About time the Prudent King received treatment worth his contemporaneous status! Not much has been written on Phillip II that would pass the most superficial test of historical accuracy. This book, a survey of his reign, is balanced and well written. Kamen describes neither a demon (the characterization of Phillip which most English readers would find familiar) nor a saint (the preferred version among Spanish monarchists), but the first modern bureaucrat. Kamen scholarship has some precursors in the English historical world, ie Elton, Parker, but his contribution to popular history in the form of biography is unique at this point. The 30 Years War, the casus belli for Modern Europe, is inconceivable without Phillip II's presence. This book paints with an informed brush the Spanish dynastic cause. I recommend this book highly.

Kamen offers a very complete and detailed description of the great grandson of the Catholic Kings and the difficulty of managing the most extensive empire the world has ever known. The facts are taken from great sources and presented in an honest fashion. Kamen strays from legends and myths and even challenges some of them as he did in "The Spanish Inquisition". The dedication of Felipe II to his realm is explained realisticly. Finally, the chronology is followed with discipline and is commendable. I would recommend this book to anyone desiring information on this Hapsburg leader.

That's right! I am, at this moment, making a powerful epic screenplay about the greatest king in the 1500s. It is called PHILIP, KING OF SPAIN - and it will star me as the great king Philip II. I will show him as the man, the king, the warrior, the father, the husband, and the ruler of his court!

So forget about those other little biopics like THE LAST EMPEROR, AMADEUS, ELIZABETH, and others! PHILIP, KING OF SPAIN will be an Academy Award-winning, Best Picture epic film made by yours truly - Kristoffer Infante! It will be a companion to my other Oscar-winning Best Picture, PRISONER OF WAR - written, directed, produced, and starring me - and TRIANGLE, another Oscar-winning Best Picture!

I will be faithful to the man and the myth, and destroy all that negativity that has dogged Philip in the last 400 years! Philip will be loved and appreciated again!

Count on it!

While I sympathize with the plight of finding info on Portuguese costume this book deals with Spanish costume primarily (one of the possible definitions of Hispanic). It does have bits that would be useful to costume historians interested in Portugal or Italy, especially if no dedicated book can be found, but that is not its main point at all. If you are interested in Spanish costuming for that period, however, it is probably the book to have, complemented by Carmen Bernis' "Trajes y Modas en la España de los Reyes Católicos"* vols 1 (men's costume and glossary) and 2 (women's costume).

The only thing I dislike about this book is that it is divided into sections dealing with the various garments or garment parts (sleeves, jerkins, skirts, etc). While this is an interesting and useful approach, it is hard to relate what goes with what and so encourages the mismatching of costumes by putting toguether elements from different decades or those which would not have been put toguether.

Also, bear in mind that most of the pictures are in black and white and that there no modern patterns at all in it.

* published by the CSIC (see http://www.csic.es/publica/)

Very, very good for the serious historical costumer who is interested in Spanish influence on fashion during the 16th century. Covers both male and female clothing in amazing detail. Spanish terms for clothing are easily identifiable and well defined. This is one book that no 16th century costumer should be without!

"Hispanic Costume, 1480-1530" is a beautifully organized and thorough study of the costume of Spain during this period. The text and illustrations work very well together, but the arrangement of the illustrations is just outstanding. Ms. Anderson uses close-up photos of paintings, sculpture and actual costume items from the period, all organized by costume item (e.g., Women's shoes, men's cloaks). The reader experiences the rare treat of seeing several representations of the same type of item on the same page -- I can't think of a better way to gain a good visual understanding of the characteristics of various elements of costume in a single period.

This book also made me re-think the influence of Spanish costume on other parts of Europe during the 16th century -- particularly in costume in Italy. Whether you agree or not, check out this book and see for yourself.

I am giving "The Blind Man of Seville" one star, but I could just as easily have given it five for the successful realization of a thriller. The thing is that the plot, the graphic scenes of torture, and the angst of the characters gave me nightmares. I tried to stick with it to find out what happened to the child Arturo, or what caused the victim such horror at the time of death, but considering what had happened so far ,did I really want to know? No. I put "The Blind Man of Seville" down.

