Portugal Books

This book is mostly an exciting read. I was hooked after the first chapter, a vivid narrative of the trial and execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. Battle descriptions come alive, especially the climactic night battle that decides the campaign. Above all, the book does an excellent job of conveying how the whole event must have felt to the participants, from descriptions of shipboard conditions to the perils of night navigation and the difficulties of maintaining communication amongst hundreds of ships without modern technology. Neil Hanson's obvious talent for writing fails him occasionally, however. Describing the fate of so many Spanish ships one by one - they mostly end up shipwrecked with those onboard either drowned or imprisoned - gets repetitive after a while. Also there were too many quotations overall. While some were interesting and insightful, too many were forced in awkwardly where the author's own words would have sufficed. Naval tactics are explained well, something that Hanson apparently has previous experience writing about.

My larger gripe with this book is that it is much better at explaining what happened than why. Some explanations don't seem to hold together very well. Hanson suggests in several places that the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, was the "catalyst" for launching the Armada, but Armada preparations began almost a year before that event. Portions of the book criticize heavily both Phillip of Spain and Elizabeth of England. As an Englishman, it seems Mr. Hanson is especially concerned with debunking the mythology around the Armada and around Elizabeth, who is portrayed as vain, indecisive, and miserly. Time and again, mention is made of how her navy lacked resources. At the time, however, Spain clearly had a stronger government with a bigger budget. Even so, its own Armada suffered severely from lack of key supplies. Is it realistic to expect Elizabeth to have done much better under the circumstances? Didn't all early modern governments struggle to finance their wars? These questions don't get the attention they deserve, and it feels like Hanson judges Elizabeth's logistical failings by the higher standards of later times. The best history helps the reader see why participants made decisions that, in retrospect, seem stupid. This is something lacking in Hanson's book.

In short, this book epitomizes the strengths and weaknesses of "popular" history writing by a freelance author. It is entertaining, vivid, and definitely insightful on several points. I can't help but feel, however, that an academic author with detailed knowledge of the period would have provided more consistent explanations and less harsh judgments about Phillip and Elizabeth. If you're mostly interested in a good narrative, count this review as 4 stars instead of the 3 I'm giving it.

This is the best and most readable single-volume treatment of the English defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 I have read. Neil Hanson's text is breezy but comprehensive, not simply covering the battles but setting the stage of European politics, religion, and military technology, particularly the revolution in English shipbuilding and gunnery.

The"Armada Year" of 1588 is one of those quintessential cleavage years in British history. In 1588, Spain was poised to come as close to world domination as any superpower since Rome; fueled by silver from the Americas, its clanking professional armies were unequaled, and wreaked genocidal terror in Flanders and Holland. This was an age of no quarter given between heretics, and had the Spanish gained a bridgehead in England, it is doubtful that the Tudors, and the Church of England, would have survived (literally) any organized campaign. The English navy, like the pilots of the Battle of Britain, were all that stood between England and the grey sweep of papist extermination.

Standard English texts such as the Oxford History tend to treat events like the Armada as a given happenstance, so Hanson's fresh look is a welcome addition to this period. Hanson manages not only to cover the essential events and foundations, but makes telling points. Most controversial of these points is his thesis that the English won in spite of, and not because of, Queen Elizabeth's leadership. Hanson is singularly critical of Queen Elizabeth, who, unlike the Bette Davis icon we are accustomed to, is portrayed as a parsimonious, grasping, selfish meddler, whose principal concern was self-aggrandizement. Worse, she infuriated allies and enemies alike by invariable waffling on major decisions. To the frustration of her admirals, Elizabeth, after inciting a war with Spain, nearly loses the war by being taken in by peace talks (a la Chamberlain in 1938) up to the point the Armada actually sails. Elizabeth also starved her fleet, counting pennies to save on shot and necessary supplies.

Some have criticized the build-up phase of the book, and the fact that the battle proper does not begin until the last third. This was essential, since Hanson effectively places the Armada as not an isolated event but part of a Europan-wide conflict involving England and Scotland, Huguenots and Catholics in France, Portugal, and the Dutch, who were fighting a war to the death with the Spanish. Indeed, until the Armada veered toward the English coast, it was in doubt whether it was intended for Britain or to smash the United Provinces. The "miracle" of the Armada campaign was not Elizabeth's Machiavellian cleverness, but the innovation of English shipbuilding toward speed and maneuverability, and tactical appreciation of long range (relatively speaking) gunnery over what had been accepted tactics of fighting soldier-on-soldier land battles between boarded ships.

Equally important are the final chapters describing the actual destruction of the Armada as it attempted to return home by rounding Scotland and Ireland. Weakened by storms and English cannon, the great ships disintegrated, casting thousands of sailors on hostile shores to be tortured and executed by English militia and local gauleiters. With a good director and special effects, this is an epic begging to be filmed.

