Spain: The Root and the Flower: An Interpretation of Spain and the Spanish People (Paperback)

by John A. Crow (Author) "Spain is like a great castle that rises from the sea..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, General Franco, Middle Ages (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"The distinctive features of the book are indeed the author's deep insight into the mores of the country . . . and his enthusiasm for the brilliance of Spain's culture. . . The essential political facts are all there, but far more important and meaningful . . . is the environmental lore that Dr. Crow has gleaned from his many journeys since he first went to Spain in 1928." --"Times Literary Supplement

Product Description
John A. Crow updates and expands his classic study of the cultural history of Spain and its people. The scope of this richly textured book is remarkable and includes chapters on Roman Spain, the Jews in Spain, the Moors, life in medieval towns, the Golden Age of Spain, and other epochs in Spanish history. In addition, Crow extensively updates later chapters to reflect changing events in the last ten years in Spain, and he expands his chapter on "Franco's Legacy."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 455 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 3rd Exp&Up edition (March 13, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520051335
• ISBN-13: 978-0520051331
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #667,342 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Overview Of Spanish History, December 14, 2004

By	M. D. Stern (Yorba Linda, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If one is looking for a brief overview of Spanish history, art, and literature then this book might just be what is desired. While it does not go into great depth, it does provide the reader with an overall basis of beginnings of the Spanish peoples, the civilizations that invaded the Iberian pennisula (Visigoths, Romans, Moors), and describes each of the monarchs.

In addition, the author does provide an insight into the greater known artists of Spain and some of their more well-known works. He also explains the literary talent that Spain has contributed to the world.

The is a good, if not in depth, summary of the events leading up to the Spanish Civil War and what it meant politically to the country. The author covers a good deal of the Franco era, possibly because he was in the country during that time. Still, it provides the reader with a conceputalization of the period. I was a little disappointed that the author did not bring out the less valued parts of Franco's Spain. By reading this book one would think Franco was very nearly a saint. Still, I was thankful for the knowledge of international affairs during the Franco era, and America's reaction (or should I say non-reaction) to it.

The last chapter, "Spain Today", I feel is totally irrelevant. I would recommend not bothering to read it. This book was first written in 1963, and the last update to it was 1984/85. As the author describes "Spain Today" it is 20 years ago. A lot can, and does, happen in 20 years and I feel this chapter should either be updated or completely left out of the book. If one is reading this to educate themselves on current mores and values in Spain, this is not the chapter to gain that information. Because of the dated material in the final two chapters, which I feel are a waste of a reader's time, I felt I had to give this book 3 stars.

If one is looking for a book to provide a brief, easy to read history of Spain, including artists and authors, then this might be a worthy read. If one is looking for the modern day Spain, then this book is not of much use.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memorable, deep, and completely outstanding, July 9, 2006

By	Lee Corbin - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Spain: The Root and the Flower: An Interpretation of Spain and the Spanish People (Paperback)

This history book has several things going for it. First, it's eminently readable; the author is a skillful writer who keeps you thinking about the subject matter, not his own style. Second, the reader's interest is doubled by the author's constant interweaving of the development of Spanish character into the history. Thirdly, the author always attempts explanations of the deeper historical processes at work, keeping the (interesting anyway) history from devolving into just descriptions of events, kings, and battles.

The middle third of the book is devoted to explicating the Spaniard's eight-hundred year struggle to expel the Moors. Memorably pointing out that the Moors had superior economic strength, superior technology, vastly greater learning (including science, of course), the author stresses the key factors about Spanish character that enabled their ultimate triumph. The situations at almost any time during this period were never simple, of course---sometimes groups of Moors and Christians would be allied against other groups of Moors and Christians, and there would also be periods of relative peace on the penisula.

I wish that all history books would use John Crow's book as a model.

36 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars a very detrimental BOOK!!, October 11, 2002

By A Customer

A very detrimental book. Amazingly wrong point of view.
To say that "the Spaniards spring from an Afro-Semitic race" is just a wrong start.
To say that the Arabs were in Spain for about 800 years...is not to have any idea about the history of Spain!!. In reality, the Iberians could have been today's Basques, incoming from the Georgia plateau, as of today no one is certain about the origins of the Iberians. The Basque were never touch by the conquest of the Arabs, nor the Galicians, nor the Cantabrians. In Catatonia the Arabs were expel by the Franks by the year 977 (that is 220 years after their incursion in this region). Valencia was liberated by 1248. Only in Granada did the Arabs lived for around 800 years (most of them of Syrian descent, is that north Africa?) . Spain is a country of different ethnicity's, some with direct Celtic ancestry like the Asturs, Galicians and Cantabrians, some like the Catalans with Frankish descendants, and some, like Extremadura or Andalucia from Mediterranean past, and still some like the Basque, with an uncertain past, but a unique history, never subdue neither by Visigoths, nor Romans, nor Arabs.
I have a PHD from the University of Salamanca, and I could not disagree more with John A Crow. I found many inaccuracies in this book. If you would like to learn about the true history of Spain, or just learn about the life and culture of Spain be aware of this issue. Crow writes out of his personal opinion...A very dangerous thing to due. I could write a book about the US base in my opinion and I'm sure I would offend many people, and at the same time I would probably be inaccurate. Crow refuses facts over his own ideas. I could give you a list the inaccuracies (many of them!!) but I have nor space nor time.
Take a trip to Spain (south, north, east and west so as to appreciate the differences of the people and the culture and the history) and read some good books about the history of Medieval Spain (Joseph F. O'Callahan, B. Netanyahu, are good books), and learn the true history of this unique land.