This is the most unsettling book I have read since "Red Dragon," which I was actually able to finish. I found Robert Wilson's "The Company of Strangers" a very smart spy tale which brewed history, characterization, and deceit into a dark and satisfying result. The well-developed characters, unusual, believable setting, and high-stakes crime are all here, but the way they play out is repellent. I have never put a book down because I was too disturbed to go on. Wilson is an excellent writer, but this book is sickening. If that is what he intended, he has succeeded brilliantly. If that's not what you're after, stay away.

THE BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE is a tour de force. Robert Wilson melds police procedural with psychological thriller as he leads the reader through the social, geographic, and historic topography of Seville and Tangier. Along the way Wilson offers insights into the vagaries of memory, the discomforts of truth, and the origins of loneliness.

Seville's chief homicide detective Javier Falcon, son of a famous painter, struggles to identify a killer who mutilates his victims while showing them unendurable images from their past. At the same time Falcon is wrestling with ghosts of his own past: his divorce and the contents of his dead father's studio which he's kept locked away for nearly two years. What he learns in these simultaneous investigations brings Falcon to verge of collapse.

This may not be a book for readers who want their mysteries to be simple mind candy. It is dark, violent, and frightening. However, if you admire the dark stories of Ruth Rendel and Nicolas Freeling, you should read THE BLIND MAN OF SEVILLE.

This, the new novel by the award-winning author of A Small Death in Lisbon, appears to have much going for it. The first draw is its rather curious title, the second is its exotic setting, Seville, Spain. Plus, the plot itself sounds rather fascinating...

Thursday 12th of April, and a leading restaurateur is found slain in his home. Tied to a chair in front his TV, he has been forced to view horrifically unendurable images. The horrors of these scenes is evidenced by the self-inflicted wounds caused by Raul Jimenez's desperate struggle not to watch them. On top of that, his eyelids have been removed. The normally dispassionate detective Javier Falcon is shocked deeply, and becomes inexplicably frightened by this killer who seems to have know, intimately, every single detail of his victim's life. Never in his career has he confronted a scene so barbaric.

But, for Javier Falcon, the worst is yet to come. Because, in investigating the victim's complex past, he discovers that it is inextricably connected with that of his own father, world-famous artist Francisco Falcon. The case eventually becomes not just a hunt for a killer clearly prepared to strike again, but a voyage of discovery for Falcon as he, through Francisco's journals, learns much about his father's past and the dark secrets it hides...

This story, told through the dual narratives of fascinating diary extracts and standard third-person narration, is told expertly. Even though the first hundred pages or so grow slightly dull at times, and it takes a while to settle all the numerous characters in your mind, the pace soon picks up as we learn that the case has as much to do with the past as it does the present. The setting is described wonderfully, and the city of Seville is really brought to life, shimmering with vitality. I might even recommend this book for the setting alone.

The lead character, Javier Falcon, is unendingly fascinating and gloriously chilly. The reader cannot help but care and get a little worried as his mental health gently seems to decline as he desperately tries to hold everything together in the face of affecting revelations concerning his present and past. When those revelations finally fully come to light near the finish, it is with a great sense of shock on the reader's part. Indeed, the final hundred pages are absolutely wonderful, when everything falls into place and the reader realises the scale of what is being revealed.

This book is a great thriller for the most part, and I'd recommend it quite highly. The writing quality is very good, but the prose itself doesn't exactly sing. Instead, it has a rather detached coolness that fits surprisingly well. Part tense thriller, part examination of the effects of the past on the present, and part novel of ideas and of the natural of true art, I'd give this one a big thumbs up on almost all fronts!

I'm "giving" only 4 stars to this book, because I think that the details about the Portuguese Public Services are a bit exagerated sometimes. But Richard and Barbara got the "portuguese spirit" allright... Also the way they describe Sintra (such a special environment), it's very much true. Wait untill you read "A cottage in Portugal II"...

