Portugal Books

This was a great story of the adventure for a young couple who fall in love with Spain, buy a farm and try to make a life without modern conveniences. I laughed out loud many times while reading it and was sorry to have their adventure, and the story, end.

I think the author wrote this book as an act of revenge for what his girlfriend did to him while they were living together in a rural farmhouse in Spain.

It makes for thoughtful reading on what can go wrong if you live far away from the creature comforts of life with electricity, water & food on tap and take it for granted. The author lives in an outlying rural region without any connection to electricity and tap water is from a well. To confound things, the land is not very fertile, as summers can be very hot and rains are not frequent. Only certain types of vegetation can thrive.

I would label this book as "Survivor with Realism" theme. Not your normal "Survivor" series, but what is actually required of you given the constraints of nature. It is not your normal expatriate living abroad squabbling with builders, engaging with townfolk though there is some episodes on that, enjoying wine types of Peter Mayle's world.

A good read if you want to know how the rest of rural Spain lives.

I'm not much of a book reviewer, but I picked up this book recently, merely on the attraction of the title "How NOT To Live Abroad". Hmm, I tought that looked pretty interesting. I was not disappointed, it was a compelling read all around.

The basic premise of the book is that Shaun Briley (the son of Jon Briley, who scripted the "Gandhi" movie blockbuster) and his girlfriend are living uncomfortably with her mom in the UK, and so decide to go on vacation to Spain to escape the mom. Totally unplanned they end up buying a rural farm house in deep Spain, thinking this would be eternal bliss of sun and coctails. The book cronicles the pair's misadventures in adjusting to that rural life (no modern amenities we take for granted such as electricity, bathroom, etc.), while at the same time describing the ups and downs, and ultimate demise, of the couple's relationship.

Briley writes with a great sense of humor, and the pages fly by. As a transplant myself (but not to a rural setting), I took an immediate liking to the book, and found it hard to put down. I highly recommend as perfect beach reading for the coming summer!

I read this in two days!The author documents his move to a small rustic town in southern spain in which he and his girlfriend buy a small home. The accounts of the people he meets and much of the miscommunications between him and the people are very personable and humorous. The author is an English-American so he comes from a mixed viewpoint which means you can identify both with his reflections as well as his initial impressions of the people he meets. I still laugh when I think of his misadventures!

This is the most thoroughly researched biography of Queen Isabel found in English. Written by an American historian, it's surprisingly readable.

Dr. Carroll has again done a magnificent job of making history interesting. His portrayal of Isabel is gripping, his scholarly foundation is excellent, and his style is highly readable. I especially appreciated his comments on the Spanish Inqisition - a viewpoint you won't hear from most historians! Isabel is one of the most admirable women figures in the history of the world, and an excellent model for all women concerned with true feminism. Her humanity, intelligence, compassion, wisdom and courage are inspiring. Thank you, Dr. Carroll, for your service to the truth in bringing her so vividly to life.

I want to counter the reviewer of this book who was so angered by it. I found this book to be in agreement with other historians who look at Isabel in the light of her times without modern prejudices and preconceptions. She was an exceptionally great historical figure; this book tells you why. It will help you to understand Isabel's world and how she took a corrupt and chaotic state and ushered it into a golden age.
Another great biography of Isabel is William Thomas Walsh's "The Last Crusader, Isabella of Spain" published in 1930. I recommend reading both biographies.

In the most glowing terms, the author enamored of this Queen, makes excuses for her bad behavior. Using the "times" as a rationale, he mentions that she expelled the Jews, pursued the Moors, executed people who said they had converted to the Catholic religion. The inquisitions began under her reign. What, for heaven's sake is there to be proud of? However, this slavish tome does just that. She did have to fight for her rights as a monarch in a time when women were relegated to royal cows. That much I'll say, but this book mostly angered me. Now, if she had been forward thinking, I'd say that was something to read about.

Still Waters

A light breeze kisses a mountain lake;

a ripple of delight. So deep felt is

the caress that the lake undulates long

after the breeze has gone.

