Portugal Books

For a slim volume this book packs a lot of information. The Spanish Civil War is often called a prelude of World War II but in calling it that you really do it a disservice. The Spanish Civil War was a unique conflict in its own right, with many aspects, such as the International Brigades and the Condor Legion, which caused the war to have an impact far outside Spain's borders. This book gives a fairly nonpartisan assessment of the conflict, a treatment which is rare given the gut reactions many have towards the conflict based upon fascist and communist roles there. The photographs which illustrate are excellent as well but not overdoen, which explains how so much info got into such a small book.

Since the war ended in 1939, the Spanish Civil War has been obscured by romantic mythology created by foreign writers like Ernest Hemmingway and subsequent historians, who have tended to portray this conflict as, "the first great, heroic confrontation between fascism and democracy." Frances Lannon, an Oxford history professor, notes that in this traditional interpretation, "the Second Republic remains a great cause that was worth dying for." Lannon eschews this traditional depiction of the conflict in simplistic black and white terms, a fight between fascists and communists for the soul of Spain, and views the war in much more complex terms. Lannon's account is well written and rich in detail; her particular areas of interest are the role of women in both sides of the war and the role of the Catholic Church in the conflict. Overall, Lannon's book is an excellent primer on the war as well as representing a far more balanced and objective account than has come from other quarters.

The Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 begins with short sections on the background to the war. These sections are interesting because they demonstrate that both sides had compelling reasons to resort to violence. While the Republicans (encompassing such diverse groups as urban trade unionists, rural peasants, intellectuals, communists and anarchists) viewed the Church, monarchists and the military as obstacles to the development of more liberalized conditions in Spain, the Nationalists fought to defend the traditional order from what they viewed as the imposition of alien cultural values. Due to the period of violence and disorder that preceded the outbreak of civil war, Lannon notes that, "many ordinary Catholics concluded that the new state would not respect their religion or protect property." Rather than the simplistic political depiction of democracy versus fascist, Lannon shows that the conflict had a strong religious dimension, and thus the conflict also could be depicted as Catholics versus atheists. Indeed, once the civil war started, Lannon notes that, "Catholicism went underground in Republican Spain, as churches burned and religious images were destroyed."

Lannon's section on the warring sides is a bit short at three pages, but she gets the relative balance of the two forces. Her section on the fighting is 32 pages long and again, gets the main points, but without embellishment. At heart, this is more of a social history of a civil war, rather than a purely military history, and some readers may be disappointed by the short shrift given to topics like the German Condor Legion or the International Brigades. The text is complemented by nine maps: Spain in 1936, the first defense of Madrid, the route of the African army in 1936, fighting around Madrid in 1936-1937, the Battle for Madrid in November 1936, the fall of Malaga, the war in Vizcaya, the Battle of the Ebro, and Spain in July 1938. Lannon clearly likes the colorful propaganda posters produced by both sides during the war and includes eight full-page examples(almost 10% of the volume); a few more actual photos of the war might have been a better choice.

Some readers may feel that Lannon goes easy on the nature of the Nationalists, given the terror bombing of Basque villages like Guernica and the subsequent repression under Franco's regime. In fact, something of a "Lost Cause" mythology has developed around the Republican cause, ascribing all sorts of democratic and liberal aspirations that were not evident in the policies of the Republicans. Indeed, reading Lannon, most readers will feel more revulsion at reading about the abuses of the Republicans, who murdered over 2,000 people (including 68 monks) in Madrid in November 1936. Lannon notes that, "one side protected religion, the other [the Republicans] attacked it and drove it underground. Churches were destroyed, religious symbols and statutes defaced and smashed." Not only were church marriages outlawed under the Republic but Lannon notes extreme examples where one witness saw, "the exhumed bodies of nuns in their shrouds that the revolutionaries had torn out of their tombs and displayed in the street." Was this a regime worth dying for? Lannon does note the repressive nature of the Franco regime, particularly in its hour of victory, when no effort was made at reconciliation with the defeated Republicans. About 50,000 people lost their lives in post-war executions and tens of thousands spent years languishing in prison. There is no doubt that both sides fought a brutal war of extermination against the other, but Lannon's account offers the possibility of distinguishing between the lesser of two evils. Despite an authoritarian structure, Lannon notes that Franco's Spain "was still a dictatorship, but its economy and society had modernized" by the 1970s. Lannon calls the rapid dismantlement of Franco's regime after his death in 1975, "one of the most successful transitions from dictatorship to democracy of the late 20th Century."