This is the story of the first few months in Portugal of Mr. Hewitt, an american who came to Portugal with his wife to live in a small village near Sintra. The descriptions of his deals with the various departments of the portuguese burocracy are definitely hilarious, and sound absolutely true. Although written about events that took place in 1985-6, most of the picture one gets rings true even today. A funny book.

HELLO! IAM READ THIS BOOK AND EVERYTHING IS TRUE. BUT THE EXAMPLES ARE NOT ONLY THE BUREAUCRACY:
EVERYBODY ARE THE SAME. SO, PLEASE, IF YOU WILL GO TO PORTUGAL TO A TRIP ON HOLIDAYS, OK: THE CLIMATE, FOOD AND THE CLICHES.
BUT IF YOU LIVE A PERIOD OF TIME, PLEASE: NEVER, NEVER DO BUSINESS! PEOPLE DOESN'T LIKE TO WORK, REALLY. READ THE BOOK AGAIN AND TRANSFER THE EXAMPLES (BUREAUCRACY, HIS EMPLOYES ON THE HOUSE, ETC.) FOR EVERYBODY: BUSINESSMAN, SHOPS, INDUSTRIES, RICHS, POORS: IT'S ALL THE SAME, DOESN'T LIKE TO WORK, ARE RUDE, TREAT YOU "DRY", ONLY SPEAK ABOUT SOCCER (AND THEY ARE A LOOSERS AND HAVE ZILLIONS OF EXCUSES FOR THAT) AND YOU WILL LOST YOUR TIME, HEALTH AND MONEY. RUN! PLEASE.
PS: AND THIS BOOK IS ONLY A RESUME, BECAUSE ARE MORE AND MORE BAD SITUATIONS THAT YOU COULDN'T IMAGINE. DON'T DO BUSINESS IN PORTUGAL, DON'T WORK, DON'T BELIEVE IN "SMILES": RUN NOW!

Jason Webster's a decent writer, but don't expect to learn much about flamenco here. Duende is a melodramatic account of an illicit love affair, drug abuse, car theft and life on the road with a 5th-rate band. There are far too many memoirs of this type already; do we really need another?

The good -- though extremely brief -- discography is one of the few segments of the book that's worth reading. In all, a huge diasppointment, especially given the publisher's claims of authenticity. Do yourself a favor: buy (or borrow) some flamenco CDs. They'll give you far more insight into the music than Webster's book ever will.

'Duende' is a term given to the tension between opposites that begets passion. I first encountered the idea of "Duende" in a small book titled "In search of Duende" by Federico Garcia Lorca. In this book, Lorca comments on the nature of 'Duende,' which, as he admits, is dangerous to 'Duende' itself. Fortunately, I had sympathized with the idea in his poetry prior to reading his commentary; and, of course, Lorca remains one of those rare individuals who can articulate phenomena as abstract as blood-driven passion without detracting from its essence.
I was excited about the prospect that Webster might accomplish the same task. Unfortunately, his book leans more heavily against commentary and does not adequately articulate--although the book is perfectly written--the book's title. I was caught between expecting an explanation of his purpose and realizing that he has just written another story.

Duende has the best description of a wild high speed car chase across a city at night I have ever read...But there is more. Crazy characters in passionate situations which made me think of a Pedro Almodovar movie - intensely gripping yet redeemingly human. A winning hero and a so smooth and often beautiful prose style.... this is a book that will be read with pleasure in ten years time and beyond. If you have even a passing interest in Spain or flamenco this is a must read.

This book is one of those books that makes you wonder why you bother with fiction. Fletcher has created such brilliant characterizations, and his writing is so witty and fine, that it is a sensual pleasure to read. This kind of book is why one bothers to read at all; truly lovely.

Dealing with the 700 years of Muslim civilisation in Iberia, this is a gem of popular history, entertaining without sacrificing scholarly attention to detail. The prose is sharp, evocative, and eminently easy to read; the pages are filled with ancedotes and stories that bring this lost world to life. A taster rather than comprehensive, this is an essential companion to travels in Spain, or an ideal way to begin learning more about this oft-overlooked period.

