Spain, influential historians once maintained, was an "exceptional" country--meaning that, in many key respects, it lay outside the course of European history. Unlike any other nation of Western Europe, Spain was for centuries the province of Islamic rulers, and the crowned heads of other parts of the continent scorned it as an "oriental," necessarily backward nation--when in many ways it was considerably more advanced than its neighbors.

The exceptionalist view of Spanish history was misguided and damaging, writes the eminent historian Raymond Carr, but it was one that many Spanish people accepted: to them, it helped explain why Spain, once so mighty and rich an empire, should have fallen behind while the rest of Europe grew stronger and wealthier, and why a retrograde ruler like Franco could have remained in power when democracy flourished elsewhere.

Carr and his colleagues, including several Spanish scholars, seek to restore Spain to the mainstream of European history in this highly useful survey. Taking in a view that extends deep into prehistory and forward to the recent presidential elections, the contributors emphasize the diversity of Spain's many peoples, whose union under the kings and queens of Castile and Aragon would bring so much of the world under Spanish dominion, and the difficulty of maintaining that political union in the recent climate of ethnic and regional rivalry. --Gregory McNamee


From Publishers Weekly
Potent yet palatable, this history of Spain is remarkably seamlessAespecially considering that it traces the development of a fractious society and that it is the creation of nine collaborating authors. The work's fluidity is both evidence of editor Carr's diligence and a manifestation of the authors' unity of purpose. Together and individually they dismiss the romantic notion that, to preserve traditional values, Spain has repeatedly resisted social change and intentionally sacrificed its own prosperity. Instead they propose that Spain's unique path toward integration with modern Europe has been the result of the perpetual clash of its diverse inhabitants and conquerors. Far from isolating itself from Europe, they argue, Spain grew in power by exploiting its ties to other European societies. The authors' shared thesis spans the centuries from Roman domination, to the Islamic invasion, to the tyranny of Franco, but their narrative styles and interests are by no means uniform. Carr (a former warden at St. Anthony's College at Oxford and author of Modern Spain, 1875-1980) displays what amounts to contempt for Spanish culture of the mid-19th century; Felipe Fern ndez-Armesto (professor of history, Oxford) combines effervescence with erudition in his discussion of the Spanish Golden Age; Sebastian Balfour (assistant director of Spanish studies, London School of Economics) employs the brevity demanded by the book's structure to heart-wrenching effect in his account of the Spanish Civil War. As era is layered upon era, the events of history become linked not only by a causal relationship, but by a creative one as well: this book suggests that the concept of Spain has evolved through the continuous and repeated reinterpretation of a rich and controversial past. 8 pages color and 70 b&w illus. not seen by PW. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
For most students of European history, Spain is significant only briefly during the late 15th and 16th centuries in connection with discovery and conquest in the Americas; otherwise, knowledge about its history is often lacking. Carr (former warden, St. Antony's Coll., Oxford Univ.; Modern Spain, 1875-1980) and eight other international experts on Spanish history have contributed essays that will fill in the fascinating span of Spanish history from prehistoric and Roman Spain to the country's emergence as a dedicated and energetic member of the European Economic Community. A careful and pointed selection of color and black-and-white plates bring historical figures and events to life. However, this is not a superficial and popular history. The essays are serious and scholarly in tone and certainly provide grist for further reading and discussion. Fortunately, a well-selected bibliography of items (in English) will facilitate further study and deeper consideration of the historical facts. Recommended for larger historical and travel collections.DOlga B. Wise, Compaq Computer Corp., Austin, TX Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Spain once ruled the seas, creating a vast empire with its investment in New World exploration and its subsequent gain of wealth. Its history is a tale of division, distrust, and internal unrest. Its literature is plentiful and rich. And Spain has seldom been allotted the kind of well-researched narrative historical overview that this excellent volume gives it. Due to Francoist restrictions and forced historical revisionism, it is only now that Spain's history can be given an objective look, by both Spanish and non-Spanish historians. As restrictions and access to historical documents become relaxed, only this generation's authors have fully realized the fascinating and epic nature of Spain's history. Edited by Oxford historian Carr, Spain presents a journey through the nation's entire history: from its prehistoric settlement through Roman, Visigothic, and Islamic rule, and from its golden age of exploration to the Spanish civil war in the 1930s, Franco's resulting rule, the monarchy's reestablishment, Basque separatists, and modern Spain's political unrest. Despite its slow moving density, this is a wonderful overview of an oft-unexplored history. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Sir Raymond Carr is one of the world's leading authorities on the history of Spain. In Spain: A History, he and eight other leading scholars—including Sebastian Balfour and Felipe Fernandez-Armesto—provide an authoritative overview of a country that has played a vital role in the history of the Western world.

