Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Espana:
¡Este libro es genial!
Quick synopsis:
A brief history of Spain up until the present day.
Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like:
The elephants Hannibal took over the Alps were only 3 meters tall. They are an extinct species of elephants. Yeah, I thought they were bigger, too.
Fun Fact for History Nerds:
The Spanish Armada got destroyed by England, right? Nope, only 35 of 127 ships were sunk.
My Take on España:
Sometimes history is better when you keep it short. España by Giles Tremlett is proof.
Tremlett writes about the entire history of Spain since before you could even call it Spain to when Covid hit. Along the way, you get introduced (briefly) to all the major Spanish names you should know and learn a lot of very interesting little tidbits. Want to know where bullfighting came from? It’s in here. Why wasn’t Spain part of the Allies or the Axis in World War II? Come find out.
The possible criticisms someone may have is that the book doesn’t delve deeply into any specific point and makes some generalizations from time to time. These would be ridiculous as the subtitle is, “A Brief History of Spain.” In this case, getting to the point is an excellent way to tell the story.
(This book was provided to me as an advance copy by Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA.)
Verdict:
A great, high-level history of an entire country. Read it. Buy it here!
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