This is one of the early poems from Jan Oskar Hansen's Letters From Portugal, and it tells us much, in its four lines, about this poet. Firstly, there is a sensuousness about the language, an appreciation of nature through the senses that is not filtered through the reductive intellect. Secondly, this is an affirmation for the poet: the delight he feels is entirely natural and untaught. Then, beneath the surface of the appreciation of nature, we become aware that Hansen is touching on wider issues: the breeze is a 'caress', and the undulation of the lake is surely also that of a human body. The overall effect is very pleasing, and this is something that one finds throughout Letters From Portugal: the surface of the poem is only an entry into the bigger world of the poet's consciousness.

Bewrite have kindly given us, through the good auspices of their poetry editor, Heather Grace, a series of prose insights into Hansen's life and poetry at the opening of the book. This is certainly a poet who has lived life and travelled, both physically and mentally, and this breadth of experience continually reveals itself throughout Letters From Portugal. This is particularly noticeable in the section 'On People', from which 'The Blessed' is taken:

The Blessed

Handicapped beggars fight

for the best position

nearest the church's door;

the one with spiked

crutches wins.

We who have communicated with

God are in a mellow mood,

give more coins than we should,

which we notice with annoyance

when we pay for a coffee and

have to break into a note.

That's why we scowl at the

beggar in the town square,

ignore his outstretched, dirty

palm and silly grin.

We are going to church

next Sunday too,

to feel blessed while

beggars fight outside.

The poet presents this story in the simplest language, and makes no apology for the emotions expressed. It is we, the readers, who are left to reflect on what Hansen really thinks of this kind of Christianity. It is sobering to reflect that there were beggars in the New Testament, and still, 2000 years later, our society is as graspingly materialistic as it ever was. Hansen tells us this without needing to spell out his own feelings on the subject, and the message is all the more powerful for that.

It would be invidious to quote every poem in this book that gave me pleasure, and obviously, in the scope of a review, this is just not possible. Hansen is a writer who embraces the big subjects, although his canvases are miniaturist, and I recommend this book to those who have not come across his excellent work before. Let the poet have the last word though. In Two Lonely People Together, he writes of a love that is fleeting and unsure, and seeks solace in 'a book about love'. I am sure many will find solace in Letters From Portugal, and much fine poetry too:

Two Lonely People Together

It was late. We had been drinking

wine, and you asked me to stay.

The bed was unmade; a faint scent of

aftershave in the air. I wondered how

many men slept in your bed before you got

around to changing the sheets. If wine isn't an

aphrodisiac, it surely is an anesthesia

of the mind, and with the light off, the ghosts

of men past disappeared. When you gently

snored, the rhapsody of humanity lost,

I got up and sat in your living room,

reading a book about love.

Review by Tony Lewis-Jones
Poet in Residence
Bristol Evening Post, UK
24.5.03

Letters From Portugal is an honest picture of the world and human nature in all its beauty and tragedy portrayed in a lovely collection of poetry. Jan Oskar Hansen gives voice to the everyday man in an everyday world. Simplicity is as its best when this talented poet expresses straightforward awe at nature and all living creatures, vegetable and animal alike.

Within this scope he bears witness to those forgotten men, women and children some would avoid seeing. Innocently drawing our attention to a currently pervasive immunity towards suffering in our society, Mr. Hansen is never judgmental in tone, nor does he set himself apart. His poems are like black and white snapshots of life, reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth's paintings.

"City at Night" is a potent example of this brilliant picture painting. The scene, a simple view from an urban hotel room window, does not divulge its emotional effect until the last.

"An empty beer can clatters
in the night, a window opens,
and for a moment,
loneliness lingers."

With a talent for encapsulating human emotion as inspiring as it is original, Mr. Hansen's penetrating insight into loneliness and loss pervades much of his work. However, he can also cleverly dispatch a touch light as ambrosia, slightly winking at you with his words. This good natured humor is at its best in "If I Should". He entreats that when he dies, he'd like his last thoughts to be of he and a young Marilyn Monroe talking and walking in the woods together. With a gentle imaginative style of reflection, Jan Oskar Hansen is the true poet's poet and his writing is delightful reading even for the infrequent reader of poetry.

'Jan Oskar Hansen writes with an openness and simplicity which will refresh the most jaded of palates. His extraordinary achievement in Letters from Portugal ranks him as an important new voice in global poetry.'

