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 Michener's
Iberia
is probably the best known book about Spain, and one of
Michener's few non=fiction works. It is a sort of a combination of
travelogue and history. Michener's personal involvement with Spain was clearly passionate
and intense, and he apparently wrote this book largely himself, unlike his habit in his
later formula novels of farming out the work to one of this assistants. It's interesting
to read, and full of good information. Not least of it's attractions is that, since it has
had such a large market, it's cheap.
 Spanish
History Since 1808 This
is a collection of essays by well-known scholars, and is part of an effort
to bring Spain and its history back into the European mainstream from
which it had been expelled because of the "Black Legend" of
Spanish cruelty in the Americas and in the inquisition. 1808 was
picked as the starting date for this historical survey because Napoleon
invaded Spain in that year, starting the dissolution of the mighty Spanish
Empire which ended in 1898 when Spain lost its last colonies to the United
States
 Spain:
A History Another
collaborative work by both Spanish and British historians. Spain has
a long and fascinating history, a history that is little known outside of
Spain. Spain was a vital part of the Roman empire: three Emperors of
Rome were born in Spain.
 The
Spanish Civil War : Revised Edition Hugh
Thomas is perhaps the foremost popular historian of Spain and Latin
America. The Spanish Civil War was a prelude to World War II, with
great brutality and destruction. The Civil War brought Generalisimo
Francisco Franco to power in Spain, and for almost 40 years Spain was
ruled by a dictatorship and remained impoverished.
 The
New Spaniards Since
Franco's death in 1975, and Spain's becoming a constitutional monarchy,
great progress has been achieved. Emerging from hundreds of years of
poverty and isolation, Spain is a prosperous country fully integrated into
Europe.
 Rivers
of Gold : The Rise of the Spanish Empire, from Columbus to Magellan
Hugh Thomas
again. This is the story of Spanish exploration and conquest in
Latin America, mostly in the Caribbean. It stops short of the two
great events which still cast a pall over the region: the conquests of
Mexico and of Peru. Very good on the exploitation of the indigenous
population.
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