Another theme that Lannon touches upon is the failure of international diplomacy. The British and French pushed the Non-Intervention Agreement in August 1936, by which signatories promised not to ship arms to Spain. Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union signed the agreement and then promptly violated it. However the failure of the Anglo-French to inhibit German intervention in Spain, coupled with the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, helped to instill more resolve to oppose German aggression in Eastern Europe.

This is a good book for who seek a brief introduction to the Spanish Civil War, but don't have time to wade through a 700-page history.

Lannon handles this divisive war evenhandedly. She points out that both sides were somewhat co-opted by the movements of international communism and fascism and by the end of war, some no longer knew for what cause they were fighting.

This book is subtitled, "1936-1939." Still, I wish Lannon had spent more time on the before and after of the war, rather than concentrating so much on the fighting.

The book is well illustrated and designed, with posters, photos and maps on many pages.

Franz Borkenau's book titled THE SPANISH COCKPIT is a careful study of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Borkenau's book examines two years of this war (1936-1937),and Borkenau is clear that this book is not a comprehensive study of the entire war. Borkenau is also clear that he was only able to examine the "Republican" side and not the side of Franco's Philangists.

Borkenau stated that he was sympathetic to the "leftest" during the Spanish Civil War. Yet, his account is an honest attempt to examine the Republican side and present their successes, excesses and failures. Borkenau gives a surprising detailed account of the "leftest" opposition in 1936 when many of the lower classes rebelled against the army insurrection to topple the Spanish Republic. This rebellion led to the emergence of various political "leftest" parties who in their opposition to Philangists, also opposed each other.

Borkenau cites the Spanish Anarchists who showed remarkable courage. But Borkenau also documents their poltical, excesses, cruelty, and massacres. He makes the arguement that the Spanish Anarchists may have been their own worst enemy. Their massacres of opponents including Catholic clergy caused other Spaniards to fear the Anarchists. The looting and burning of Catholic churches plus their executions of land owners and businessmen antagonized too many people. Sometimes an uncontrolled zealot is the enemy's best briend.

Borkenau also discusses the chaotic military situation. What surprised this writer is Borkenau's knowledge of "military science." He cites examples of courage as well as chaotic lack of organization. For example, Borkenau is clear that at times the Anarchists showed courage while at other times they unnecessarily retreated and showed cowardice.

Borkenau gives the Soviet Communists and Spanish Communists credit for saving the Republican Government in Spain. The Anarchists were too disorganzied and resented. The Soviet Communists provided the arms and political unity necessary to stand up to Franco's Phalangists. Borkenau is clear that the Spanish and Soviet Communists undermined and eventually purged the Anarthists.

What may surprise readers is that there were times that the foreign supporters of the Spanish Republic were resented by their comrades. One should note that Franco's Phalantists also resented their German and Italian comrades. The Spanish may have considered their civil war as a family affair and dispute. Borkenau was obviously not sure who would win the Spanish Civil, but did offer some reasons why the Spanish Republicans did lose. The Spanish Republicans and their "leftest" supporters were not united, and the purges within the ranks of the "leftists demonstrated such disunity.

Borkenau also makes a case that attacks on the Catholic Church were useless and counterproductive. The Spanish Catholic Church was corrupt and lost support of many Spanish. However, as Borkenau notes, where the Catholic clergy took their vocations seriously and helped the people, the Catholic Church was strong. Considering that many Spanish were Catholic if in name only, purges and executions of the Catholic clergy may have cost the Republican Government valuable support.

Borkenau's book is similiar to Orwell's HOMAGE TO CATALONIA. Both writers had a good understanding of the political problems of the "leftests," and readers have better insight to the Spanish Civil War.
Borkenau hints that all Franco had to do was to wait for the opponents to exhaust their efforts in fighting each other making his victory easier.
Both Borkenau and Orwell left Spain with respect for the Spanish people. They also respected the independent spirit of the Spanish who basically wanted to be left alone. The Spanish were not interested in being ruled by managers, industrialists, etc. and were just as suspicious of these "progressive" forces as they were of big landowners.

