under the command of fascist General Franco, aided and abetted by Hitler and Mussolini while the liberal democracies from the United Sates to Britain and France, sitting under the shade of "neutrality" looked the other way secretly hoping for the Generals success.

For revolutionary fighters who thought the Soviet Union's bumbling help to the Spanish toilers was due to a series of bad misjudgements came to the realisation they were in fact coming up against counter revolutionary Stalinism.

Despite the impediments posed by social democracy and Stalinism, the Spanish workers had an ability to learn the lessons of previous events at great speed and combined with their almost unlimited capacity for struggle, were able to overcome what stood in their path.

However, they were let down not by the usual suspects but by the organisation that seemed to be the most free of the Stalinist and social democratic straightjacket - the POUM.

Morrow takes the reader through the earth shattering events that unfolded in Spain at the time and takes up central challengers facing that countries working people in the battle for state power.

A fascinating and powerful book, this tells the story of the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, of the heroic struggle by workers and peasants against the fascist revolt led by Franco and backed by Hitler and Mussolini.. It is full of rich lessons for today-- including of the role of the so-called western democracies, the governments of the United States, Britain and France, in undermining this struggle for fear of unleashing a deep-going workers revolution.

This fight went down to defeat, but the leadership lessons to be learned from this experience are invaluable today. The need for workers to organize independent of the parties and policies of the bosses, bankers and landowners; the importance of championing land reform for poor peasants and the rights of oppressed nationalities (in Spain's African colonies for example) as a precondition for forging unity in struggle, come through in vivid detail here. Also the sharp test in practice of the disastrous policies of different political currents vying for workers and peasants support: from the Moscow-led Communist Party, to the anarchists and the POUM.

Written as the civil war unfolded, this book documents the tremendous capacity of ordinary working people to fight oppression and change society, and the crying need for a leadership capable of leading this movement forward.

Although written in the late thirties, this is still one of the best titles on the Spanish civil war available. Unlike many other books on the subject, which analyze the events from either an anarchist or stalinist point of view, Morrow offers a socialist perspective. He illustrates quite well the shortcomings of both the anarcho-syndicalist CNT-FAI but does not fail to criticize the strategy and tactics of the "marxist" POUM either. Morrow takes specific events and shows how the POUM repeatedly failed to fill a revolutionary void due to its indecisive leadership. Indispensable reading material for socialist activists as well as readers with a general interest in labor history and revolutionary history.

Morrow was a great editor, a great journalist, a man who captured the spirit and realities of the Spanish civil war, not as an uncritical supporter of the Republicans, but as a revolutionary critique familiar with the lessons Leon Trotsky tried to give about the Russian Revolution, familiar with the betrayal of the class collaborationist leaders of the Communist and Socialist parties in Spain.
In this book we see in the flesh what we may here about in other writer's analysis of this civil war. I was always struck by how he shows the imporance of the struggle for land and support to the small farmers, not by analysis but by describing the debates he heard on this subject between Spanish peasants and Franco's troops.
The rise of Le Pen and France and the attempts of the same social democrats and stalinists to get workers in that country to subordinate the struggle to supporting Chirac is an errie echo of the same policies that Morrow shows led to the defeat in Spain.

This was the first book I read about the Camino and it remains, more than a decade and 40 similar texts later, still one of the very best such. If one is to read a single straightforward journal account I can think of no better introduction to the subject.

For my recent compilation of pilgrimage quotations ("Ultreia! Onward! Progress of the Pilgrim") I read all 40 or so contemporary English journal accounts available about the various routes. Stanton's is clearly within the first grouping of 8 or so best such books (i.e. largely those written by established authors and/or academics). And Stanton is immensely quotable; indeed, with 20 such abstracted for my review volume Ultreia!, the Road of Stars to Santiago was the single most quoted text of all.

When I bought this book I wasn't sure what to expect. I'd already purchased a couple of pilgrim guides but was hungry for more readable material. This isn't a pilgrim guide but rather a sort of journal of the author's experiences on the Way of St. James.

For anyone interested in the Camino, hiking or just a well written yarn that's hard to put down, I give "Road of Stars to Santiago" two thumbs up!

