Customer Reviews

A Traveller's History of Spain (Traveller's History)

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What a disappointment. I am preparing for my first trip to Spain. Hoping for a summary of the country's history and people that would help me appreciate what I am about to see, I anxiously opened Lalaguna's book. Instead of text that would bring the country's culture and historical figures to life, I found a mere time line. Chapter after chapter that traces groups of people by date and geographical location. The Black Plague, the Inquisition and Ferdinand and Isabella's reign were all dispensed with in a mere paragraph. What a shame that such a rich heritage could sound so boring.

Having read several other Traveller's History books (Turkey, China, Greece) and enjoyed them, I expected much more than I got from this book. The author makes no connections and assumes the reader already knows a lot about Spanish history, in which case, why read this one? I was particularly turned off by the author's terrible punctuation and sentences that went on for 10 lines. Doesn't anyone edit anymore? Wish I had read the other reviews before buying this book. Someone planning a trip to Spain should read James Michner's Iberia instead Ñ not as much history, perhaps, but a lot more understanding of the country and what shaped it.

Bought this book in Canada from Chapters. Dropped it after the first 100 pages. I love history and enjoy history books, but this one is terribly boring and unprofessional. There is no systematic approach whatsoever: events, places and names mentioned without proper introduction or reference. The book fails to build link between the places you might visit (it's a "travelers history" after all) and the historic events. It is neither popular reading nor academic textbook.

Bought this book in Canada from Chapters. Dropped it after the first 100 pages. I love history and enjoy history books, but this one is terribly boring and unprofessional. There is no systematic approach whatsoever: events, places and names mentioned without proper introduction or reference. The book fails to build link between the places you might visit (it's a "travelers history" after all) and the historic events. It is neither popular reading nor academic textbook.

A word of caution: this book is not in any way a pleasure to read. I tried several times to slug through it but maybe got as far page 60-something. I don't want to dwell on how scattered this book was. I'm still looking for that great book about Spanish history - or at least a comfortable overview. As for the title, "A Traveller's History of Spain" who is the traveller, is it supposed to be the 'reader' or the 'author'? If it is the latter, it must have been a book meant for him because I couldn't follow along. This book is arduous.

This is neither a good history text nor helpful in any way to the traveller.

I've read other Traveller's History books and have found them to be delightful, both readable and enjoyable whilst giving an overview to their respective country's history and culture. This book is the exception. It completely glosses over the most fascinating and relevant points in Spanish history (such as the Spanish Civil War) in preference for detailing economic and industrial statistics that no casual reader could ever hope to recall after. Oddly, despite the emphasis on the country's economic history, the devaluation of gold during the Spanish Empire is hardly mentioned. The culture of Spain is completely lost in this book! There is hardly any mention of the great literature, art, music and dance that has come from Spain.

I read textbooks for fun.... and even I found this book an absolute torture to read. I was actually in Spain when I finally finished. I was in the perfect situation to appreciate the history all the more and sadly found myself feeling completely cheated.

While shallow enough for those like me who have little patience for over-scrupulous books, it is strikingly biassed and opinionated. Some remarks about historic figures are blatantly subjective, and bias reaches its zenith when the author goes to great length criticising the Socialist government of Felipe Gonzalez. As a Spaniard who has lived that period, while I acknowledge the right of the author to hold an opinion on Gonzalez's period in office, his comments go way beyond admissibility in a history book. I cannot recommend this book.

While shallow enough for those like me who have little patience for over-scrupulous books, it is strikingly biassed and opinionated. Some remarks about historic figures are blatantly subjective, and bias reaches its zenith when the author goes to great length criticising the Socialist government of Felipe Gonzalez. As a Spaniard who has lived that period, while I acknowledge the right of the author to hold an opinion on Gonzalez's period in office, his comments go way beyond admissibility in a history book. I cannot recommend this book.