Future editions should include a map or two to help, but otherwise the book reads like a novel.

Confident Hope of a Miracle is a well-researched history of the attempted invasion of Britain during the time of Elizabeth the First. What is remarkable about the story is the position of Spain as world's superpower and it total failure to understand the changes that were occurring in Naval Warfare. My only criticism, not one usable map.

In my opinion, Garret Mattingly's "Defeat of the Spanish Armada" remains the first book to read if you're interested in the story of the Armada. It's a better read than Hanson's book (I found a re-reading of Mattingly's version more entertaining than my first reading of Hanson's book) and it provides more context about what was happening in northern Europe at the time of the Armada (I found his account of the 'War of the Three Henry's' particularly intriguing). Not to disparage Hanson's book: it's definitely worth reading (I don't hesitate to give it four stars), but Mattingly's story is a classic of sound history that easily could be (and should be) turned into a screenplay.

This is a wonderful update on the Armada. The Armada was created by Phillip II in 1588 with the hopes of bringing the Catholic church back to England by the Sword. General Parma's troops were massed in the Netherlands to be floated across the channel under the tutelage of the massive Armada made up of Caravels and even Triremes. The Armada was paid for by the Pope's Gold, it was to be a great crusade. England was a backwater to some extant, and Elizabeth an untested queen, her captains like Sir Francis Drake were pirates. However the Armada failed. It fell into issues in the Channel, the weather was bad, it blew out to sea, foundered in Ireland(where later Eamon De Velera was a descendant of Catholic shipwrecked Spaniards). Elizabeth and her interesting assortment of naval commanders were made heroes. England gained a defining moment that would be replayed when she faced down both Napoleon and then Hitler across the same Channel and was miraculously saved both times.

This book retells this famous story, with whit, wisdom and in a handsomely written style. However there is one glaring problem, the need by the author to slander and revise the story of Elizabeth. Instead of the Gallant queen who claims `I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king' we are given the portrait of a selfish woman who cares only for herself, who allowed here naval seamen to starve to death after the battle and who gives no such speech. The sources for this are dubious and the revisionism is not fair to such an extraordinary women. However if true, perhaps the allegations force us to reconsider our views.

Seth J. Frantzman

We bought this book for a recent trip to Lisbon. We found it to be out of date. Descriptions were not always accurate, addresses were wrong, opening hours were often not correct. If it were updated, it would be a useful guide.

Lisbon is one of the most beautiful and unique cities in the world and this is a great guide to this great city: it gives you a lot of information about places to see, things to do, how to use the public transport, accommodation, etc.

Also the book itself is rather beautiful, has lots of pictures, great illustrations and maps. This edition is a must have for anyone exploring the capital of Portugal.

I also strongly recommend the «Lisbon Top 10» from DK and «Eyewitness Travel Guide to Portugal».

DK always seems to be the forerunner with beautiful photo's to help you figure out what you don't want to miss on your trip. A little light in some of the history, so I didn't give 5 stars. A VERY useful guide!!

Eyewitness Travel Guides are really great value and this is a very nice guide book. Take an Eyewitness Guide and a Cadogan Guide (if available) and you will have all the information you might possibly need. Forget the competition. This is the kind of intelligent tour guide you have been waiting for.

The introduction is a beautifully illustrated time line of Portuguese history since the 1200s. The city and surrounding area is then broken up into sections and each is introduced by use of picture-driven accounts and easy to read descriptions of what you will encounter. There are nice maps and each area is described in such illuminating detail that you cannot help but get up early and get down to it. Each place of interest is preceded by a list of opening times, map locations and details of how to get there by using public transport.

It's all highly readable and also gives useful tips on where to eat, what to do, where to stay and how to get about. The nice thing about the hotels and eating guides is the way this book breaks down its recommendations by price - allowing travellers of varying budgets to enjoy their time in this fascinating of cities.

This is a very good book indeed.

I found this travel guide really useful.It gives you a lot of information about places to see, things to go, how to use the public transport, accommodation, etc... Apart from that, this book also gives you a brief historical explanation of the city, its origins and development which I quite liked.

I thought Mr. Hampshire's book was invaluable. His research and data was excellent and very timely. I did think, though, that there were a few prejudices that were quite outdated. Specifically with regards to the amount of time it takes to get things done in Spain. The service industry in Spain is extremely prompt, accurate and courteous. It blows the UK service industry out of the water. There are a few other details that could use updating.

I have been traveling to Spain for more than seven years and thought I knew everything - David has done his homework well - Excellent book and very informative! Buy it!

Excerpt of your book: Even more important than a battery backup is a power surge protector for appliances such as TVs, computers and fax machines, without which you risk having equipment damaged or destroyed.

Hi Mr. David, since 1995 I am living in Spain AND NEVER did I have problems of that kind. But yes I did when I was in US years ago.