This book is hard to lay down.

The "Letters" are stories told with finely-tuned sensibility by Jan Oskar Hansen, a poet who has sailed the seven seas of his inner and outer worlds. Because of their range, loving acceptance of life and unflinching honesty, the stories will appeal even to those who don't usually read poetry, and sophisticated readers will discover new truths and newly experience old ones.

The poet takes Life on and goes from overview into its nooks and crannies. Our own lives are shown to be larger and more interesting than we'd realized. The gentle nobility and empathy that pervade the lines compel us to experience and enjoy our own humanity. Mr. Hansen is a powerful communicator.

From Letters from Portugal:

Winners and Losers

As the rich Iraquis are fleeing Baghdad,
the poor are left behind, and as always,
in every war fought, it is the not-haves
who die. The foot soldier too, in his fox
hole, where war propaganda is suddenly
rendered valueless, is usually from a city
slum or from a tiny homestead.

Far from the battlefield, the sons
of the powerful join the National Guard,
wear spended uniforms, talk tough.

###

To Be in Love

Once, but only once, was I in love.
Pink clouds bumped my head on
morning stars. Smiled to everyone
and was incredibly kind, which in
the end was my downfall, because
some women can't resist a man in
love, wanting to possess that inner
glow to warm their lonely hearts.
I was led astray, eating the icing on
the cake of love. She didn't see it
that way, and dumped me cruelly.
Sadly watched the cake get stale; its
icing melt. Let me fall in love
once more, and this time get it right.

###

There are many poems rich in fantasy in this collection and those in which fantasy and reality intermingle, so that we are compelled to recognize that any rigid separation is of our own making.

In his essay, "The Case for Popular Poetry," Joseph Sobran makes a plea for poetry that will "stick to the ribs," reach his heart and mind and stay with him. I hope he finds these poems.

Bonuses: the book has an excellent introduction and an interview with the poet. At the end is a brilliant touch -- a section titled "Emails from a poet to his editor."

Close to seventy years after the events, the Spanish Civil War continues to stir the deepest passions. Gamel Woolsey's memoir of what it was like in a the village of Churriana, just outside Málaga, when the war broke out in July of 1936 is a fascinating account that describes with great feeling how individuals suffered and had their lives overtaken by forces beyond their control.
This book was originally published in England in 1938 under the title "Death's Other Kingdom" but was never published in the US until this edition, newly titled, was published under the editorship of Zalin Grant.
The book is very short on factual details and makes surprisingly few references to actual events beyond the walls of the farm house she shared with husband Gerald Brennan. Yet, she captures with sensitivity the uncertainty, anxiety and absolute terror that overtook Spain at that time. (Read this along with Orwell's classic "Homage to Catalonia", written around the same time and Ramon Sender Barayon's "A Death in Zamora.)
Woolsey's memoir is best for what it tells us about the basic division that tore Spain apart and how ordinary people in a small village suffered the consecuences.

This is a strange book: it is a gentle and lyrical work of a poet on the subject of one of the bloodiest episodes in Spanish history, a history notorious for its violence. It is a book a people capable of great kindness and of gentle behavior; but it is also about the hinted violence and horror produced by a folk seeped in a history of brutality who turn upon each other.

The Spanish Civil War, from abroad, still resonates with the romanticism and the dashing braveness of foreigners is Spain; strangers of all types played in this Spanish sandbox of blood and terror. The literature that emerged from the war was perforce partisan, Manichean, judgmental. This little book by Gamel Woolsey made its appearance in 1939 under the title of DEATH'S OTHER KINGDOM, and promptly vanished from sight in the shadow of Orwell's HOMAGE TO CATALONIA and the turbulence that preceded WWII. Now it has been published again under this new title, and rightly so, for it is a delicate and non-partisan narrative, such as only a poet would produce. Those who have very strong opinions about the war and its players will at first be disappointed by the book's apparent blandness (at least I was); but after a day or two, the true horrors that are only hinted in the book will dominate one's consciousness and perhaps illuminate more clearly the nature of the conflict.