On pages 299-300, Borkenau states that the Spanish valued beauty, love, honor, and friendship which were more important than efficiency that mechinization promised. In other words, historians and journalists were unable to give a clear picture because of preconceived notions of what Spain should be rather than what Spain is.

George Orwell also recommends this book. In a letter dated August 1, 1937, still energized and deeply emotionally involved in the situation after his stint in the POUM militia, he wrote -

"...I was lucky enough to get out of Spain, but many of my friends and acquaintances are still in jail and I am afraid there is the greatest fear that some of them will be shot, not for any definite offence but for opposition to the Communist Party. If you want to keep in touch with Spanish affairs, the only paper you can more or less rely on [to] tell the truth is the New Leader. Or if you come across it read an excellent book that appeared recently called 'The Spanish Cockpit' by Franz Borkenau."

For those who have trouble with understanding the political divisions in Republican Spain, this is a great book. One can then understand the Republicans, Anarchists, POUM, Communists, and the Catalan parties because of Borkenau writings. For the vast majority of the general population, this read is very difficult. In addition, factor in Borkenau's leftist leanings, and you have a justification of all the attrocities of the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. During that time, if you were a priest, factory owner or manager, or a significant landowner, the penalty was a firing squad. The author wants to impart on his readership that it was right to execute these people as well as tell how bad Franco's side was. My viewpoint was that neither side were angels, and one was as bad as the other. Only at the end when Borkenau was arrested by the Republican police did he start writing about the terrorism of the state. He should have been writing about it when the various political parties ransacked the churches and killed the priests. At least Franco did not pretend to be what he was not.

I would not recommend this book to the average reader. It is a difficult read with all the political discourse. I did learn a lot about the various political divisions in Republican Spain and in this case, the book was informative.

A controversial period in Roman Catholicism, this relfects sources from the time on life in a turmoil when even the church itself transited in ideology. Innocents were executed ... and the intentions vary. The only thing I will say is that the Church believed it was engaging in a form of purification but it was probably unChristian in its implementation. Christ converted followers through love while this time in history was the Christian version of the jealous Pharisees. The late Pope John Paul 2 worked on interfaith dialogue .... which was a healing intention given this 200 years plus time of fear and fire and brimstone.

I will say this .... some of the "witches" were innocent healers ... but others were engaged in sorcery and mischief which were endangering people. This distinction should have been clearer with the church.

The Roman Catholic Church at its best, they executed without exception, and enjoyed every minute. If you want to know about the church that claims to be the true religion and followers of Christ read this book. I'm pretty sure you will understand. However, not everything is bad about the inquisition; they do have some good points too! These techniques could be implemented on the fanatics that are committing acts of terrorism all over the world. Maybe we should return to the inquisition days!

If you're hoping to read about the notorious spanish inquisition, with all it's injustices, tragedy, human suffering....if you want to read accounts and anecdotes and terribly sobering descriptions of the misguided evil that humans are capable of....keep looking!

This book is not that book.

This book is probably well done for what it is. It is a translation of medieval spanish courtroom documents over (I presume) a select sampling of inquisition cases.

To my suprise, what i found was that the inquisition seemed pretty fair, by their own standards. In some cases, the defendant was released with minimal punishment such as a warning and/or "small" pennance. Any torture was barely described by the author in the opening notes and just matter of factly mentioned in the court documents. It was pretty sterile.

You DO gain some insight into the procedures of the inquisition. That is worthwhile. I did not come away with an impression of a kangaroo court led by manical zealots, as I expected I would.

All in all, the book was rather boring though, unless you ARE interested in the sterile nitty gritty, rather than seeking the emotional impact hopefully delivered to the reader of some other book.

We just returned from Barcelona two weeks ago. We had three guide books with us, and this is the one that we consistently carried around. The books were identical in terms of the touristy information and sites. But where Time Out really shines is in the food and drink and nightlife sections. We tried many of their listings and they did not steer us wrong once. Also, their listing s are for places where locals also frequent, which makes for a much more pleasant trip! We had a fabulous time in Barcelona. A couple of recommendations: Park Guell is worth the trip. The following tapas bars were delicious and swarming with locals: Euskal Etxea, Bar Celta Pulperia (get the pulpo and acompany it with a bottle of albarino), and Cerveceria Catalania.

Don't buy this guide if you are headed to Barcelona soon...The reaon I gave it a 3-Starts rating is that some of the bars this guide recommends do not exist anymore! I wanted to go to three of them and they were all closed or replaced by other businesses.