This is a fascinating book, and will appeal both to those who love travel tales and those on a spiritual quest. No self-described holy man, the author is frank about doubting his faith and his ambivalence in making the pilgrimage. Yet you see throughout the book how the journey emptied then replinished him He draws vivid word pictures about the sights, smells and characters that he encounters. If you have a desire to drop out of the hustle and bustle of life to learn to listen to the great, glorious creation around you and the Creator above, then this book will make your feet itch to begin your personal pilgrimage. I enjoyed this book thoroughly, and was enriched by the reading. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This book is powerful in its simplicity. Stanton's journey is mundane, but from the people he meets and the sites he visits, we learn much about life and travel.Books on the pilgrimage are plenty now, but I would recommend this one for the everyday traveler taking the path.

This is a great book and is a very useful guide to the pilgrimage. It is hard to find, and Amazon is doing a great service in trying to provide it for pilgrims. However extracts from the book with very useful information can be found at the Telegraph Online London web site in the TRAVEL section. Look search under Yahoo for Telegraph Online and then Browse the many pages and articles on the pilgrimage found under the travel section. The book is fully reviewed in the newspapers's travel pages, the site has many useful useful facts about the pilgrimage including a FAQ

I would recommend this book to anyone who has lived or is contemplating on moving to Europe. Alex's highlights of his family adaptation to a new country and culture provide a great sense of the emotional and operational adjustments that anyone new to a country will likely experience.

I was an ex-pat from the US to Germany and found it quite amusing how similar his experiences were with my own. Everyday is a wonderful new experience- some frustrating some very amusing- overall a must do if you have an opportunity to live somewhere else in the world for a period of time.

It is a very quick read- I read it on a flight from West to East Coast.

ENJOY!!

I have read many travel books about short visits to Spain, and I have seen books for individuals planning to move permanently to Spain, but this book is the only one I have found that addresses the needs of individuals traveling to Spain for 4 months to a year.

This interesting and easy to read book is the true story of an American family which relocates temporarily to Spain. The chapters include useful information about Spanish customs, culture and history, punctuated by charming stories of the family members' adjustment to life in Madrid.

A Sabbatical in Madrid: A Diary of Spain will help the temporary resident "hit the ground running," with enough basic information that he can establish himself quickly and make the most of his experience in Spain. I recommend it to students who will be studying in Spain (and to their parents) and to teachers and business people who will be living and working temporarily in Spain.

Written in diary form, Macario's book is a great read! I have only spent limited time in Madrid but have toured large sections of the country. As a result, I found it difficult to put the book down as I found myself reading about places I had been and things that I had done. I too shopped at Corte Inglés and brought home Mephisto shoes. I too became curious about bull-fighting and its lore. Nevertheless, the potential reader should not look at this as an insider's book. On the contrary, once one gets over the intimacy of experiencing this family's daily life and experiences, with which everyone can identify, there is a cornucopia of information written in a very easy-to-read format. There are so many varied glimpses of the author's reactions to things that they experienced and places they went, as well as a compelling description of daily life as albeit temporary transplants in Madrid. The details are what make it fascinating. It is a travelogue as well as a fascinating story of family life. Who would not be anxious and then gratified to learn that the small children's initial antagonism to a strange place and strange school, with people saying things they did not understand, would gradually give way to relative fluency and enjoyment of the madrileño way of life? I highly recommend this to anyone about to spend time abroad with their family, and to anyone thinking of visiting Spain for more than a day or two. ¡Vale la pena!

Excellent book: useful and very instructive and entertaining. A must read for anybody planning a visit to Spain of one day, one week, or one year. The longer the planned visit the more necessary it will become to read the book for learning about Madrid as part of Spain, and about Spain as part of Europe. This is one of the book's most remarkable strengths: it teaches us about the city and the country in a way that helps us to understand them, their peoples, and also Europe and Europeans. The book is a cornucopia of practical tips as well as insights on many things (from the Euro currency to favorite sports, and politics, and bullfights) a traveler must know when visiting a European country, Spain in this case. I think entertaining and instructive are the best words to describe this book. For example, the visit to the Museum of Queen Sofia in Madrid and the description of El Guernica (the famous painting by Picasso) and the author's reaction to it are extremely powerful and helpful for those who want to see the picture for the first or the nth time. The same can be said about his visit to El Prado and his comments about Las Meninas and Dali's paintings. In addition, the book contains innumerable passages useful for visitors who want to see the essentials in several other cities beyond Madrid. The book should be of particular interest to first-time travelers since it addresses their typical needs, affinities, and fears while providing clues on how to deal with them. The book is also a unique resource for those who have children and plan to stay for a while.