There are a few objectionable efforts at translation, unaccetable in these days of easy information: the ancient Castillian song "Esta si es siega de vida" ("This, now, is the reaping of life..." is translated as "This, this is the sowing of life..." rather entirely changing the meaning and making the poem pointless. An additional linguistic failure is in the mention of the peculiar Spanish verb used to denote that someone is wearing new clothes for the first time: "estrenar" which appears in the book as "estreñar" (meaningless but perilously close to "estreñir," which means "to constipate").

Despite those minor faults, this is a haunting book that stays with you, and certainly an obligatory read for Spanish Civil War aficionados, of which there are surprisingly many in this country.

The American poet Gamel Woolsey was born at the turn of the century in Charleston, South Carolina, where she spent her childhood before moving to New York and a career on the Shakespearean stage in the 1920s. In 1930, she met the British writer, Gerald Brenan, married him, and moved to his home in Churriana, in southern Spain. Although both Brenan and Woolsey sought to be remembered foremost as poets, today they are far better known for their prose works -- Brenan, especially, is recognized as one of the great Hispanists of the 20th century.

Woolsey's remarkable book, "Death's Other Kingdom" (1938?), is far less known than her husband's writings, but for no good reason. Fortunately, it has now been edited, given a new title ("Malaga Burning"), and made available for the first time in the United States by Brenan's one-time neighbor Zalin Grant, who rightly acclaimed it one of the best memoirs of the Spanish Civil War. Grant has also happily removed the mysogynistic preface by Woolsey's brother-in-law that appeared in the British edition.

"Malaga Burning" is Woolsey's eyewitnees account of the first seven weeks of the war in Málaga and its outskirts. Among Civil War memoirs it is unique, for it is one of only a handful written by women and, in addition, it moves beyond the "great events" of the war and the experiences of foreigners, to focus, instead, on the agony of ordinary Spaniards of all classes and political persuasions. Sandra Mardenfeld criticised the book for this in the "New York Times Book Review", saying that Woolsey "provides little education about the war; rather her story captures the cruelties of humankind without offering much context." Ironically, the author would agree 100%.

Woolsey is decidedly apolitical. She portrays all groups -- anarchists, communists, fascists, even refugee Englishwomen sipping tea in Gibraltar -- as equally inclined to ferocity and (with the exception of the latter group!) brutal murder. One of the central parts of the book narrates her struggle to help a Málaga businessman escape death at the hands of the anarchists. Yet Woolsey is not inclined to sympathize with the fascists -- at night, she can see the smoke and flames rising from Málaga from her home several miles off, nationalist bombs bursting over civilians' heads, shattering their world to ruins. She is also critical of the many journalists who flocked to Spain to scoop up stories about "anarchist atrocities" and the "Red terror". In fact, she coined the term "pornography of violence", noting how effete Englishmen and anti-communists seemed to enjoy reading horror stories about raped nuns and wealthy families burned alive in their homes, stories often made up to satisfy this very lust for exploiting other people's nightmares.

Obviously, the book isn't a "pleasant" read, but it's an incredibly important one. Woolsey's vivid writing makes for emotionally engaging, profoundly stirring book that no one who is interested in Spanish or European history should miss. 5 stars.

This account of the Spanish Civil war was written more about the incidents involving people at the small town of Malaga where poet and writer Gamel was living with her husband. It dwells on the savage cruelty that humans are capable of more than the political situation between the Republicans and the Communists. This is very moving, sad, and punches straight at the soul. I highly recommend this book as one of the very best ever written on the bloody Spanish Civil War.

but this one is a lame reproduction of the the big lebowski
i know it is very very hard to write, so my respect for that. but this novel is not like cactus killer. sorry, but a brilliant star fading

What a great book! Especially if you are a baby boomer. Terrific plot and great characters - make sure you have a big enough block of time to get through this - I read it on a cross-country flight and the time just zoomed by.

Okay, I admit it, the only reason I bought this book was because I read an online review which mentioned that this book was filled with references to The Who and in fact, every chapter was titled after a Who song! Well, I love to read and I love The Who even more so I decided to buy this book. I stayed up very late for three nights in a row until I finished "One Last Hit", it was hard to put down! I loved the sly references throughout and especially adored all the Who references; the woman drummer with a photo of Keith Moon on her desk, the autographed photo of Pete Townshend from eBay - - and the last bit of the book, where Joe Portugal hears that John Entwistle died, really DID make me cry. Thank you Nathan for writing this book and thank you for dedicating it to John Entwistle - you BOTH rock! I'm waiting for the sequel . . .