700 years of slaughter nicely summarized in a consise 175 pages. I enjoyed the read so much that i looked up the author's university website where I found his office phone number. I called England, but he wasn't in (which was probably good, because what was i going to say?).

I think that Joanna Trollope does an excellent job of exploring the choices that we make as individuals and how those choices impact where our lives go. Her characters are normal people who make imperfect choices and have to deal with the good and bad consequences.

In this book, I think that she jumped a little too much and didn't focus on character development as much as she could have. She established the main characters quite well, then had them change their behaviour too quickly, without enough of an explanation.

I did enjoy that she set a good portion of the book in Spain and did try to capture a different atmosphere besides the usual English background that she uses for her other books.

This is a great book to read on your first days of vacation or after a stressful week.

Can people really change their innermost selves? In this fabulous Trollope story, the answer is a resounding no, and it echoes from generation to generation.

William and Barbara, staunch, middle-class, and proper, astonish themselves when they conceive twins. Barbara is not at all pleased, somehow embarrassed by this quite excessive show of pregnancy and birth. William, however, is enchanted. Imagine, he thinks, a conservative schoolteacher, nothing to recommend himself, really, and he has begotten twins! It makes him feel very important, and that's a good thing, because when Elizabeth (Lizzie) and Frances finally make their appearance, Barbara is quite disgusted and repelled by the mere thought of any further mothering.

William becomes a house-husband of sorts, and Barbara, in her no-nonsense way, sees to her daughters' non-emotional needs. It works well until the girls are 10 years old, at which time comfortable, boring, predictable Barbara takes off for Marrakesh on a hippie trek (a truly hilarious plot twist). She is gone for some time, during which William begins a discreet love affair with the local artist, Juliet. Nevertheless, when Barbara comes back (not having succeeded in becoming a hippie or even a successful feminist, another hobby horse of hers), William takes her back as a natural course of events. He also keeps Juliet on the side; Barbara knows about this, and things continue, changed, but not really.

Fast forward 25 years. Lizzie, having had a fling at artsy life herself, is married to a fellow student, Rob, and the two have created a very successful art/antiques/crafts boutique. They live in a large, sprawling house, and have four children. Lizzie works away at the huge mouthful of life she has endeavored to swallow--boutique, children, house, dutiful daughter, loving wife, loyal twin. As much as she thinks of herself as more successful at life than Barbara, she is more like her mother (albeit more giving) than she would ever want to be.

It is only Frances, the gadfly, the unpredictable, the "different," who seems to have a "real" life. She has remained unmarried, had a series of unsuccessful love affairs, and runs a highly successful travel agency. The rest of the family is constantly worried about her...almost like she must fit into the mold in order to be happy. She seems quite happy enough--especially when she meets her Spanish lover (he of the book's title) halfway into the book. A torrid, gorgeous, passionate, beautiful, storybook affair ensues, much to the consternation of everybody else, who are waiting for the shoe to drop. Lizzie is worried and jealous--the business has begun to fail, and she and husband Rob are beset with money worries. Barbara, who knows nothing of passion (and doesn't approve of it), is waiting for Frances to be devastated. But Frances takes her own way, does her own thing, and defies her entire family and upbringing. I don't want to be a spoiler and say exactly what she does, but it alters her life, and the life of her lover and her family, forever. Has Frances, then, become the one person to break through the chains and truly become her own woman? That's for the reader to decide. This reader, however, says no. Read "A Spanish Lover" and find out. It's one of Trollope's classics.