I found "A Sabbatical in Madrid" to be a delightful combination of anecdotal descriptions and interesting factual tidbits. Although I myself have lived in Madrid I still learned a few new bits of trivia which further added to my enjoyment of the book. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Spain. Those who have already had the pleasure of visiting there will nostalgically smile upon reading of favorite places in Madrid and the side-trips to Segovia, Toledo and elsewhere. People who have not yet traveled to this wonderful country will get a sense of life in Madrid which will likely increase their interest in planning a journey there to experience it first-hand.

Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (12/06)

Every now and then one discovers a guidebook that is not just useful and comprehensive, but also beautifully written and truly insightful. Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls have written such a guidebook to Spain, a wonderful country wonderfully introduced and presented to a reader who would like to discover more than just the couple of most well known sights and places to visit.

Offering practical advice on all the "when - how - where - how much - why" questions, with over 1200 suggestions for places to stay, over 1100 suggestions for places to eat and drink, 59 maps, fantastic color photographs and great suggestions on what to see and do, this truly informative book offers so much more. The short section in the "Introduction" gives you a glimpse into what to expect: "Keep your eyes open. Spain is a subtler country than many people think, and reveals itself in surprising ways. You may catch it in the moon reflected in the pool of the Alhambra, in the face of the Velázquez infanta, in a fond medieval jest such as the cats and the rats chiseled into the cloister in Tarragona, or in a lone eagle coasting over a fortified castle in Extremadura. Travel on a train through a sparse Andalucían district in the spring, and all at once your glance may take in more colour than you've ever seen: pink and almond blossoms, oranges on the trees, red poppies and yellow daffodils along the track bed. In a second it will be gone, but you will have seen Spain." If you follow the advice of the authors, I am certain that you will truly see Spain.

It does not matter which part of Spain you intend to visit, but in any case make sure to read the first six sections in the book - the "Introduction, History, Art and Architecture, Sketches of Spain, Food and Drink, Travel and Practical A - Z." Each of them offer invaluable information and tips to make your stay easier, more pleasant and richer. The "Sketches of Spain" deals with such diverse topics as the bullfights, churros, Templars, flamenco, the Inquisition and more. Reading those pages will make Spain much easier to understand. The Food and Drink sections explains how Spaniards eat, how to order and what to order. It also includes a very useful "menu decoder," which will make it much easier to order duck and get duck and not a turkey (pato - duck, pavo - turkey).

We used this guidebook during our brief visit to Barcelona and found it accurate, well organized and informative. The provided maps were extremely helpful and the numerous tips on different subjects even more so. We wanted to use the public transportation and thanks to this guidebook we found out that the ten single rides pass can be shared between several people, which saved us enough money to have some excellent coffee and cookies for the difference in price that we would have paid using single tickets.

I would highly recommend "Spain" to anybody who is willing to keep his or her eyes open, as the authors suggested in the introductory section. A book this well written will delight anybody who loves to travel, wishes to travel or is just dreaming of traveling.

I started looking at this guide because the Blue Guide, bastion of all things cultural it is, was sold out. However, Cadogan Guides proved that not only can it match Blue Guides step for cultured step, but does it with a wry humor and wit that is lacking from that venerable series. The format is plain but navigable, and the maps sufficient. But the strength of this guide does not lie in those areas.

Cadogan's writers are extremely knowledgable about Spain, and it shows on every page. If you don't want a guide book geared exclusively towards Ibiza-bound high schoolers, this guide will be much more in line with what you are looking for. That's not to say it's classist or for the rich! The deals and tips in here will appease the budget-minded traveler as well as expand the mind.

A person reading this book will not only understand the history and tradition behind what he or she is visiting, but will digest it in a manner that won't put them to sleep. Elegantly written, it shows that a person can be highbrow and have a sense of humor as well. Whether touring a museum or trying to find some great paella, Cadogan will help you appreciate and understand another part of our world. And I think, at one point, that used to be one of the reasons why people toured Europe.