This was the first time I read Nathan Walpow, but won't be the last.

"One Last Hit" is the third Joe Portugal book and revolves around Joe's exploits as he gets his old band, The Platypuses, back together and his search for their elusive lead guitarist. The problem is that somebody's trying to kill members of the band not long after they reunite.

Joe is a very likable character and the dialogue is fast and funny. Walpow also gets in plenty of musical references through his character, mentioning "unsung" (no pun intended) bands and albums that may just have the unfamiliar looking them up. A nice touch is that chapters are titled with Who/Pete Townshend song names. Fans of a good mystery and '70s rock will enjoy this fun book.

A quick note on the publisher, UglyTown: they are the reason I bought "One Last Hit" in the first place. They publish beautifully designed paperbacks and whether they choose the authors or the authors choose them, it's a good fit. I have everything they've ever put out (including a series for teens) and enjoyed them all.

Os Lusiadas is often said to be the Bible of the Portuguese. Besides being of historic importance, it is also one of the most important works in Portugal's literary heritage. Os Lusiadas is a historic journey into the Age of Discoveries and, simultaneously, an encounter with one of the world's most beautiful epic poems and the genius behind the magic - Luis de Camoes.

"Os Lusiadas" is an epic account of Vasco Da Gama's first sea voyage to India. It is written in the same style as the classic poems of antiquity and it elevates the Portuguese spirit of discovery and bravery to pinnacles of achievement. The Portuguese version is hard to read, but the English translation is in prose and is a delightful story with great historical significance. The title means "The Portuguese" sons of Lusos, brother of Romulus, and mythical founder of Lusitania.

This is simply the best book ever to be written by any poet in any time in history, in any language. It is essential to any person who is willing to study poetry or literature. This is truly the masterpiece of world literature and a book that is a pillar of mastery, brilliance, and genius. It is just the best book ever written.

"Os Lusíadas" is simply the best poem ever writen. All Portuguese speakers and students should read it to know how beautifully a language can be treaty.

This book accurately portrays the other 1492, not the discovery of America, but the persecution of the Jewish people of Spain. Finkelstein intellegently lays out the facts of the historical events of the time in a way which both young readers and adults can comprehend. The book was mentioned in the New York Times book review several years ago and is a must read for any history buff.

I was looking for further reading for my 12 yr old on the time period of the reign of Isabella and Ferdinand in my local library, and this is all I found, so I borrowed it. It was fascinating. I am not Jewish, but it makes the time period more interesting to understand the important role of the Jewish people, and how badly they were treated for hundreds of years due to the lack of separation of church and state in Spain and Portugal at the time. Other countries had more religious tolerance, and it is interesting to see how this shapes the course of history and the exploration for and control over trade routes. It covers a long time span, giving some background from Roman times and then focusing more on medieval times of exploration.

This is an exceedingly interesting and for the most part accurate account of Spain's expulsion of the Jewish people, for young people aged 12 and up. The nine chapters cover some 93 pages, and include a number of reproductions of etchings, maps and other historical illustrations. The topic is entirely the trail of tears suffered by the Jewish people at the hands of Christian Spain.

The book's one deficiency concerns the preceding era of Muslim rule of Andalusia. It portrays this time frame, from the 8th through the 13th centuries, as one of peace, prosperity and universality.

This, however, is a gross oversimplification, and misrepresentation. The earlier era was one of militancy and war. Spain was pillaged and burned during the 711 invasion by Tariq. Cordoba's factories alone produced 1,000 bows and 20,000 arrows a month, and 1,300 shields and 3,000 tents a year--used, according to Richard Fletcher, to ravage the area. The supposedly learned and cultured 10th century sultan 'Abd al-Rahman owned 3,750 slaves in his palace alone. Barcelona was sacked in 985, along with the monastery at San Cugat del Valles. Combra was plundered in 987. Leon and Zamora were pumelled in 988. Osma was destroyed in 989, and so on.