I went to Barcelona recently, and in the planning of the trip I consulted four guide books:

Lonely Planet's Barcelona City Guide
Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Barcelona and Catalonia
Cadogan Guides Barcelona (Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls)
Time Out Barcelona

All of them were good. I took two with me: Lonely Planet and Eyewitness.
The reasons I chose those two:

Eyewitness unfailingly has a good quality map, which in my view is LP's downfall. Eyewitness always includes a Street Finder Index which LP does not, and LP often misses out on streets other than the major ones, which can be very frustrating, especially in a city like Barca where there are many alleyways. I never use Eyewitness for hotels - the information is scant and usually more expensive than my (more Lonely Planet) budget, but it has fantastic colour photos and cutaways of buildings, and illustrations which place buildings within their streetscapes. It's a nice book to read on the bus or train going somewhere.

LP specialises in listings, which seemed to be more up-to-date and comprehensive than either Time Out or Cadogan, It also had a good Excursions section which helped a couple of times when I travelled beyond the city. I also liked a couple of the walking routes they recommended. Information on matters such as public transport is comprehensive and detailed. I like the chapters on history, architecture and food as well.

Time Out's great strength for me was in helping to plan. It had a huge array of hotels, and if you were especially interested in nightlife, I would take Time Out. I was there primarily for a conference, and many of my evenings were organised. And I'm also night a great nightclubber, perhaps contrary to Barca lifestyle!! If you are - consider Time Out. Its maps were pretty good, but not comprehensive for the area I was staying in, beachside Barceloneta.

That is where the Cadogan guide excelled. Its maps were so good that I pulled them out of the book and took them with me. I would have taken the whole book, but for the weight in my suitcase! Its info about places and sights seemed accurate and comprehensive.

I have taken this book to my travel to Andalucia this spring that included visiting cities such as: Malaga, Marbellas, Estepona, Ronda and San Pedro. Guide is small and easy to carry with quick overviews of cities, places to see, hotels to stay in and restaurants to eat at. If you are in the mood for driving (which is not too difficult), you will find a map in the guide as well. Pictures enclosed in the guide will help you decide places of interest you want to see most. The only thing I regret is not having enough time to visit Granada. Food, people, culture and arciteture are worth taking the trip in spite of the weak dollar. If you are travelling on the budget and have plenty of time, research carefully. You can get anywhere by public transportation which is much less expansive than taking taxi. Most of the group tours would cost you less that dinner for two in a resort hotel. If you are in Malaga, definitely visit the Pablo Picasso museum and the home where he grew up. Most people speak English, so even if you do not speak a word of Spanish, you will be OK.

if you don't want to carry a heavy guide book and just want the highlights, this was a fun and helpful book

Those familiar with DK's Eyewitness Travel Guides should already know what to expect from this product--amazing photography, great illustrations, and average written content. It's not that Eyewitness is a poor guide; it simply concentrates more on the visual side of the house and the less on the written than say, Rough Guide or Lonely Planet. This is not really a horrible thing; Eyewitness Guides are my first choice in preparing to go to a country because they a) get you excited about it, b) put you in the proper frame of mind to go there, and c) point out many places, attractions, and events you will want to visit while there. As I stated, the photography is breathtaking, and alone is probably worth the price of the book. Although not all-encompassing, the book's delightful format and ease of reading more than compensate for anything lacking.

The Top 10 Guide reviewed here is a smaller guide oriented towards providing-what else?-top 10 lists for the traveler venturing to Andalusia or the Costa del Sol. Just some of the lists presented are Great Beaches, Attractions for Children, Cultural Landmarks, Places to Eat, and many, many other (sometimes quirky, always entertaining lists). If you're looking for an inexpensive overview of places you'll want to visit while in this region, the Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide Series is for you.

I went to Madeira for 3 days and took this guide and I'm glad I did it. It focus more on Funchal but with so litle time its ideal to plane the days and not waste one second of time.