Here is an up-to-date and engaging tour of Spain through the ages. We read of prehistoric Spain and of the imposition of Roman rule, which created the idea of Hispania as a single entity. There are knowledgeable discussions of the Visigoth monarchy, Moorish Spain, the establishment of an empire, and the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, all of which not only chart the political and economic development of Spain, but also examine the extraordinary artistic and literary achievements of the Spanish people. We read of the rise of liberalism in the nineteenth century, and of its fall, which ushered in a period of political instability culminating in the Civil War and authoritarian rule. The book concludes with a look at modern Spain as a fully integrated and enthusiastic member of the European community.

Attractively illustrated with eight pages of color plates and twenty-four black-and-white plates, Spain: A History is the best historical account of Spain currently available for general readers.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Potent yet palatable, this history of Spain is remarkably seamless--especially considering that it traces the development of a fractious society and that it is the creation of nine collaborating authors. The work's fluidity is both evidence of editor Carr's diligence and a manifestation of the authors' unity of purpose. Together and individually they dismiss the romantic notion that, to preserve traditional values, Spain has repeatedly resisted social change and intentionally sacrificed its own prosperity. Instead they propose that Spain's unique path toward integration with modern Europe has been the result of the perpetual clash of its diverse inhabitants and conquerors. Far from isolating itself from Europe, they argue, Spain grew in power by exploiting its ties to other European societies. The authors' shared thesis spans the centuries from Roman domination, to the Islamic invasion, to the tyranny of Franco, but their narrative styles and interests are by no means uniform. Carr (a former warden at St. Anthony's College at Oxford and author of Modern Spain, 1875-1980) displays what amounts to contempt for Spanish culture of the mid-19th century; Felipe Fern ndez-Armesto (professor of history, Oxford) combines effervescence with erudition in his discussion of the Spanish Golden Age; Sebastian Balfour (assistant director of Spanish studies, London School of Economics) employs the brevity demanded by the book's structure to heart-wrenching effect in his account of the Spanish Civil War. As era is layered upon era, the events of history become linked not only by a causal relationship, but by a creative one as well: this book suggests that the concept of Spain has evolved through the continuous and repeated reinterpretation of a rich and controversial past. 8 pages color and 70 b&w illus. not seen by PW. (Sept.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

Library Journal

For most students of European history, Spain is significant only briefly during the late 15th and 16th centuries in connection with discovery and conquest in the Americas; otherwise, knowledge about its history is often lacking. Carr (former warden, St. Antony's Coll., Oxford Univ.; Modern Spain, 1875-1980) and eight other international experts on Spanish history have contributed essays that will fill in the fascinating span of Spanish history from prehistoric and Roman Spain to the country's emergence as a dedicated and energetic member of the European Economic Community. A careful and pointed selection of color and black-and-white plates bring historical figures and events to life. However, this is not a superficial and popular history. The essays are serious and scholarly in tone and certainly provide grist for further reading and discussion. Fortunately, a well-selected bibliography of items (in English) will facilitate further study and deeper consideration of the historical facts. Recommended for larger historical and travel collections.--Olga B. Wise, Compaq Computer Corp., Austin, TX Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\