Customer Reviews

A Traveller's History of Portugal (Traveller's History Series)

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Read it with caution

This book contains a lot of information, some correct some incorrect, some useful some unlikely to interest the general reader. Do you really want to read a page-long list of Visigothic kings? Worse than this kind of information is the considerable number of errors,as a typical mistake, "The Luciades". This is supposed to be "The Lusiads" (see "The Lusiads", Oxford World's Classics, a five-star book). This traveller's history puts together a lot of material from different sources, but does so unselectively and without checking for accuracy. This is as bad as the Tyson-Ward Portuguese books!

This is not really a history but mainly lists of events a large number of them presented in an unusual way and with the wrong date. Names are often spelt wrong, some beyond recognition. Others are quite amusing in their changed form, like Manrique (Manique). We the readers deserve better, much better. If you want a concise history of Portugal good for the traveller, then you have the right book in Portugal a Companion History by Jose Hermano Saraiva. That one is good!

I don't understand what all the fuss below is about. Some people must be upset with Mr. Robertson for reasons other than the actual content of the book. Yes, he does spell 'Os Luciados' a couple of different ways in this book, and that does seem to be poor editing; however, google indicates that the "misspellings" are all legitimate. I suppose a catholic might find fault with his characterization of Fatima as a "spiritual disneyland." But then, if he wrote about it from a Catholic perspective, it would be a theology rather than a history book.

This book is very obviously meant to be a quick overview of Portugese history for people who are on vacation there. My book dealer even helpfully put it in the "travel" section, rather than the history section. Many times in my travels, I found myself in an interesting place, completely at the mercy of the cretinous author of whatever travel book I was able to procure for myself. Having a slim book like this I can read while travelling, and refer to while in museums and other places of culture (say, to remind myself who Luis de Camoes might be) makes the trip that much more exciting and relevant. While travelling, you do not want some vast tome, impossible to carry around with you: you want a light reference, which includes timelines, and, yes, lists of Visigothic kings. I think this book admirably succeeds in its purpose for Portugal. My trip was dramatically enriched by having this book along. I probably wouldn't choose this book in studying for a test on Portugese history, and I did find it a bit dry in places and perhaps a bit spare in others. I also allow there may be better examples of this 'travel genre' on the subject of Portugese history, but those weren't available in the bookstore. I think the average english speaking tourist to Portugal will be just as pleased with this book as I was.

I got the book today. First thing I did was check to see what the author says about the apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima. He wrote "The ecclesiastical authorities, eager to reap the fruits of fervent devotion - as so evident at Lourdes - were not slow to seize on their infantile delusions by further imposing on the gullible and largely illiterate peasantry. Pilgrimages were expediently organized. Inordinate sums were spent by Salazar in erecting a monstrous basilica at Fatima, consecrated in 1953, which is little less than an affront to any instinct of veneration, well-described as a "Spiritual Disneyland"." Tis enough! The author is an anti-Catholic bigot!

A basic comprehensive summary of Portugal's history. Nothing anti-Catholic about it. Today Fatima is indeed little more than Disneyland for religious zelots.