All of the major tour companies serving Europe are British owned (Trafalgar, Insight, Globus, etc). The Brits know international travel, and when they do, they use Cadogan. This recently updated edition is a must have if you are going to Spain. Cadogan also publishes regional guides if you want even more detailed information. It is filled with more cultural and historical discussion than you will find in the "mass market" type guides like Fodors or Frommers. Clearly, the intelligent traveller's choice. The site, hotel, and restaurant recommendations are spot on, heed them. Five stars with no reservations whatsoever.

I believed the only other reviewer, bought the 6th edition, and am glad I did. My wife and I recently spent 3 weeks in the Northern half of Spain, much of it in regions that aren't covered in the standard guides. This book provided accurate, practical information and much more. With a lovely British sense of humor, it gave an insightful history and background to Spain that added a lot to our enjoyment of the sights we were seeing. I will take it with me the next time I go to Spain.

These two are the world's finest writers when it comes to travel guides. This book is not your average "Visit this site when you are in this city" kind of travel guide. Rather it is a guide filled with history and an understanding of each of Spain's regions that you would never expect to find in a travel guide. I read it before I visited Spain and have read it over and over since I returned.

This is what you would expect a history of any period to be like, but unfortunately few are. Bowen has done a masterful job in explaining what happened, why it happened, who made it happen, and who didn't. Almost every situation is explained as to the political, economic and military impact of what happened as well as thoughts on what different could have been done and what the effect might have been.

By keeping Spain out of direct belligerency, Franco protected Spain for the post-war era. Though his dictatorship was brutal, it was homegrown and homemade (except for the help of the German Air Force-Condor Legion) and for the most part, kept home. With belligerent armies in the millions, and forced labor in the millions; Spain contributed at most seventy thousand troops and workers all told, with fewer than 20,000 at any one time.

If you want to know what happened in Spain during WW2, this is your book.

This is an important new volume, filling a major gap in the recent history of Europe. But in addition to that, it is an engrossing and entertaining read!

For several decades after World War II, historians of the various fascist and semi-fascist movements tended to focus on the leaders, the party structure, international diplomacy, and issues related to the war. Only recently have historians begun to focus on the "little people" who supported these regimes. (This is in stark contrast to the historians of Marxism, who have much more often written about the devotion of the individual party members.)

Franco's regime was a complex one, combining elements of military dictatorship, fascism, and reactionary monarchism. Although Franco succeeded in steering a middle course between these elements, there were many radical members of the Falange who wanted closer ties to Nazi Germany. The motivations behind these people -- mostly young radicals -- have not been explored in any English-language history book until now.

In "Spaniards and Nazi Germany," the author (Wayne Bowen) examines the various individuals who advocated closer ties between Spain and Germany between 1933 and 1945. Germany aided Franco's Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, while the Soviet Union was aiding the Republican forces. When the Civil War ended, many observers expected Spain to become a close ally of Germany. But when Hitler struck a deal with Stalin in 1939, this changed. The Spanish Right had always seen Communism as their greatest foe. So when Hitler and Stalin gleefully carved up Catholic Poland, most of the Spaniards loyal to Franco realized that Hitler's ideology was not at all the same as theirs.

However, radical elements in the Falange refused to break ties with Nazi Germany. Many of them formed Spanish-German friendship groups, and even tried to undermine Franco's control of Spain. Finally, when Hitler double-crossed Stalin and invaded the USSR in June 1941, many young anti-Communist Spaniards volunteered to fight on the Eastern Front. These volunteers of the "Division Azul" ("Blue Division") ended up fighting alongside the Germans between Leningrad and Moscow.

Dr. Bowen does an excellent job of chronicling the activities of the pro-German Spaniards, as well as the controversies surrounding them. On a political level, Franco was trying to steer a course between the neutrality he desired for Spain and his tactical preference for whichever side seemed to be winning the war at any given time; on the other hand, the radical Falange saw politics in terms of the National Socialist "New Order" which they believed was the future of Europe. On an ideological level, most of Franco's supporters respected the Nazi Party's opposition to Communism, but distrusted its radicalism and its neo-paganism; again, this contrasted with the Falangists who saw Nazism as admirable. Even in the face of explicit German disdain for their "Latin allies", many of these radicals persisted in their loyalty to the Nazi ideals.

