Jason Webster

Four hundred pages to survey Spanish history from Neanderthal times until the present day. It's a big ask, but one that Webster accomplishes engagingly. Inevitably, it's a bit of a gallop, and it's clear that this is only a brief introduction to those stories which provoke curiosity - Moorish Spain is something I certainly want to know much more about. He also more or less ignores many regions - Catalonia only gets mentioned as modern times approach, and others are ignored completely. Anecdotes - about paella for example - get more space than is justified in this broad narrative. And the entire narrative is written to support his theory that violence is Spain's only way of addressing conflict. So while I found this account highly readable, it made me aware of how much more I need to know before I can evaluate this somewhat partial account. Nevertheless - recommended as a starting point for anyone who, like me, needs o start somewhere.… (lisätietoja)

Post University, Jason Webster has little idea of what he wants to do, other than discover Spain and immerse himself in flamenco. He succeeds in doing this, meeting some unlikely characters on the way, and becoming involved in illegal and dangerous activity too. I found Webster and his obsessive pursuit of flamenco hard to identify with, but this very obsessiveness means that the book from time to time conjures up vivid pictures of Spain and the Spanish.

I'm not going to try very hard to find any more books by Webster.… (lisätietoja)