I needed up to date information on retiring in Spain. This book "hit the spot". It is very informative with specific detail on the most important subjects a person researching & preparing for living in Spain will need. The book is a very useful tool, extremely well written & researched. Very entertaining in parts when the humour kicks in !

This was a great help for me as I was preparing to move to Spain, and it was an enjoyable read. Some up-dating will have to be done though, now that the immigration laws in Spain are changing. I do think that some of the steoreotypes about bueaucratic chaos are a little exaggerated. (I guess Mr. Hampshire hasn't dealt with the American I.N.S. system.)

I knew it was going to be pocketsized, but this guide book was really small and hard to open because of the binding. The map of the city and metro system on the inside of the back cover proved very usefull when getting around Barcelona. I did like the picture or diagrams of the recommended visits with a little of the history added into the picture. Decent; you get what you pay for on this product.

Hard to hold and use due to tiny size - but will fit nicely in a pocket and contains a lot of information and visuals (photos and diagrams)

Tiny and easy to put in purse or pocket. I used it as a supplement and to review top rated sites in the city.

I am very pleased with this little Eyewitness guide book. It is the perfect size to carry along when sight-seeing in the city, but the print is actually large enough that you don't need a magnifying glass to read it. When we travel in Europe our goal is to pack very light, and this little map and guide puts the important info into a small space. We'll only be in Barcelona for a couple of days before a Mediterranean cruise, so this is all we'll need to see highlights of the city.

We'll be cruising to Barcelona and only spending one day there. This guide is the perfect size for what we need - info on all the main sites, maps, travel information...without having to pay for a more expensive / comprehensive guide designed for longer visits. It's still packed with information...it even has a small phrasebook in the back. It's smaller than I expected, which is a good thing. They've really packed a lot of information into a totally portable guide...metro maps, dining, street maps - it's really adorable, actually!

Spain becomes grist for the cracked mill wheel of Cees Nooteboom's mind. The book isn't really about Spain, it's about the author and his obsessive fixation with certain Spanish topics. He does this with painfully long rambling descriptions of various Spanish cultural icons that have caught his attention, drilling down to the time when they first caught his attention and the many times since then that he has pondered them. The topics themselves are interesting but almost irrelevant to the self indulgent dredging of the author's own mind. You would learn more hard facts about these topics from a museum brochure. The twin pillars of this tortuously slow moving narrative are the painter Zurban and Romanesque architecture. He drops and picks up these topics at random, throughout the book, and prattles on about them as if he is possessed with a reoccurring fever. He also slathers his book with an impressive amount of trite clichés about Spain, Spain the land of contrasts, Castille La Mancha the land of desolate panoramas, etc. He goes on ad nauseum. He also plays a little fast and loose with the few historical facts he deigns to use. He states that the aqueduct in Segovia was used until 1974; according to Segovia's municipal web site it is still in use. He states that Pizzaro left from Extremadura with an invasion force for Peru; Pizzaro left from Central America where he had been established for some years. Obviously no fact checker touched this book before publication. There are many wonderful books about Spain. This isn't one of them.

first of all, cees nooteboom is a shining oasis in the arid intellectual desert of contemporary travel writing, and secondly, you should let go of everything that makes you unhappy, and set sail tomorrow.

the sheer profundity and wit of nooteboom's observations left me, for one, in like total dumbstruck awe, and his seemingly divine ability to translate the most visceral of emotions into words (a medium of communication i had always, up till now, considered inferior) made me feel a little bit the same way i felt the first time i went skydiving. folks, this here is a man who knows how to travel, as well as being a freakin miracle of a writer--and anyone who is capable of firing a sincere philosophic-type synapse will LOVE HIM. also read "the following story," all you existential types out there--he's like a dreamy, colorful Camus, and his prose will make your eyes feel clean for the first time in years.

Am still trying to finish this book! Compared to some of the others on the subject, it's a hard read. I'll probably sell it.

Very interesting view of selected Spanish history and culture. Superbly written. I have been reading lots of books from Spain and about Spain in the last 10 years, but this is certainly one of the best.

This is a spectacular book, written by the best kind of travel writer. Mr. Nooteboom's passion for Spain, Spanish art, and Spanish architecture is infectious. I did the pilgrimage to Santiago in September of 2003, and understanding the Camino in the larger context of Spanish history (which Mr. Nooteboom limns so admirably) was invaluable. I don't believe I would have looked for, much less appreciated the Romanesque architecture I saw along the way. Coincidentally, his love of the great Spanish painters Zurbaran and Velazquez inspired me to visit New York for the Velazquez to Manet exhibit. I consider this one of the essential books to read before you set out for Santiago de Compostela. Guide books will get you from A to B. This book will help you understand the importance of A, B, and all the points in between.