I enjoyed this book from cover to cover. The characters,who were exceedingly well written, very realistic, and very interesting were very gracefully unfolded. I loved the relationship between the twins and the way the submissive twin (Frances) emerged into the more interesting and daring personality. I also appreciated the way in which she gently extricated herself from her sister (Lizzie) and her family influences to do what she wanted to do. It was very ironic and telling that Lizzie actually felt she possessed Frances in the same way she felt she possessed her own children, husband and business. Lizzie's evolution was also insightfully written, but the real story is with Frances, and deserves the most attention. The elders (father William, mother Barbara and mistress Juliet) were in a muddle from the sixties and seemed to float through life with no real direction or purpose. They stayed together in their mental menage-e-tois to simultaneously torture and comfort one another. Frances falls in love with a married man (Luis, the Spaniard)who is so very different from her culturally, emotionally and mentally, that it seems almost impossible that there could be any real attraction, but they share an intense passion for one another. She wishes to manifest all of her love and passion in the person of a child, which will be the living verification of their relationship. He tells her upfront that if she has a child, their relationship will end. She, thinking as a woman in love always thinks, feels that he will certainly change his mind once she becomes pregnant and he sees the child. Instead, he transfers his emotions from her to the child. She physically uproots herself to live in the hostile environment of a country and culture which is not accepting of outsiders and is very definately male oriented. She decides this is the best place for her child, who should be with his father as often as possible. She seems to feel that,even although the permutations were laid out for her as to why the situation will not work, she can change them, and if not, she can endure them. Luis comes across as a selfish, self-centered immature macho-man who lives in the past and considers only himself when things are not going his way. Despite the fact that he would not be an appealing mate to most women, he is very well written and very believable. I would love to see a sequel to this story, which I will definately reread in the summer, on the beach.

First, let me say I thoroughly enjoyed Hughes' "The Fatal Shore" and the now classic "Shock of the New" and it was because of his track record for both regional and art history that I opened "Barcelona" with anticipation. I should have stopped at the introduction, wherein Hughes explains that he'd originally intended to write a much smaller work focusing on Barcelona's modernistas at the turn-of-the-century. Instead, at his publisher's urging (undoubtedly timed to capitalize on the 1992 Olympics) he broadened the scope to include Barcelona's story from prehistory to about 1925. The result is a wordy book which reminds me of the times I had to puff up a term paper with accurate, but nonessential facts in order to get to the required twenty pages. I would agree with another reviewer that this work is missing Hughes' usual spark and I can't help but think his heart wasn't in this one. Hughes states early on his love for Barcelona but unfortunately this compassion doesn't come across in the book. I would have been much happier if he would have extended Barcelona's history in the other direction. That is, beginning with the modernistas and proceeding to the Surrealists, the Civil War and through to Barcelona's post-Franco revival as a cultural center of Europe.

Pundits might argue that Mr. Hughes published this book with a commercial-minded orientation in light of the 1992 Summer Olympics. However, if you read it and absorb its calculated research, astounding lexicon and well-balanced content, you will be rewarded with a generous dissertation about the sociological, political, religious, historical, mythological, and, above all, architectural aspects of Barcelona. For the average reader this work is downright overkill and increasingly sluggish; its style lacking a dynamic and artful flow. Mr. Hughes' trade is not particularly conciseness, so his book spits out a plethora of events, politicians, noblemen, artists, anarchists, "casas", churches, and annecdotes that will overwhelm the reader. "Barcelona" was written for both the scholar and world-trotter (not that one who will pop in for a brief layover, though.) The art history chapters, specially those depicting the excessively ornamented Modernistic architecture, teem with ornate descriptions, yet Mr. Hughes provides us with poor, small, and black and white photographs incapable of accompanying the writer's flow. I deem inexcusable the author's lack of grit and abuse of honesty in acknowledging his inability to write about the Civil War, Francoism and contemporary Barcelona; highly appetizing topics.

I read Hughes' Barcelona before I went to Barcelona for the first time, and it made all the difference in the world. I arrived not as a stranger, but as a student of Catalan culture and history. The book gave me the background to have an informed perspective on what I was seeing. It may be long, but it has tons of information. My only complaint is that Hughes assumes the reader has a knowledge of history that I, for one, don't have. So there were things I didn't understand.

I liked that Hughes sometimes talked about the big things -- big events, important people, and he sometimes talked about the little things that make a place distinctive. His love of the place came through to me, and I fell in love with it too.