This is an excellent book which really opens a new chapter in the history of 20th Century Europe.

I enjoyed this book, which is very well documented with lots of footnoes and bibliography. The Nazis come off looking pretty arrogant about Spain, which they thought was at their beck and call. This book has everything a good history should: adventure, war, diplomacy, economics, conspiracies, and unexpected results. Excellent.

I really liked this book! My boyfriend is a real history buff, watching the History Channel all the time and everything, so I wasn't convinced I would enjoy it when he kept pushing me to look at it, but after I started reading Bowen's book, I couldn't put it down. There are a lot of amazing stories in it, like when Spaniards fought to defend Berlin at the end of World War II, and when Franco said "no" to Hitler -- and got away with it! For a history book, it's a pretty fun read!

This is an exciting story about my country's history during the Spanish Civil War and Second World War, when my grandparents endured starvation and political warfare. Professor Bowen has written a very interesting book, finding archives and research materials that no Spanish historian has used, to create this history which reads like a novel. I had no idea so many of my people were enthusiastically pro-Nazi, fighting in the German army, agitating for Spanish entry into the war, and volunteering, even after the war was lost, to help Hitler win. I had heard of the Blue Division, but thought these were soldiers Franco forced to go to Russia, not tens of thousands of volunteers who wanted to fight Stalin. Sometimes Bowen seems to go a little too easy on Franco, who contributed so much to making life difficult in Spain during this period, but I still recommend this book for everyone interested in the Second World War or Spanish history.

What an excellent book for delving into why the Spanish Civil War was lost to fascism when so many peasants and workers were willing to fight to the death for freedom.
Leon Trotsky writes the letters and articles printed here under harsh conditions of exile imposed by Stalin. Their counter posed political programs and the politics of anarchism are brought into life-and-death reality in these pages. A lot about the Russian Revolution too as Trotsky makes comparisons with Spain.
Trotsky fights for a political program to lead the working class and peasants to fight for their own cause against the capitalist class.
The outcome of the Spanish Revolution is history, but for those interested in the politics in Latin America and other parts of the world today this book is a great contribution to the debate on how to fight to win.

This contribution is being written in mid-2003, as the EZLN approaches its tenth anniversary of having taken the public spotlight. Why does the EZLN survive, when other rebel armies here in Mexico fade away? These others, such as the EPR, state they struggle for power, while the EZLN affirms that it doesnýt.

Nowhere is this apparent contradiction resolved more clearly and succinctly than in Trotskyýs The Spanish Civil War: ýAudacious social reforms represent the strongest weapon in the civil war and the fundamental condition for the victory over fascism.ý This truism is applicable everywhere, even in a country like this one which is not moving toward fascism.

The EZLN has carried out a deep going land reform and established near equality of the sexes in the areas it has liberated. The other rebel armies have not gone nearly as far in implementing social reforms as a critical part of the struggle for power.

Today working people face every problem Trotsky discusses in this book as economic crisis and wars, right wing and fascist movements, face us more and more. This can be a handbook of how to fight, and how to win.

This is nearly ten years of Trotsky's writings on the Spanish revolution that overthrew the monarchy at the start of the 1930s and the Spanish Civil War that went on from 1936 to 1939.
Trotsky believed the situation in Spain throughout these years was like the situation in Russia in 1917 where the struggle of workers for power on their own, supporting the democratic struggles of peasants for land, and of Spain?s colonies for national independence and Spain?s national and regional minorities for their rights, could have won, defeated fascism, and been a new beacon for world revolution. His discussions here are not academic. They are practical discussions with revolutionists on the front lines in Spain, with fighting workers around the world. Trotsky?s correspondence with Spanish revolutionist Andres Nin here is a primer on the importance of principle in politics and on the importance of building an international and internationalist revolutionary movement.
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This valuable contribution of the writings of Leon Trotsky, the Russian revolutionary, is essential for anyone trying to make sense of the forces involved in the Spanish Civil War, the revolution, and the defeats to fascism in the 1930s. The book contains letters of Trotsky to Spanish communists and fighters, analysis and opinion of what it would take for the workers to win, and the critical argument for united front actions with others to defeat fascism. Trotsky's writings in this collection are often day to day, written in a very readable style, and the editors have done a good job of footnoting to clarify points for the reader. One quote is worth noting re:the war in Spain: "In civil war, incomparably more than in ordinary war, politics dominates strategy. Robert Lee, as an army chieftain, was surely more talented than Grant, but the program of the liquidation of slavery assured victory to Grant." The Spanish people were not victorious; the fascists did win. This book helps to understand how, why, and even the what ifs...