The author brilliantly takes one of the most fascinating cities ever in its most exciting time, and manages to come up with a real page snoozer. Nothing really happens, and what does happen, happens off-stage. (The Great Lisbon Earthquake mentioned by another reviewer takes up one sentance at the end as a flashback!)If you want to spend hours with a character with NO character, no backbone, little street sense and not a whit of maturity, then this is for you. I finished it because it was the only book I had brought to the beach, but in the end I realized that the sound of waves crashing was a lot more interesting.

I just finished this novel and I miss Adam and his fascinating 18th century world already! I became totally engrossed in the societal and religious hierarchies and the conflicts which consequently ensued during this period in Lisbon. I was delighted by the unpredictability of Adam's journey; the unexpected directions the plot took as well as the very complex and real characters found in a historical novel as suspenseful as this one. If you like coming-of-age stories or historical fiction, you will not want to miss Adam Runaway...

I borrowed an advance copy from a friend. I needed a book for a short break holiday. I was totally surprised by the way the book grabbed me. The 19th century Lisbon setting is fresh and so beautifully evoked...the sights, smells...the people. Loved Adam, despite his occasional lapses there is something so attractive about him. I could empathise with his frustration, pain, lust, and even shame (oh there's humour too). I got totally involved in his journey. The characters are three dimensional and believable. I found myself crying at the end...I didn't expect to be that moved...but it all does come together in a way that you just don't expect. By the end you know you've experienced something much more haunting than you might expect from a very entertaining story about a young man's struggle to find love and success. I have trouble reconcilling the book I read with the Publisher's Weekly review (that's why I'm writing this review).

Set in early 18th century Lisbon, Adam Hanaway is a man on a mission. Fleeing London after the financial ruin and death of his father, Adam has traveled to Portugal in hopes of restoring the family fortune. Known by his contemporaries as "Adam Runaway", for his penchant for flight in crisis, Adam hopes to establish himself through the good offices of his uncle, Felix Hanaway. Uncle Felix was also hurt by the market crash, but has retained enough of his fortune to survive with dignity and some comfort. Felix leaves the decisions to his clerk, Bartolomeu Gomes, a Portuguese who is jealous of his position and has no intention of letting young Adam usurp his place in the pecking order. Unfortunately, Felix allows Gomes to determine Adam's manner of employment, so Adam is kept from any prospective success, working side by side with the laborers until such time as he is allowed to take over some of the bookkeeping duties.

Adam has found adequate, if rough, lodgings at the Baixa district in Lisbon and it is there that he meets an elderly Englishman, Allen Hutchinson and his daughter, the widowed Dona Maria Beatriz Fonseco. Dona Maria is kind to the much younger man and becomes a great friend and confidant, as does her father. Through the Hutchison's, Adam has his first run in with one of the figure of the famed Inquisition, although he fails to take seriously the religious fanaticism that has ruled the country since the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th century. There is a strange cultural contrast in Lisbon, the young English rakes making merry while the country itself burns with the fires of the auto-da-fe. Gradually stepping into a very rigid, if somewhat permissive society for gentlemen, Adam sets his sights on the very beautiful, very unattainable Gabriella Lowther, whose father is a well-respected businessman. Adam enjoys a flirtation with Gabriella, entertaining hopes of a possible association, until his plans are dashed by the machinations of Gomes at his place of employment.

Thereafter, without hopes of betterment in the foreseeable future, Adam contents himself with his good friends, the Hutchinson's, and works as with them until opportunity arises. Unfortunately, Adam's opportunity comes at a difficult time for all of them. What has been a relatively uneventful life has suddenly plunged into the most difficult of straits. Every ready with an inappropriate action or foolish boast, Adam seems forever to be out of step and out of place, his plans of saving his family's fortunes all but shattered. But time and experience do for this young man what circumstances could not and he is forced into maturity in a most unexpected manner and under stressful conditions. The young man whom no one thought much of has indeed become a gentleman of honor, although his path has takes many twists and turns, most of them painful and at great personal cost, often mired in poverty and abject circumstances.

Historically precise and brilliantly detailed, perhaps too much so, Prince has created a vast tapestry of Lisbon, a cosmopolitan city of great riches and the taint of the Inquisition, where religious beliefs are the cause of fear for the sinner, or converso. Adam Hanaway is the perfect character to run the streets of this vast city of wealth and poverty, at the height of trade and prosperity. All is destroyed in 1755 in a fatal combination of earthquake, tidal wave and fire. But by then Adam is a man of means and considerable courage that no one would think to call "Adam Runaway". Luan Gaines/ 2005.

It is 1721, and the city of Lisbon - alive with the scurry of English merchants, businessmen, and traders - has become a veritable gold mine. The Britain of George 1 is glorying in its new-found hegemony, is now considered to be the world's leading commercial power, its citizens descending on the Portuguese city, setting up trading stores and bargaining with the local merchants for riches from as far away as the Brazilian and African colonies.

