Ghosts of Spain: A Must-Read Before Visiting Espana!

A Gio Book Review: Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past, by Giles Tremlett, 2007

Giles Tremlett's 2007 cultural conversation about all-things Spanish is a must-read for anyone planning to visit Espana! Tremlett provides thought-provoking, colorful insights into Spanish history, culture and character. This may be the most interesting and plausible text on a foreign culture ever written by an outsider, in this case an English reporter married to a Spanish woman and living in Madrid with their young son. The Spanish penchant for noise and for doing things en masse; the terrible and tragic Civil War and resulting fascist dictatorship of Franco; the Two Spains; the Pact of Forgetting (the terrible atrocities of Spain's bloody history to have hope of moving forward...but can a nation really avoid facing its demons, forever?); the role of the Catholic Church (and of Islam) in Spanish history; the unification of the country and Golden Age after the discovery of the New World; the Inquisition; the transition to democracy led by a monarch appointed by a dictator (talk about unique circumstances!); unbridled capitalist building on the coasts before the economic collapse; foreigners--especially the English--flocking to Spain for retirement and transforming entire villages into ex-pat enclaves; and the breakout of Spanish culture post-Franco, to the point where extreme personal freedom is favored over even basic societal order...these and many other aspects of Spanish history and culture are explored in a readable, interesting way. If you read just one book about Spain before traveling there, Ghosts of Spain is the one. Click on the book cover above to order the book through Amazon.com.