It has great info about all the best places and I found the bus information the most usefull for people like me, who wanted to save money but enjoy the trip at the same time. It has lots of pictures of what to expect, usefull information about the island, info on prices, small maps and the best locations and monuments: the very best top 10 of places you just have to visit while in Madeira, places like The Catedral of funchal, Museu de Arte sacra, Adegas, Jardim Botânico, Mercado dos Lavradores, Monte, Curral das Freiras, Pico do Areeiro and many more.

this book is definitely not a stand alone guide, but makes a great quick reference to the hit points (top 10 local dishes, top 10 gardens, top 10 beaches, etc). The most useful page was the top 10 warnings - none of our other guidebooks mentioned that you'd be charged for the garlic bread at restaurants even though you didn't order it or about taxi drivers ripping off tourists - this definitely helped us on our trip! You can probably find the book cheaper elsewhere, as we did, so it's worth your while.

First issued in 2005, the "newness" of this book is its strong point -- i.e., hotel and restaurant recommendations are very current. However, the book is not a stand alone tour guide for Madeira. Its maps are totally inadequate in their level of detail, its coverage of things to do/see varies from excellent to sketchy. I would recommend it only as a companion guide to a more comprehensive tour book.

John Harbron's book is a refreshing re-balance of naval history during the Age of Sail that counters the all too often Anglo-centric and borderline jingoist view of naval from authors like N.A.M Rodger. Despite what has been written about the Spanish Navy in the English speaking world, the facts stand out for themselves. Given that Armada was outnumbered and out gunned by the Royal Navy since about the 1650s, the fact of the matter is that the Armada did a fine job despite frequent attacks by Britain and it's privateers. The Spanish Empire held intact well ito the 1900s due in large part to it's great navy. Spain's navy produced great Admirals like Blas De Lezo, who was instrumental in helping acheive victory against the full might of the British during the War of Jenkin's Ear(1739-1748) when the British so wrongfully thought they had the Spanish Empire on the ropes.

Author John Harbron's book is a nice relief from the all long line of Anglocentric Naval historians that like to downplay the accomplishments of the Spanish and, to a lesser extent, French navies in the 1700s. The Spanish Royal Navy did a fine job in the 18th century given the fact that they were outgunned and outmanned and could rarely coordinate effectively with their French naval counterparts in their battles against the British Royal Navy. The results speak for themselves. During the 18th century Spain was able to successfully maintain her vast American empire vitually intact despite contant British Royal Navy attacks. It was only when revolutionary movements in her American empire that Spain lost most of her territories and not because of British actions.
John Hebron's book articulate accomplishments of great Spanish commanders like Blas De Lezo and Bernardo Galvez who had a consistant record of defeating British foes. Facts that are rarely mentioned or glossed over in English language history texts.

While the author has made the point that there were many fine officers in the Spanish Navy, and that there were many excellent ships, the facts indicate that this combination was never capitalised upon, and the result was invariably disasterous. The best of leaders can only do so much with what they are given, and in the case of Spain, this meant far too few seamen, far too much influence by the Army, far too little training for crews, and some of the worst treatment imaginable. There is no point in building enormous warships if they cannot be effectively manned! Further, it is well-documented that ships of the line of the Spanish navy, although enormous in size, were laughably undergunned compared to their contemporaries. This is not made clear in this book. That said, it would also be of enormous benefit to view some of the plans and profiles of these ships, so as to compare them with their British and French contemporaries. Dozens of books have been written about HMS Victory and other Royal Navy ship types, but almost nothing about the ships of the other navies of the time, and even less in English! It is a great pity the author chose to use so many primitive contemporary Spanish paintings for illustration rather than something either commissioned for the book (expensive, no doubt!), or obtained with a bit more research into what is available.

I highly recommend this book. You learn a lot about Spain, and it's people from it. It's a great read! makes you want to visit Spain.

Having lived in Spain many years ago and visited several times since, I found this book to be the best thing anyone can read about the country without reading all of Iberia, Hemingway, etc. More important than a guide book, this is a guide to the soul of the country.

The book consists of 47 essays by different authors, each essay an average of 9 pages long, where the author gives their anecdotal story or insight. And then there is another 20 pages at the end of the "what to know when you travel there" stuff.

It is a great idea for a book, and a you should read it if going to Spain, but I just wish they had used better authors. Nothing from Hemingway, Washington Irving, nothing from the Spaniards themselves like Cervantes and Lorca. The writing seems too modern, not deep, nor funny, nor penetrating enough: Not up to the task at hand. Although the writing is OK, there must be better insights written than these. This could have been a better book, considering the subject is Spain, it could have been a much much better book.