Regardless of its newfound trading wealth, Portugal remains staunchly Catholic with religious doctrine strictly enforced. Non-believers and anyone suspected from deviating from the faith is either imprisoned and tortured or burned at the stake by the unwavering puritanical "familiar" of the Inquisition.

The Protestant English, often considered circumspect, are branded as heretics, but they are allowed to live and work at leisure. Protected by the powerful machinations of King George and the commercial wealth of the colonial empire, they profit from the local merchant class and look down their noses at the puritanical ways of the Catholic ruling class.

Adam Runaway is not sure what to make of all this when he arrives in this turbulent city from London, ostensibly to take up a position working as a clerk for his Uncle Feliz Hathaway, but also to try to restore the family fortune that was devastated the previous year by his father.

Young and naïve, Adam is plunged into the local society of British merchants, hoping to better himself, by aspiring to the rank of the merchant class. Upon taking a room in local hostel, Adam is immediately drawn to a woman of great personal style and indeterminate age, Maria Beatriz Hutchinson. Maria Beatriz and her English born father have fallen on hard times and have been forced to peddle homemade religious woodcuts on the street outside their apartment.

Given immediate success to his uncle's fellow merchants, Adam also meets the beautiful Gabriella Lowther. Gabriella, the daughter of one of Lisbon's most wealthy English merchants, makes Adam at least for the time feel as though he is "indifferent to danger." But Adam unintentionally ends up threatening Gabriela's sweet-hearted innocence.

Distressed and fraught, he seeks comfort in Nancy, his deliciously charming young cousin, while unbeknownst to him; his uncle's treacherous head clerk Bartolomeu Gomes threatens Adam's rise to the top. Adam is surprisingly ignorant about Gomes and about Portugal, and he often comes across as imprudent and full of folly, but he's also surprisingly loyal and tenderhearted.

The Machiavellian Gomes plots to steal Felix Hathaway's fortune and considers the English accursed; to him, they have come across the sea uninvited and are using their money and the threat of military might to steal the wealth of poor Portugal. Determined to destroy Adam, Gomes has him expelled from his uncle's firm. And Adam is thus forced to clear his name, win his true love, and hopefully regain his fortune.

Author Peter Prince has written a sprawling and meticulously researched novel that is set against a rough-hewn, and cosmopolitan panorama. Lisbon is a thriving metropolis, full of wealth and where riches from the farthest corners of the globe are traded and bartered. It is also a city that exists under the forbidding bulk of the Inquisition Palace, black and undecorated, as if to remind the poor wretches who are under its jurisdiction that their frolics and endeavors are only baubles of a moment and that what it offers is for eternity and probably death.

The author cleverly weaves history, fiction, and humor into a heady and engrossing tale of love, death, and money. Catholicism and Protestantism meet with an uneasy truce as wealth rules the day, and the Inquisitors play off the superstition and the unnamable fears of an ignorant public.

Prince's episodic, gauzy storytelling can often demand feats of literary stamina, but like the journey of Adam, from London to Lisbon, and then back to London again, Adam Runaway has the power to deliver readers to strange, exciting, and exotic new territories. Mike Leonard August 05.

Lonely Planet delivers on Southern Spain...a good guide for all ages,and most travelers (unless you're stinking rich or package tour fodder) I bought it in advance of trip for a bit of armchair preparation. This edition is not heavy ...it's a 488 page volume, weighing 10oz, packed with usual background, history, maps, and suggestions for accommodation, where to eat and drink, shopping, nightlife etc. Excellent buy.

Lonely Planet Andalucia is clearly inferior to Rough Guide Andalucia and below the standards I have come to expect from Lonely Planet. I found repeatedly that the author(s) appear morei interested in cutesy writing style than in incisive fieldwork and allowed their infatuation with their glib comments to gloss over their lack of good travel writing and description. The guides to eating are almost useless. For those who think otherwise, check the section Where to Eat in Seville. For those who make the mistake of buying the book, I suggest you don't even bother with the reviews of eating places.
I decided to leave my Lonely Planet Andalucia in Seville and brought my Rough Guide home with me.
The series editors need to clamp down on the writing style of the individual volumes and force them to write for the traveler,not for themselves.

I'm supposed to spend more than 6months in Andalucia, so I needed more than 'Lonely planet Spain'. The book is great.
The reason I gave 4 stars because it took a little bit longer than I expected, but it wasn't bad for oversea delivery.

I used this book to plan my trip to Andalucia in March 2006. It helped me to budget for the trip, and to plan my iteniary effectively. I went to resturants mentioned in the book in Marbella, Malaga, Granada and Seville and they offered the service I expected. The maps were very helpful and informative.

I highly recommend.

