Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett - 9780802716743 - Compare Prices on New & Used Textbooks, Cheap Textbooks

“Part modern social history, part travelogue, Ghosts of Spain is held together by elegant first-person prose…an invaluable book…[that] has become something of a bible for those of us extranjeros who have chosen to live in Spain. A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present.”—Sarah Wildman, New York Times Book Review
The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco’s death squads finally broke what Spaniards call “the pact of forgetting”—the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe’s most voluble people have kept silent so long. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils

the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one

of Europe’s most exciting countries.

		Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past by Giles Tremlett ISBN-10: 9780802716743 ISBN-10: 0-8027-1674-1 ISBN-13: 9780802716743 ISBN-13: 978-0-8027-1674-3 Paperback 2008-03-04 Walker & Company Find Lowest Price
Editorials

Product Description “Part modern social history, part travelogue, Ghosts of Spain is held together by elegant first-person prose…an invaluable book…[that] has become something of a bible for those of us extranjeros who have chosen to live in Spain. A country finally facing its past could scarcely hope for a better, or more enamored, chronicler of its present.”—Sarah Wildman, New York Times Book Review The appearance, more than sixty years after the Spanish Civil War ended, of mass graves containing victims of Francisco Franco’s death squads finally broke what Spaniards call “the pact of forgetting”—the unwritten understanding that their recent, painful past was best left unexplored. At this charged moment, Giles Tremlett embarked on a journey around the country and through its history to discover why some of Europe’s most voluble people have kept silent so long. In elegant and passionate prose, Tremlett unveils the tinderbox of disagreements that mark the country today. Ghosts of Spain is a revelatory book about one of Europe’s most exciting countries.
Reviews

informed unbiased insight into Spain cool-minded views of a passionate lover of Spain, with lots of insight and a committed approach. Very interesting and useful to have an understanding of my country
The Bible for Spain-Lovers Tremlett incorporates personal anecdotes and experiences into each delightfully informative chapter to the extent that the writing is never dull or dry. As a Spanish-American trying to get in touch with his roots, this book, essential for those who have fallen for Spain, made me even prouder to call Spain my fatherland.
Lots of info...and a very good read As a regular visitor to Spain who unfortunately hasn't had much luck mastering the language, I've scoured bookstores and websites in order to learn everything I can about the the history and culture of this amazing country. Many of the books available are not very comprehensive, or dry to the point of being boring. Most books in English you buy in Spain (translations) are almost unreadable, and clearly not edited by native English speakers. Ghosts of Spain has got a ton of information...and insight, and it's very readable. I highly recommend it for anyone with casual interest, or for "Span-o-files" like myself.
"How the Bikini Saved Spain" ..and other short stories... Nice follow up after reading the classic Iberia by James Michener. Brings the reader up to date on life in modern Spain which is still haunted by ghosts of its civil war and the battle between tradition and modernism. La Transicion, or Spain's transition to democracy is something that is occuring both historically, politically, and personally as Spain enters a more globalized, connected world. Tremlett describes this "transicion" from all perspectives, but it is his personal perspective, as an ex-pat Brit raising his family in Spain, which I found particularly enjoyable. His descriptions of day to day life juxtaposed into chapters dealing with deeper historical and political events, such as the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, the legacy of Franco, the Basque separatist movement, the pride of Catalans, and the 2004 Islamic bombings, makes this book very readable and pertitent to truly understanding not only the country but its people, and their remarkable history.
A potentially interesting subject spoiled by repetitive and dull writing I wanted to learn more about Spain and the format of this book seemed ideal but the writer has a dull style that makes it hard to get through the book. It's repetitive; he uses the most hackneyed phrases and it sounds like a "What I did last summer" composition from a pretentious high schooler. It's neither a detailed history nor a good journalistic read.