When I was plannning a month-long bicycle tour of Iberia, I immersed myself in travel guides until my eyes began to glaze over. Lots of depth, lots of conflicting opinions about what was worthwhile, overrated, etc. Then I came upon Rick Steve's 22-day guide - a slim, resourceful guide that made a superb framework for a travel plan. Rick is highly opinionated, but he prefaces his critiques with enough personality that I found it easy to read between the lines and form my own opinions. His broad descriptions of major cities - lisbon, madrid, toledo, sevilla - are punctuated with precise detail on lodgings and restaurants. I found his phone numbers and descriptions of cheap housing to be dead on-the-money. When you roll into a large city late at night without reservations, believe me, having a number to call is a welcome asset. The book was small enough to fit in my hip pocket and I used it every day. I found it a perfect balance of structure and open invitation to explore. I recommend it without hesitation! The fact that it's perpetually out-of-print should be a further hint as to it's usefulness

When I travel, I like to explore, and Rick Steve's older guidebooks, such as this one, always suited my purposes. He used to place a lot of emphasis on less commercial, more out of the way places. By this, I don't mean that he ignored the more popular commercial sites. He just gave us a lot of options.

In La Mancha, he directed us up a dirt road above the town of Almonacid de Toledo, where, on a Sunday morning, we had the deserted ruins of a castle to ourselves. No ticket booths, no souvenir stands, no guides, no one else, just my wife and me. Just the two of us with the morning sun, the dew still on the grass, and the ruins to explore to our hearts' content.

Later the same morning, on a windy hill, high above another La Mancha town, Consuegra, waiting for us were seven giant windmills -- the largest I've ever seen. It was easy to see how they inspired Cervantes to write his famous windmill tilting scene. We kept waiting for Don Quixote and Sancho Panza to appear, but they must have been taking Sunday off.

Another place that we never would have found without Rick's help was the Caves at Pileta. Pileta is not an easy place to find, and is not mentioned in most other guide books. "22 Days" is the exception. The caves are at the end of a dead end road about 30 or 40 miles north of Ronda. When you reach the end of the road, the hard part of the trip is still ahead. Into the side of a steep, rocky cliff, several hundred stone steps have been carved. You must climb these to reach the caves. "22 Days" had warned us about the difficulty of the climb, so it didn't take us by surprise. The caves are very rustic. They are owned by the grandson of the farmer who discovered them and it is he who leads four or five tours a day into the depths of the mountain. No commercial tour this. The tours are restricted to about twelve people. To start, three Coleman type lanterns are pumped up and lit. The guide carries one, someone in the middle carries one, and the last person in line carries one. They are the only light anywhere in the caves. A crude path has been cut into the ground, and in several places you find yourself walking in shallow water. After about a half mile walk, you are treated to several areas of paleolithic era cave paintings, and you come across a few piles of bones and pottery shards. We are told that the bones are both human and animal, and that some of them are over five thousand years old.

I think that the real appeal of Rick Steve's older books was in helping the more adventurous tourist find places like these. It was also our experience that at least some of the inexpensive lodgings that he recommended were real finds. I think particularly of one in Granada just a few hundred yards below the entrance to the Alhambra. It was very inexpensive, clean, and was owned by the second or third generation of the same family. The woman who, with the help of her son, owned and operated it, (Matilda was her name) was both personable and helpful. When I was leaving Granada and heading south, she told me about a secondary road through the mountains that turned out to be one of the scenic highlights of our trip.

Other than some of his recommendations on where to eat, which were hit and miss, Steves' recommendations and descriptions were right on the money. For all the wonderful things we saw only because of his write ups, I can forgive him a poor meal or two.

Offering an introduction to the ancient art of damascening, the process of embellishing metal objects with intricate designs of gold and silver inlay in works of art ranging from urns and caskets to mirror frames and furniture, this book is published to coincide with a major exhibition devoted to the work of Placido Zuloaga (1834-1910), one of the masters of the art, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, from May 1997 to January 1998.

Offering an introduction to the ancient art of damascening, the process of embellishing metal objects with intricate designs of gold and silver inlay in works of art ranging from urns and caskets to mirror frames and furniture, this book is published to coincide with a major exhibition devoted to the work of Placido Zuloaga (1834-1910), one of the masters of the art, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, from May 1997 to January 1998.