If you're traveling to Andalucia, Spain this is the book to take along. I reviewed Eyewitness Travel Guide (both Spain and Andalucia), Fodor, Frommer, Cordovon, and others. Lonely Planet has outstanding city maps and lots of them. It has built in "tabs" of the provinces, e..g. Cadiz, Sevilla, city guide maps with numbered legends on food, lodging and sights. The book is jam packed with useful information, things to buy, walking tours, practical information. The Lonely Planet guide has one two page color map, and some scattered color pictures, augmented with frequent and helpful black and white artwork. This book was recommended by a Spanish website.

Comparison to other guide books: The Eyewitness guides had much more color. Some had color photos, some not at all. Cordovon had bigger type, but much less information, and poorer artwork. Both Fodor and Frommer have full size maps with their main book on Spain. If you want an additional map, go with Michelin 446 available at Amazon.com or the more detailed EuroAtlas Spain Portugal by American Map--about 300 pages, including some cities. The Lonely Planet book, comes with a colored map and many supplements. A separate map is an option, not a necessity.

My military history collection is over 1,000 volumes. A detailed history of the Spanish Foreign Legion was something not to be missed -- until I obtained such volume. Yes, it is extremely detailed and meticulously researched. The problem is that the research lacks any military analysis and is present just for detail's sake.

The author punctiliously delineates every engagement in which the Legion participated -- and notes the number of casualties (killed, wounded, missing). The problem is that he does not detail the actual engagement itself in a form in which one can appreciate what has occurred in terms of terrain, enemy order of battle and tactical or operational details.

In addition to a bare bones recital of a plethora of meaningless engagements, he fails to discuss the training regimen. How did Jose Millan Astray establish a unit which seems to have immediately become a battle worthy formation? Surely, the establishment of the training regimen and the training cadres would have proved to be vital to the Legion's mission. Yet, there is little in this volume which substantiates either category.

The Rif Rebellion is simply a counterfoil for the Legion. There is little exploration of the reason for the Rif Rebellion or its durability.

Overall, the detail in this volume is remarkable. However, the details overwhelm the narrative and yield a military morning report rather than a historical saga.

The Legion deserves better ...

Part unit history and part campaign account, this is a solid, if uninspiring work. But it's a welcome addition if only because an English-language history of the Spanish Foreign Legion has been long overdue. Spain's campaigns in Morocco are rarely mentioned in the literature on African colonial conflicts. Why? It's not as if Spain was a newcomer to Africa: the city of Ceuta in Morocco had been a Spanish possession since the 16th century.
Francisco Franco, who began his military career in the Legion, emerges as a dour, serious figure dedicated to the task at hand. Those interested in the Spanish Civil War, especially fans of Nationalist Spain, will enjoy his portrait here, and perhaps understand how such a man achieved so much. Franco's alleged involvement in the plot to overthrow the "wet" Primo de Rivera in 1923, described here, foreshadowed the events of 1936.

Incidentally, readers of Christopher Balfour's recent work, The Deadly Embrace, marketed as an expose of Spain's use of poison gas against the Riffian tribesmen, may be interested to note that there are plenty of references to it here. The use of poison gas by Spain may be deplorable, but hardly shocking. Although war can bring out the best in men, it also brings out the worst. Perhaps Spain's decision to resort to gas may seem understandable in light of the atrocities carried out by the Riffian insurgents against Spanish civilians, particularly at towns like Nador (pp.51-52).

The Spanish are a proud, civilized people with remarkable achievements to their name, of which the Reconquista and the Conquest of the New World are just two examples. The West owes Spain a considerable debt of gratitude. Although the military reputation of Spain has suffered much in the last century, the Legion, as one of the world's elite forces, is an apt reminder of the former grandeur. Viva La Legion!

Dr Alverez has written an extremely detailed, comprehensive account of an important unit and era in Spanish military history. This is, by far, the best account of the Spanish Foreign Legion in English, and his worked does much to bring their story to a wider public.

Excellent book about the first years of the Spanish Foreign Legion, also known as El Tercio (for Spanish infantry units which ruled European battlefields in the XVI and XVII centuries). It catches the spirit of the first Banderas (batallions), which were the fer de lance of the Spanish army in the Spanish Maroc Protectorate in the first quarter of the XX century. Afterwards, it took an active part in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), in the Russian front in the Second World War, where it fought together with the Wermacht, as well as in the Spanish Sahara in the late fifties.

Currently, and since Spain does not have colonies any more, the Spanish Foreign Legion is deployed in Spain, divided into four Tercios (regiment-type units) stationed in Ceuta, Melilla (two Spanish cities in northern Africa), Ronda and Almeria. It has seen action in Kosovo, and some companies will be probably sent to Afgahnistan in the near future. Always the crack unit of the Spanish army, the Legion is considered one of the best (if not the best) units within the NATO, comparing favourably with famous units such as the British SAS in field exercises and peace (?) missions in former Yugoslavia.

