Much information in this expensive volume regarding films, directors, actors, etc. but not one still from any of these categories and for $75! Author's audience is definitely high brow--not for the general public. Even his bibliography is incomplete, not mentioning Ronald Schwartz' GREAT SPANISH FILMS or SPANISH FILM DIRECTORS (Scarecrow Press) which contain marvellous stills and popularize this wonderful national cinema.

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For some reason that is interesting to contemplate but difficult to quantify, some cultures seem to attract more attention from foreigners, or a certain type of foreigner, than others do. Russian culture is one such; so is Japanese, and so is Spanish. Perhaps it is the sense of irony and tragedy that seems to permeate the history of these cultures.

At any rate, there is no shortage of books on Spanish culture; indeed, one can almost speak of the field as a literary subgenre. The French and the English have probably produced more books on the subject than others have, but the subject has attracted its share of Americans too, from Washington Irving to James Michener.

So one might legitimately question the need for another book on Spanish culture. In this case, there definitely is. With the exception of Russia, there is probably no nation in Europe that has undergone more change in the last century than Spain, and not just due to the Civil War. Not very many people are aware of how much Spanish society has changed since Franco died twenty-eight years ago, reinventing itself from a medieval enigma to a valid member of the European community.

This book deals with Spanish popular culture by topic, reviewing in turn religion, music, sports, popular literature and several other topics. While it reviews the history of these fields summarily, the book's major purpose is to document and shed light on how Spanish popular culture has evolved in the last three decades. While Professor Stanton makes use of statistics, this book is not an essay in sociological analysis; the book is eminently readable and enlightening, despite its relatively short (238 pages) length.

If it's such a good book, why only four stars? Simple: the price. At this price the publisher is virtually ensuring that the only buyers for this book will be institutional libraries. This is a real shame, since this is not some scholarly effort that would appeal to an extremely limited audience, but rather a book that should be required reading for anybody interested in Spanish culture. I can only hope that a less expensive version will eventually appear.

This book [and " Spain 1516-1598 : From Nation State to World Empire (A History of Spain) "by the same author] has -at least- three strong points on its favor, which makes it very advisable to read: a) it takes great pains to explain -not only to describe- the Spain of the XVII century (a period far less known than the Spain of the XVI century); b) it includes a very relevant section on Spanish America, which is not common in books written on this period; and c) it is reasonable easy to read. I should have rated this book "four and a half" starts. Considering its content, I think it should be five; considering its readability, four. In any event, I do recommend it to read it. (Other books I would recommend to read on Spain: As a general overview, "A History of Spain" by Joseph Perez; and more focused on the XVI -and/or XVII- period: "The Spain of Philip II" by Joseph Perez; "Imperial Spain 1469-1716" and "The Count-Duke of Olivares. The Stateman in an age of decline" both of them written by John Elliot; and "Spain 1469-1714, A Society of Conflict", by Henry Kamen).

John Hall has written perhaps the most complete record of casualties of British and Allied Officers caused by actions in the Iberian Peninsula during the "period". His sources are impeccably presented and must be of great value to military students of the war in that theatre. Being given permission to attach this work to the definitive overall history by Charles Oman is sufficient acceptance in itself to guarantee its place on the shelves of the most august military libraries, however, it must be said that a similar work coming from the "enemy" of the time, "Listes des officers tues et blesses pendant les Guerres de l'Empire" by M Martinien, was in continuous use by Sir Charles throughout his own mammoth compilation, and , although often remarked upon by that author as being "invaluable" was never elevated beyond that rather minor appellation. That criticism apart this work has such a wealth of hitherto "hard to find" information, so easily made accessible, that it would be churlish to deny the author his laurels. The collective history of the war in the Peninsula then has just made a modest leap foward through this publication.

I have played Poncia in this play and I really enjoyed it. We only did a short part out of it but I wanted to do more. I recommend reading this book but if you can perform it!