Today working people face every problem Trotsky discusses in this book as economic crisis and wars, right wing and fascist movements, face us more and more. This can be a handbook of how to fight, and how to win.

This is nearly ten years of Trotsky's writings on the Spanish revolution that overthrew the monarchy at the start of the 1930s and the Spanish Civil War that went on from 1936 to 1939.
Trotsky believed the situation in Spain throughout these years was like the situation in Russia in 1917 where the struggle of workers for power on their own, supporting the democratic struggles of peasants for land, and of Spain?s colonies for national independence and Spain?s national and regional minorities for their rights, could have won, defeated fascism, and been a new beacon for world revolution. His discussions here are not academic. They are practical discussions with revolutionists on the front lines in Spain, with fighting workers around the world. Trotsky?s correspondence with Spanish revolutionist Andres Nin here is a primer on the importance of principle in politics and on the importance of building an international and internationalist revolutionary movement.
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I bought this fantastic little guide in a bookstore in Kathmandu. I used it during my trek around Annapurna and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Much better than the LP guide, and small enough that it doesn't get in the way.

This is definitely the best guidebook to carry while trekking in the Annapurna region: loads of maps with most of the teahouses labeled, accurate times for both directions, interesting cultural information, small so as to make it more portable, and fairly up to date. I used it in November 2007, so there are some changes as one would expect, but still is excellent. Highly recommend!

I found the information in the book was great help. The maps together with the estimated timings were particularly helpful in deciding the route to take.

In addition to the treks Bryn Thomas also gives useful information on places to stay.

We used the book when treking from Jomsom to Pokhara and it was invaluable.

This guide is all you need for the Annapurna. Beats the pants off Lonely Planet. Great maps, highlights, places to stay, etc.; small and lightweight; good gear list for preparing, info on when to go; bits on Kathmandu and Pokhara. We hiked the entire circuit and used Bryn several times each day.

I did the Annapurna Circuit trek (Around Annapurna) last September with this book. I was my bible.
The book has very good chapters about Nepal in general, Kathmandu and Pokhara but it's strength lies in the trail maps and text.
The maps are very very detailed (you can't get lost...), they indicate where is the next steep climbing and how much time does it takes to the next village. In the text you can find recommendations for eating and lodging (that never miss...).
The book covers all the popular treks in the Annapurna region but also offer side treks for more adventrous trekkers.

The bottom line : Worth every Penny!

Unknown Seas: How Vasco Da Gama Opened The East

By Ronald J.Watkins





In order to grasp the situation involving the century-old Portuguese story, one must note the historical implications, especially the economic as well as the self-interest of the nation, its political agendas, and the individual drives of the major players found in any monograph written about Vasco da Gama. In Watkin's version, the author's ability to tell the story from many viewpoints is useful in a comprehensive understanding of the events surrounding Vasco da Gama's life and times.

Given that any story written about Gama can never be fully presented, since what actually happened as well as what others said actually happened, remains the fodder of constant flux and debate since few documents survive to date, Watkins surely paints an intriguing portrait of the man. Vasco da Gama is known by the historicity of a dozen or so primary documents, those with historical authenticity that describe his story and the legendary status surrounding his lifetime achievements, and those written after his death. A good historian combines crafted methodologies related to primary and secondary sources that surely offer accurate timelines and descriptions noted as presentations of the events described. In Watkin's tale, we see elements of both historical accuracy and the solid skills of a good storyteller.

Thus, what can we learn from Ronald J. Watkin's version of events? This remains the ultimate question since one can sense that after reading the entire corpus, it appears to be a very interesting, if not, "a more than introductory account" of Gama's story, albeit, seen through prism the eyes of a 21st century writer.