As we see, even Andalusia's supposedly ultra-harmonious 10th century was hardly that. In 977, Almanzor (meaning 'the victorious'), undertook a first campaign against Leon, which he ravaged. His 997 campaign against Santiago de Compostella was only "the most daring and notorious of a series of hammer-blows which the Andalusi armies under Almanzor's leadership delivered to the Christian principalities," writes Fletcher. The Jews escaped none of these escapades unscathed, either.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

This is a readable, interesting account of the events that led to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Although listed in the juvenile literature section, it is a mature and fascinating text.

I am shocked there are not more books about the personal life of this interesting person in history. This book gives a very good picture of Philip II and the forces that shaped him and the religion that governed every aspect of his life, loves and holy causes. Because of his long reign, and dealings with all the important persons of the 16th century, his personal attitudes shaped so much by his childhood, influenced the political, social and religious tide of that time. The conquests of lands in the name of God, influences the geography and history of today

This book gives you many different views of Philip II. Quotes coming directly from text written in the 14th century. Details about every aspect of his life in full detail. When I ordered it for my 11 pg. essay of him, this was exactly what I was looking for.

Geoffrey Parker wrote tight, leaving nothing extra or unneeded in "Philip II" which I rate a very concise story of the man behind the king. Parker drew from good research and could have included other aspects which may and may not have been true but he chose the journalistic route which leaves the reader with a stronger sense of knowing King Philip II, one of the most influential monarchs in the world. Parker's text gives thought to the effects of Philip's daily habits and events in his life which still have an effect in Spain and parts of the then Spanish Empire. Parker's effort reads well and should be included on the list of any serious follower of old or modern Spain, or of any countries effected by its empire. I read through it in four brisk sittings. Mike McIlvain

I picked up this book by chance from my father's personal library and found it to be a wonderfully written work on the life of Philip II.

An aspect I like about this book is that the author -- Geoffrey Parker (who at one point taught at Christ's College) -- tries to give as much of an objective account as he can, recognizing that the life of Philip II has been distorted by historians who have had a Protestant bias (and therefore portrayed Philip II as an inflexible tyrant) and who otherwise have not appreciated the cultural contributions of Spain because of what he describes as the "Black Legend" (wherein the Spanish are believed to be "tainted" with Jewish and Moorish blood).

Mr. Parker appears to exonerate Philip II of many simple-minded charges, and portrays him as a very competent and astute ruler with a strong intellectual curiosity who devoted his life to the Catholic Church. Philip II was somewhat of a connoisseur on art, who enjoyed the works of Bosch and Titian, but who happened to overlook the genius of El Greco. Another interesting detail in the book is Philip II's enthusiasm for hunting.

The book gives a good overview on Philip II's numerous wives and children (he was married 4 times and some of his children were stillborn). It also allows one to understand the period under which the Netherlands was ruled by the Spanish as well as of the "taming" of the New World, as well as the aftermath of the Armada disaster.

King Philip II preferred a very centralized government. He was an indefatigable ruler who did an incredible amount of paperwork.

Philip II is portrayed as an enlightened ruler who at times showed incredible mercy to his subjects. He even dressed like the common man and did not require subjects to bow down to him as did other monarchs. This was the quintessence of "Spanish nobility."

Descriptions are detailed and basically accurate. However, this edition is 3 years old and getting out of date, especially for the club information (Pacha is really past it, for instance). Could use some more photos. Overall, I got my money's worth -- the physical info and rating of beaches etc is essentially excellent. Also, it turned me on to some of Ibiza's history, such as Elliot Paul's Life and Death of a Spanish Town. I only spotted one outright mistake: There is NO beach at Cala D'Aubaurca, although the cliffs there are really spectacular and well worth a vist -- and there will be no one else there.

If you like this book about Ibiza, take a look to one of the following links: http://www.balearicpictures.net http://www.mallorcapictures.com http://www.menorcapictures.com http://www.ibizapictures.net http://balearicpictures.net http://mallorcapictures.com http://menorcapictures.com http://ibizapictures.net

This guide was excellent, and extremely comprehensive. We went to Ibiza in Sept 2001 for the clubs' closing parties, but managed to hire out a car for a three days and explored the island. You've got to get to Atlantis, an amazingo quarry with weird hippy carving and to some of the beaches in the north. The restaurants recommended in the RG were also very well chosen - check out Bambuddha Grove for Thai food...mmmmm...