The little known Spanish Foreign Legion forged a well deserved reputation for valor and professionalism during Spain's early 20th century struggle in North Africa. Unfortunately, very little has been written in English about this extraordinary force. Dr. Alvarez has written a superb account of the formation and early history of the Legion capturing the unique Spanish elan of both its leaders and men. Here was a tough, truly elite military force in the best Spanish tradition. This book fills an important gap in military history which I hope will encourage other historians to explore the role the Legion played later during the Civil war.

Over the last decade, I've read the novel 'Calle 10' by Danny Romero at least four times. I finally got around to looking it up on the web and discovered that it hasn't gotten any of the credit it deserves. Not one of the reviewers seems to comprehend how hysterically funny it is ( a friend and I were reading it to each other and crying with laughter). And that's only the beginning. Its unsentimental portrayal of 'low-life' in Oakland is pitch perfect and undistorted by pieties or agendas, liberal or conservative (the opening scene on a bus in California is a small masterpiece and there are Beckett-like absurdities throughout). In a better world, 'Calle 10' would be required reading. It makes me wonder, and not for the first time, about the life experience of those writing book reviews for major publications. Mostly semiotics majors from Brown University, I'm afraid. I tried to find Romero on the web but he proved pretty hard to track down. I hope he knows that some people out there appreciate him.

Danny Romero's debut novel, CALLE 10, is a humorous, lyrical update of the single, working class, California bachelor theme explored in earlier books by John Fante and John Steinbeck. Romero uses his contemporary, Mexican-American voice to relate the pleasure, pain, and boredom of daily existence on the grimy borders of Southern California's largest and wealthiest city, Los Angeles.

Zero, the novel's protagonist, is a college-educated young man surrounded by downwardly mobile influences. His girlfriend and flophouse roommates spend the majority of their free time talking, drinking, and taking drugs. Dreams, however, keep Zero going, and his long walks and odd encounters inspire the possibilty of escape.

A bus trip to Oakland and visits to his neighborhood taco truck add flavor to Zero's day in, day out existence as a printer's apprentice. As the novel progresses, events add up, layer upon layer, building his desire to move up and away.

Romero's humor is consistent, and his use of Mexican-American slang is as educational as it is effective. At one point, Zero and his roommate attempt to catch a mouse that has boldly exposed itself in their kitchen. The dialogue here is comic and perfectly timed. The description of the decrepit kitchen and their bumbling attempt to catch the rodent is nothing less than laugh out loud.

Plot is not the concern of this novel; the reader dips into Zero's life at the beginning and dips out at the end, leaving him older and more experienced. Romero's work succeeds as an in-depth portrait of a man-in-progress. Rendered in clear and excellent writing, CALLE 10 makes a fine new addition to the "California novel" and to Mexican-American literature.

I was confused from the first page foreward. This book has no concrete plot nor is it coherent in any way. When I was finished, I was very confused and disappointed.

The main character of Zero was very real. I liked the fact that he never resorted to violence and never gave up his job or dreams. I felt that he wanted to be released from his current life but never was able to do so. The book was well written and understandable. I got the book last night and couldn't put it down until I finished it.

Danny Romero's debut novel, CALLE 10, is a humorous, lyrical update of the single, working class, California bachelor theme explored in earlier books by John Fante and John Steinbeck. Romero uses his contemporary, Mexican-American voice to relate the pleasure, pain, and boredom of daily existence on the grimy borders of Southern California's largest and wealthiest city, Los Angeles.

Zero, the novel's protagonist, is a college-educated young man surrounded by downwardly mobile influences. His girlfriend and flophouse roommates spend the majority of their free time talking, drinking, and taking drugs. Dreams, however, keep Zero going, and his long walks and odd encounters inspire the possibilty of escape.

A bus trip to Oakland and visits to his neighborhood taco truck add flavor to Zero's day in, day out existence as a printer's apprentice. As the novel progresses, events add up, layer upon layer, building his desire to move up and away.

Romero's humor is consistent, and his use of Mexican-American slang is as educational as it is effective. At one point, Zero and his roommate attempt to catch a mouse that has boldly exposed itself in their kitchen. The dialogue here is comic and perfectly timed. The description of the decrepit kitchen and their bumbling attempt to catch the rodent is nothing less than laugh out loud.

Plot is not the concern of this novel; the reader dips into Zero's life at the beginning and dips out at the end, leaving him older and more experienced. Romero's work succeeds as an in-depth portrait of a man-in-progress. Rendered in clear and excellent writing, CALLE 10 makes a fine new addition to the "California novel" and to Mexican-American literature.