Watkin's sources include: Rotiero of Gama's first voyage to India; Gasper Correia, The Three Voyages of Vasco da Gama, and His Viceroyalty, from the Lendas da India, (London,1869); Bailey Diffie and George D. Winnius, Foundations of the Portuguese Empire 1415-1580 (Minneapolis 1977), and S.E. Morison's Sailing Instructions of Vasco da Gama to Pedro Álvares Cabral. Other additional standard sources used by Watson includes H.V. Livermore's A New History of Portugal, Cambridge 1969); Edgar Prestage's, The Portuguese Voyages of Prestage's The Chronicle of Discovery and Conquest of Guinea and The Portuguese Pioneers ).

From the introduction to the conclusion, one finds Watkin's version of the account and his writing style at times excellent and poignant. Starting with a tale about Columbus and his historic meeting with John II of Portugal, until Gama's discovery, which led to "the blueprint of future Portuguese dominance of spice trade with all that that meant for the tiny, impoverished nation," one finds this tale compelling and though provoking. I highly recommend this excellent book.





Greg Robinson

I thought I've read everything about Vasco da Gama until I discovered this concise and interesting book. Very readable, it tells one of the most dangerous and adventurous sea voyages into a mythical and unknown region.

Every once and awhile someone will come along and write a book about a subject that has been researched, debated and otherwise covered so often before that it lacks appeal to the average reader. Under those circumstances, there is the temptation to pass by yet another telling of the same story. It is rare to find a fresh treatment of an historical event that was introduced to most Americans by a fifth grade textbook.

I don't know much about the author of "Unknown Seas" but I know a great deal about the tale he tells, having studied Portuguese history for years. That said, I would enthusiastically recommend his book because it is that rare combination of accurate reporting within a broad historical context, together with a fascination for detail that makes it an unexpected pleasure. I found no errors in the description of what actually happened and great fun in how the story was told.

Vacso da Gama's voyage to India was arguably one of the most significant sea journeys in recorded history. At the time it occurred it had a far greater impact upon European culture, politics and its economy than all of Columbus' multiple trips to "the new world" combined. Ronald Watkins takes the reader on this remarkable adventure but he also supplies the necessary historical background, as well as the motivations and personalities of the principal characters involved to give the story a deeper meaning. If you want an academic treatment of da Gama's extraordinary achievement, read C.R. Boxer. But if what you are looking for is a detailed accounting of how a skilled leader and often ruthless adventurer from a small nation, with limited human resources but brilliant leadership, literally changed first medieval Europe, and ultimately the world, get this book. It won't disappoint.

The history of Portuguese exploration and discovery in Africa and Asia is fertile ground for a dramatic tale, and the author does a good job of conveying a sense of excitement and wonder, placing the reader in the shoes of someone witnessing the events for the first time.

While I found the general lack of citations disappointing, the book is easy to read while still providing detailed history of events. This book would make a great introduction for anyone with even a slight curiousity about this period in history.

Further reading of more scholarly books will provide the nitty-gritty details of the various source materials (as well as the disputes by historians about various aspects) but this book avoids scholarly debate and the modern tendency to attempt to knock every historic figure off his pedestal. Overall a pleasure to read.

I would just note that, unlike the some of the other reviewers, I found no trace of the author making excuses for the slave trade or any other such events. What the author has done is put the actions of the Portuguese in their proper historical context as opposed to viewing them through the lens of modern values.

This is a fascinating and well-researched account of how the Portugese opened up the route to India. The author creates an atmosphere that drags the reader in totally and leaves him thirsting for more than the vicarious participation in the events of those times that it offers. The only irritant in this otherwise excellent book is the author's repeated lame "defence" of the slave trade, religious intolerance, and imperialist violence.

this book was great, talked me out of going, realize that all that heat and dirt was not for me, will go trekking in nepal instead, much cooler temps, author did this to add to her spiritual credentials,alll about herself and her inner thoughts, suspect she had not been out of the USA before.

cheers

As she approached her 60th birthday, spiritual writer and retreat leader Joyce Rupp abandoned her plan to hole up for a six-month sabbatical by the ocean to bask in solitude. Instead, she embarked on a 37-day walking trek across Spain with her friend Tom Pfeffer. The two prepared and trained for a year before making the historical pilgrimage from Roncesvilles on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees to the Cathedral of St. James in the city of Santiago, a journey commonly referred to as "the Camino."