Coffee table size book of evocative black, white and gray photos of the seldom seen side of Ibiza. Photos by Tony Keeler;minmial but just right text by David Walsh. Photos taken in that long ago era...the 60s.

"The Classics of Western Spirituality" from Paulist Press has been dedicated, over the last twenty years, to producing excellent translations, and this is no exception. The compliation includes a detailed Introduction, the Autobiography, the Spiritual Excerices, and fragments of the Constitutions and the Spiritual Diary. Though it would have benefited from the inclusion of the Formula - an essential document in its own right - this volume provides intelligent translations and crtical explorations into the sometimes-confusing meaning of Ignatius' prose. The selections from the Diary are especially recommended, as they comprise - to my knowledge - the only fragments translated into English, and are thoughtfully printed so as to give the reader a feel for the outlay of the work, scribbled in Ignatius' journal. Highly recommended.

IMAGES OF THE ICE AGE by Paul Bahn and Jean Vertut is the 1988 edition of JOURNEY THROUGH THE ICE AGE published in 1997. Bahn says in the preface of the 1997 edition that it is "fully revised and updated." Comparing the two volumes leads me to believe Bahn incorporated much new information from peer reviewed articles and scholarly papers delivered/published in the 1990s in the 1997 version. The 1997 edition is much more beautiful than the 1988 version, although the older edition remains quite interesting.

Much of the original material in IMAGES (1988) can be found in JOURNEY (1997). Differences between the two editions include: 1/ Added sections to the 1997 version entitled "The Oldest Art in the World"; "Fakes and Forgeries"; "Portable Art"; "Rock Shelters and Caves"; "Art in the Open Air", and 2/ Dropped a section in the 1988 version entitled "Forms and Techniques". Much of the material in the 1997 "Forms" section has been expanded to create the new sections on portable and parietal art. Bahn has also added enhancements throughout the 1997 version including a nifty text box that shows a "Chronological Chart of Cave Drawings" with radiocarbon dating results (estimates and standard errors) listed for each entry.

The photographs in the 1997 version are larger than those in the 1988 version. Bahn added a few new photographs to the newer edition (by the late Paul Vertut). Overall the text of the 1988 version is less polished. The 1997 version includes shaded text boxes and larger, easier to read print. The maps in the 1997 version are more articulated and the resolution is better.

The 1997 edition JOURNEY THROUGH THE ICE AGE is the better buy.

Siempre fue más sugestiva, más exitante, una mujer medio vestida que una desnuda. La sensualidad narrada a través de las curvas sugeridas por la seda, puede mucho más que la imagen amplificada de cualquier recodo de la persona deseada. Éste dato, casi un lugar común, se ve ampliamente justificado por el tono distendido, libre de todo prejuicio verbal, que utiliza la autora. Narrada por una voz femenina que suele ¨soplarle¨ alguna idea a la protagonista, ésta novela sobre el erotismo es también una parodia del género, apoyada en certeros epígrafes que anuncian, al modo antiguo, el contenido del capítulo, y que van a sustentar, sobre el final, no la teoría Bataille sobre el tema, sino su antítesis. Allí dónde él sostuviera que la entrega al acto erótico es necesariamente una muerte que genera vida, Griselda Gambaro prolonga casi hasta el orgasmo la posibilidad de un encuentro que finalmente tomará otro rumbo. Erotizada por la historia, la narradora no pierde la oportunidad para burlarse de los íconos del machismo, ni para dejar en claro que la asistencia sexual femenina para una mujer puede ser muy gratificante. Un bonito hombrecillo que tiene la vida supeditada a la de su propio glande descomunal, que es ingobernable; una sierva fiel e ignorante que posee la llave del placer de la protagonista y un desfile de innobles fornicadores llevan al paroxismo ésta novela sobre lo impenetrable, sobre lo que está tan lejos e inalcanzable que, sólo entregando la vida podremos poseerlo.