This book is a simple to read book that deals with a controversial subject( bullfighting), but more importantly the day of the death of one of the greatest bullfighters ever, known simply as, Manolete. The dramatic presentation by Barnaby Conrad is moving and includes his relationships and the reasons for his contemplation of retirement. The buildup to the day Islero(the bull) took Manolete's life as they performed the dance of death together, each succumbing to the passions of the crowd and each paying the ultimate price with their death. The story is well told, allbeit rather short. The photographs are intense, capturing the swirling cape and momentum of the approaching beast in frozen moments of black and white reality. Although the author covers some aspects of Manolete's rise to become Spain's hero, in truth , this is not a biography but rather as the title implies, the fateful day the resulted in "The Death of Manolete." Barnaby Conrad is a knowledgeable aficionado who has written several superb books on the subject of bullfighting, Matador,MY LIFE As A MATADOR. The Autobiography of Carlos Arruza. With Barnaby Conrad., and the essential Barnaby Conrad's Encyclopedia of Bull Fighting.That said, it goes without saying that he is well versed in the subject of tauromaqia. This day in the life of portrait is amazing in it's simple eloquence. The final part of the book , from the point of the mortal goring is not for the faint of heart. The photographs reveals the most intimate moments of death. Included is a photograph of the cartel(poster) announcing the corrida(bullfight) where he shared billing for the last time with the aging and soon to retire Gitanillo de Triana and the upcoming hotshot Luis Miguel Dominguin on that fateful August 28th day of 1947 when Islero and Manolete would become immortal in the annals of tauromaqia. There is also a complete list of the corridas Manolete participated in from 1939 to 1947, that includes the names of the other matadors on the cartel and the awards given to Manolete; his list of triumphs is very impressive. A great classic book for the aficionado of the corrida de toros(bullfight) that is not to be missed and included in your collection.

This is a difficult book to review, you have to have a passion for bullfighting, and after living in Spain for 14 years I definatly have a passion for bullfighting, this book is about one of the most talented matadors in the history of the bullfight, his artistry, and dedication were a true insperation to all who tried to follow in his shadow. I would recomend it to all who would like to know the person better, and have an open mind about bullfighting.

I'm not really sure who this book is for: it's too short and superficial to appeal to devotees and others knowledgeable about bullfighter Manuel Laureano Rodriguez (aka Manolete) and it's also too short and superficial to capture the imagination of non-fans like me who just happened to come across the book and gave it a whirl.

To be fair, I listened to the audiobook version of "The Death of Manolete" (two CD's, unabridged), so I'm not getting the benefit of the reference information (list of bullfights, lists of awards and honors bestowed, etc.) and many photographs that apparently grace the print version. These things are certainly not included with the audiobook. Also, author Barnaby Conrad's verbal narration of his book leaves a little to be desired. It's understandable, but little else, certainly not dramatic, enthusiastic, nor in any other way imparting a "hey, this is a great story, so listen up" quality.

Again, I think the print version of this book is probably more passable, though I do hope that this apparently quite notable figure in Spanish history has- somewhere out there- a more comprehensive, passionate book or two written about him in addition to this one.

On Thursday, August 28, 1947, in the bull ring at the Spanish town of Linares, a thiry-year-old millionaire called Manolete (Manuel Laureano Rodriguez) and a Miura bull named Islero killed each other.
Conrad recounts Manolete's extraoridinary life here for the first time in English. In combining pictures and text, the reader sees the breeding that made the Spanish boy, the tempering that made the young torero, the sacrifice that made the man, the girl who brought him love, the acclaim that brought him incredible success and finally its price...the undoing that began slowly and ended in one last great afternoon and in a death that if not untimely put out the brightest flame in Spain. Manolete had fired the Latin imagination as no one had done since the Cid. He had become a symbol of Latin pride, valor, and chivalry. But the crowds owned him and he did their bidding...and they had bid him to die.

146 pages. Also includes pages of his performances from the year he became a matador until his death. (From 1939-1946). Oh, Lord, it even includes what the trophies were (1 ear, 2 ears and a tail, etc).

This is for the 1958 edition, 3rd printing. Houghton Mifflin Co. Endpapers are red and white with matadors and bulls on them. Lots of pictures and even some of funeral.

On Thursday, August 28, 1947, in the bull ring at the Spanish town of Linares, a thiry-year-old millionaire called Manolete (Manuel Laureano Rodriguez) and a Miura bull named Islero killed each other.
Conrad recounts Manolete's extraoridinary life here for the first time in English. In combining pictures and text, the reader sees the breeding that made the Spanish boy, the tempering that made the young torero, the sacrifice that made the man, the girl who brought him love, the acclaim that brought him incredible success and finally its price...the undoing that began slowly and ended in one last great afternoon and in a death that if not untimely put out the brightest flame in Spain. Manolete had fired the Latin imagination as no one had done since the Cid. He had become a symbol of Latin pride, valor, and chivalry. But the crowds owned him and he did their bidding...and they had bid him to die.

146 pages. Also includes pages of his performances from the year he became a matador until his death. (From 1939-1946). Oh, Lord, it even includes what the trophies were (1 ear, 2 ears and a tail, etc).

This is for the 1958 edition, 3rd printing. Houghton Mifflin Co. Endpapers are red and white with matadors and bulls on them. Lots of pictures and even some of funeral.