As a travel guide, this book succeeds on a superficial level but fails to deliver the "real" knowledge that a traveler to Ibiza seeks. I'd like to insert a caveat here and say that much of the info that an Ibiza traveler is looking for is probably not something that any author in their right mind would put in a book. this book is mostly filled with info on how to book a flight, find a hotel, commute to the clubs or beaches, and where to eat. Great, if you are traveling to the Grand Canyon, or Great Wall of China but I doubt people go Ibiza to do the "tourist" thing. The book did touch on some wild incidents that were reputed to have occurred in the past causing my imagination to run wild. But overall, the book is very basic. I wish the "Let's Go" series would publish a book on Ibiza. They always put in what you want to know.

This book has tons of information about Global Warming and Climate Change, however as someone who has no knowledge of the science behind weather and global warming, I found the book a bit hard to understand. It was a bit complicated and overly scientific for a "global warming beginner". I found it a bit overwhelming - the font is super small, pages are crowded.

The Rough Guide to Climate change was a surprising masterpiece. It presents complex scientific concepts in a highly readable manner. It is extremely informative, with more perspectives on the climate change debate than other sources I have checked out. And it makes sense of the diversity of opinions in the scientific community about the ways in which global warming is and will be effecting the world. In this sense, it is a very balanced sourcebook. Most of all, it is incredibly interesting. Not only does the formatting make for constantly intriguing reading, but the content itself is very interesting. Is it too much to say that on top of it all, Henson is a great writer. Making a book like this a Rough Guide really downplays what a gem this book is. Even if you already know a lot about climate change, this book will have a great deal to teach you.

I am using the Rough Guide to Climate change in a college course that I am currently taking about global warming and climate change. The second edition wasn't out when I started the class, so I started with the first edition and then switched when this edition did come out.

The book is a perfect example of how to write a science book for nonscientists. I have a degree in environmental science, but climate science involves so many disciplines that it is hard for even a trained professional to keep up and digest the information from all the various fields. Henson has done a remarkable job of taking the science and laying it out in an easy to understand way and in a very logical sequence.

The book is broken into parts in a flow that works well. The first section is about the basics of climate change, the second is about the symptoms we are or will be seeing as a result of climate change, the third is about the actual science behind climate change and the fourth presents a nicely balanced set of solutions and some of the detractors from those solutions. There is also a very comprehensive further exploration section at the rear.

The book is up to date and is, by far, the best source of scientific information available to the general reader about global warming. Buy it now...it might change your mind!

What a remarkable book this is - disguised as a simple guide to climate change, but actually a very sophisticated, balanced, thoughtful analysis of the many aspects of climate change: the physical causes of climate change, the symptoms of a warming planet, what the average person can do, and the politics surrounding the entire issue.

Loaded with great information and highly readable, although it never talks down to the intended audience, which is aimed at everybody (may be too difficult for people under the age of 12). Lots of photographs and charts to help explain what climate change is, what causes it, and what the symptoms are.

The only weakness of the book, which is ironically one of its strengths, is that it is refreshingly free of a certain preachy tone that can creep into some books on the environment - however, because the book is studiously non-political, only half a page is dedicated to "lobbying for change" in the chapter titled "What You Can Do - Reducing Your Carbon Footprint and Lobbying For Action". Most of that chapter is dedicated towards small things everybody can do (adjust thermostat properly, drive hybrid cars, walk or bike, etc.). However, real change will probably only happen when entire countries set policies and laws into place that mandate fewer greenhouse gas emissions. (This is a scholarly bureaucrat writing this, after all.)

Having pointed out a minor weakness, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to anybody wishing to learn more about climate change and global warming. The book doesn't actually let "big business" or current government leadership around the world completely off the hook - the book duly notes that conducting business as usual has gotten us into this mess, and that most businesses, and most governments have no real reason to change business as usual - after all, if they are still in business, or still in power, the status quo must be working well for them.