Let me preface my statement that saying that I am not some great lover
of European culture, history, conquest, or Spanish conquistadores.
Now, having said that, I will say that anyone who picks up this book
and believes the horrors contained therein is reacting in a manner
that would have made De Las Casas quite proud of his dubious
handiwork. Now, certainly, I am not saying that the Spanish explorers
were a gentle, peace-loving, pacifistic bunch; but to ascribe to them
the attrocities contained within this book is naive and careless and
speaks of an ignorance that comes from a lack of necessary research
and hard facts and a propensity for the sensational and even the
utterly ridiculous. I know that many of us, especially in today's
"politically correct" climate, are quite eager to think of
the Spaniards as cruel and heartless villains who had no regard for
the basic conventions of humanity - villians who merely butchered and
conquered and enslaved - but as tempting as it might be to resign
ourselves to such a belief, it would also be a case of intellectual
carelessness.

De Las Casas wants us to see the "Indian"
population much like the liberals of today would like us to: meek,
helpless, child-like, innocent, ignorant, animalistic. I think this
speaks as much of prejudice as the Spaniards referring to the
"natives" as dogs, but of course educated people don't see
it that way. And the good friar was a hypocrite in more ways than
one: he lived for many years attended to by his personal slaves, all
the while fighting for the "rights" of the natives, all the
while playing master and thinking he was better than the other
Spaniards because he treated his slaves well, like someone might their
beloved pets.

One glaring falsity within this book that I can
think of is De Las Casas' account of Cortes' expedition into Mexico
(which of course De Las Casas himself wasn't there to witness
firsthand). Again, the "natives" - the Aztecs, in this case
- are portrayed as nothing more than docile, peace-loving, childlike
creatures. He mentions nothing of the warlike ways of the Aztecs, of
their repeated attempts to wipe out the Spaniards, of their treachery,
of their obsession with human sacrifice, of their cannibalism.
Instead, we are lead to believe that the evil Cortes marched boldly
into Mexico and butchered all the Aztecs and took over without hardly
lifting a finger. And some events are pure fiction in themselves,
bloody massacres and so forth that I'm sure any detractor of Cortes'
would have been more than happy to fabricate.

Again, I am not saying
that men like Cortes were saints. But there are always two sides to
everything, and the world is not black and white like some of us would
like to believe. Be careful where you get your information from, and
how quick you are to believe it.

And we can only see the truth of
this book if we hold it up to the light in which it was written;
surely, De Las Casas had his own political agenda that was well served
in part by writing this book. That's what propaganda is all
about....

There are two sides to every story and the fact that De Las Casas takes the side of the indigenous people as opposed to his native Spain is especially poignant. The writing style is repititive, old world and filled with the horrors of war but De Las Casas does this to especially hammer home his point. He gives examples, over and over, of the injustices carried out by Cortez and Pizarro throughout the Americas from Mexico to Peru, under the auspices of the flag and cross, all in the name of God and country. It is a first hand report on the atrocities that greed and glory created. It was a plea for his King to understand how his represenatives abroad and the encomienda had drifted far from the ideals originally intended and persued. The woodcuts reproduced from a 17th century version are especially telling of the cruelties imposed with graphic examples. There are groups of people being strung up and burned alive with their feet barely dangling above the flames. The violence was inhumane to the point where women hung themselves with their children attached and hung to their bodies rather than be a meal to the hungry dogs that assisted the Spaniards and had to be fed. The genocidal colonization became a perverted vision of evangelization that was nothing short of hell for the Indians. It is important to see the other side of colonization, as written by the "The Defender and Apostle of the Indians" to understand both sides of the story. Our education system is full of European versions of the conquest, this is the anti-European version by someone who lived the experience. Recommended for students of history that want a different perspective from the one we are most familiar with that glitters from behind a golden cross.

The debate below, I think, could have been lifted right from the sixteenth century. You might take a look at it before reading my review, which is intended as a corrective.