Walking in the "relaxed manner" in the title was one of the first lessons these two self-described productive-oriented people learned. At first, Rupp explains, they believed their goal was to reach Santiago, but they eventually discovered that the walk itself imparted spiritual empowerment. Rupp goes into some detail about her competitive nature as their self-prescribed 12 miles was surpassed regularly by other "pilgrims." For the first few days, the two succumbed to their natural tendency to rush, rush, rush, and push, push, push. In the end, they agreed to take the advice of a friend who had walked the Camino earlier: "drink more water and walk in a relaxed manner."

Rupp laces the story with such insights, always connecting the events and experiences with "routine" life and sharing the positive effects the journey had on her. Her chapter on realizing "a tiny bit" what it is like to be homeless is especially thought-provoking. Following a transaction at a bank, Rupp was convinced the clerk thought, "This smelly pilgrim with her dirty hiking boots dug into this pack of weird things and, whew, the odor that came from that bag, it was enough to gag me..." The homelessness image also came up when she found herself in settings for which she was not "appropriately dressed" and other situations where she was "pierced" by disdainful looks and rejection.

Like Rupp's other books, Walk in a Relaxed Manner is filled with down-to-earth stories and deeply spiritual reflections.

Back in the summer of 2003, I visited a former seminary roommate in Leon, Spain. I showed up a couple of days before his wedding after backpacking through Amsterdam, Paris, London, and Madrid. While strolling together through Leon, my Spanish friend remarked that people thought I was a "Pilgrim" because of my clothing and backpack. I asked him to clarify, and he replied that Leon was on the path of the Camino Pilgrimage. Thus began my interest in the topic.

"Walk in a Relaxed Manner" was the first book I read about the Camino. It's newly published, written by a 60-year-old nun who walked the Pilgrimage around the time I was in Leon. She hit the trail with a retired priest, and this book was born from that experience. The subtitle and theme is "Life Lessons From the Camino," and each chapter is based on a way she grew due to the Pilgrimage. For example, the book's title is shared with a chapter where Sr. Rupp describes how she learned to walk slowly and thoughtfully instead of quickly and competitively. Other chapter titles include "Savor Solitude," "Deal with Disappointments," and "Live in the Now." Such topics may strike some as trite. But I found it impressive that more often than not, it was the walk's difficulties that enabled her to internalize these truths.

The author writes in a clear and readable manner. She rejoices in the high points of the Pilgrimage, and is honest about the lows as well. Each lesson is presented in a thoughtful manner, and all are applicable to everyday life. However, like many spiritual insights perhaps some sort of defining experience is required to truly own them. But reading about these truths may be a way to prepare the heart for their eventual actualization. Although a Catholic nun in the Servite Community, Sr. Rupp keeps things fairly ecumenical throughout her tale. In addition, practical advice about the Pilgrimage is sprinkled throughout the book, and a list of helpful Camino resources is included at the end. There's even an authorized website based on Joyce Rupp's name if you want more info about her.

Someday I'd like to do the El Camino Pilgrimage. I hope I don't have to wait until my sixties, but sometimes you have to let things happen in their time. If I do walk it, I'll be glad if I learn and grow half as much as Sr. Rupp did. Recommended for all travelers and pilgrims.

UPDATE 9/7/07: Well, I only had to wait until I was forty to do the Camino. On 7/14/07 I stepped off in St. Jean Pied-de-Port (France), and on 8/24/07 I walked into Santiago, Spain. After returning home to the US, I went through this book again. It was nice reading about familiar places on the Way, and also to identify with the lessons Ms. Rupp writes about. Recommended even more now that I've actually done the trek.

Reflections of this Catholic sister, as she walks the Camino with the semi retired priest of her parish.

This journey of two people of faith met with all the challenges the Camino can offer. Joyce started out as what I call an overachiever, and Tom as a steadying influence.

A couple concepts stuck in my brain from chapters of this book. Enjoy existential friendships. Return a positive for a negative. Negative things do happen, but Joyce would make a determined effort to see the positive - a concept I accept, but sometimes have difficulty applying.

I enjoyed this thoughtful book.

This is an amazing book about an amazing experience--walking across Spain--and well after midlife. We share the hardships and blessings of this journey and are able to walk, talk and think in a relaxed manner while reading it. There are lessons subtly given that everyone can shsare.