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España

A Brief History of Spain

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España

By: Giles Tremlett
Narrated by: Luis Soto
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About this listen

Best-selling author Giles Tremlett traverses the rich and varied history of Spain, from prehistoric times to today, in a brief, accessible primer for visitors, curious listeners and hispanophiles.

Spain's position on Europe's southwestern corner has exposed it to cultural, political and actual winds blowing from all quadrants. Africa lies a mere nine miles to the south. The Mediterranean connects it to the civilisational currents of Phoenicians, Romans, Carthaginians and Byzantines as well as the Arabic lands of the Near East. Hordes from the Russian steppes were amongst the first to arrive. They would be followed by Visigoths, Arabs, Napoleonic armies and many more invaders and immigrants. Circular winds and currents linked it to the American continent, allowing Spain to conquer and colonise much of it.

As a result, Spain has developed a sort of hybrid vigour. Whenever it has tried to deny this inevitable heterogeneity, it has required superhuman effort to fashion a 'pure' national identity—which has proved impossible to maintain. In España, Giles Tremlett argues that, in fact, that lack of a homogenous identity is Spain's defining trait.

©2022 Giles Tremlett (P)2022 W F Howes Civilisation Europe Expeditions & Discoveries Spain World Western Europe Imperialism Crusade

Critic Reviews

"Lively and well-informed.... At once a history, a journalistic inquiry and a travel book." (Sunday Telegraph)

"Tremlett writes with humour, modesty and a great affection for his subject." (Daily Telegraph)
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This is an excellent short history of Spain - approachable, sometimes funny and well-informed. The reading however is not good. Great to have someone who speaks Spanish, but totally unnecessary and inappropriate intonation - trying to make it sound like a drama. I hate this habit of reading with lots of random inflection in audible history books - I almost gave up because it was so irritating.

A short route to understanding Spain

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