Bartolomé de Las Casas, born in 1474, came to Cuba with Diego Velázquez's expedition in 1511 as a soldier. In Cuba, he became an "encomendero", receiving Indian labor parcelled out to the conquistadors. The horrors of the conquest of the Caribbean sparked a religious conversion in him and he became a Dominican friar in 1515. Soon, he made his way to the Central American mainland, where he started missionary work among the Maya in Guatemala. Dubbed later "The Apostle to the Indians" for his work on their behalf, he was eventually appointed Bishop of Chiapas. An intimate friend of the Indians, fluent in their languages, Las Casas witnessed Spanish cruelties perpetrated against them between the very year of his arrival and some years before his death in Spain in 1566.

In 1552, Las Casas published his empassioned "Short Account" (actually written 13 years earlier), in which he laid bare Spanish cruelties in America. Though generally condemned as slander in Spain, the book rapidly became popular in the rest of Europe, where it served to fuel anti-Spanish hate. Spain's enemies used it to depict Spaniards as evil tyrants and to rationalize carving out their own empires in the Americas. New editions appeared repeatedly, even as late as 1898, during the Spanish-American War.

Few credible historians take the "Account" for gospel truth. Much of what Las Casas says is certainly true. And while the rest is exaggerated, it is not "propaganda". Whatever truth the narrative has, though, what I think many people miss when they read it is its importance in understanding the Spanish Black Legend.

The Black Legend is the perception of Spain as a uniquely cruel and bigoted nation in excess of reality. Spanish culture is boiled down to the Inquisition and the bullfight. Spain's authors are ignored. The Spanish did nothing in the Americas but kill millions of Indians. This is the legacy of the 16th century. The substance of many European attitudes toward Spain up to about 1950 can be traced right to Las Casas' "Account." Appearing at the time when England and the Netherlands were emerging as major powers, grappling with Spain, the imagery from the book was woven right into their national mythologies. Because of historical circumstance, other nations that committed atrocities far worse than Spain's -- France, Britain, the United States -- never had to undergo the same humiliating scrutiny, the same alienation. Las Casas's book, certainly agaist its author's will, helped shape this.

There are more reliable accounts of the "destruction of the West Indies", including some by Las Casas. The account's real value is the key it offers to understanding Western perceptions of Spain. Like so many anti-Spanish documents of its time, the book, in the end, can tell us as much about the fascinating figure of its author and the character of Spain's enemies as about the horrors of the conquest and the nation it vilifies.

This collection of photos are important for the sake of history but must be evaluated in the proper context: Capa and the Loyalists sought to establish a Stalinist state in Spain, not a "democracy". The creation of a Stalinist state would have brought terror, murder, etc. upon the Spanish people and would have destroyed the country. I believe that the record of history (and my own personal experience as a Spaniard) has proven that the Nationalist victory was the best thing that could have happened to Spain at the time. Just look at the atrocities (tens of millions of dead, terror, etc) the Communists committed in Russia, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, and on and on and on; who in their right mind would wish that on anyone? Franco punished some of the loyalists but the overwhelming majority were welcomed back into society. Now that the Soviet Union has fallen and that ridiculous "philosophy" of "communism" has been proven to be one of the worst disasters visited upon mankind those who tried to force that evil upon Spain during the Civil War should hang their heads in shame. Viva Espana!

Capa is considered one of the fathers of modern combat photography. These photographs clearly verify that fact. The modern combat photographers that have come after were all aware of Capa's work and if they didn't overtly copy his style, they certainly used it as a foundation. The potency of these photographs are not so much the action they sometimes capture, but in the faces set in the multitude of back drops of war. The viciousness and tragedy of this conflict hotly radiate out of some of these photographs. Others coolly reflect despair and fear. The book is at the same time a statement about war and a valuable historical document.

This book shows the heart of the Spainish people as they fought for their freedom. One could ask, "What Price Freedom?" Robert Capa lost his one true love when Gerda Taro was killed. To read through this book, to look at the pictures, is to look into the heart of Robert Capa.

Bob we all miss you.