Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through a Country's Hidden Past

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Stegemann, Luke (January–February 2021). "The dry run: a brilliant study of folly and ambition". Australian Book Review. 428: 30–31. This well traveled journalist...knows his subject as he ventures through the past to explain the present personality of a country so varied that even in modern times its complicated medieval legacy is part of everyday life." "--""Washington"" Times" (Ann Geracimos) Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 July 2011 . Retrieved 26 May 2010. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link) Before I lived in Spain, I thought I knew what it was like. My thinking diverted to stereotypes about the country. I thought it would be a land of sun, sea, sand and sangria.

Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett | Open Library Ghosts of Spain by Giles Tremlett | Open Library

An] affectionate, deeply informed tour of the country... . a highly informative, well-written introduction to post-Franco Spain. Mr. Tremlett' s taut recounting of the 2004 train bombings in Madrid makes especially timely reading, with the suspects now on trial."-- "New York Times "(William Grimes) Spain is a diverse country, culturally, geographically and politically. Living in Barcelona, I soon realised that language is one area where Spain has a lot of diversity. Catalan is the main language in Catalonia, and although Basque is not as ubiquitous in the Basque Country, it is still prominent. I lived in Spain for two years from 2015 to 2017. It’s a fantastic, diverse and interesting country and it was an experience that I will never forget. Tremlett has written a smart and highly readable book that mixes incisive political history with sophisticated cultural reporting.""--""Seattle"" Times "(Robin Updike)

The reason Spain struggles to come to terms with the aftermath of Francoism is that there was collective amnesia about his reign. It was felt at the time that it was better to forget what had happened than to reflect as a society. They feel as if they have had this forced upon them. This is truer in the Basque country and Andalucia than in most other places, but there is no doubt the sentiment is palpable.

Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past

A]n evocative, often poignant sojourn through the as-yet uncleared psychic mists of the civil war."--"Star-Tribune "(Michael J. Bonafield) He graduated in Human Sciences at the University of Oxford in 1984 and has also studied at the Universities of Barcelona and Lisbon. Tremlett has written a smart and highly readable book that mixes incisive political history with sophisticated cultural reporting.""-- ""Seattle"" Times "(Robin Updike) He had his first taste of Spanish life when he lived in Barcelona for two years in the mid-1980s. After a period in Lisbon and then in London he returned to Spain in the mid-1990s. He was The Guardian's correspondent for Spain, Portugal and the Maghreb for a dozen years. He was also Madrid correspondent for The Economist for a decade until 2016. In 2012 he was voted Correspondent of the Year by the Madrid International Press Club. He has been a regular current affairs commentator for Spanish broadcasters, including state-owned TVE television, La Sexta and the country's biggest radio station, Cadena SER, as well as contributing to newspapers like El País or El Mundo. He was co-founder and curator of the Docubeats documentary project at The Guardian and El País. Tremlett's] affectionate yet critical intimacy with the country helps to make this book much more than an ordinary journalistic survey...[with the] sort of insight that vindicates his approach to a deeply traditional and fast-changing land."--"Wall Street Journal

If you’re not too interested in Spain or have never been there before, I would give it a miss as much of it will go over your head without context. Geographically speaking, Spain is a vastly different country depending on where you go. Head to the north and it is mountainous. Andalucia is mountainous too, with beautiful beaches. The East Coast is the tourist hotbed, with beaches stretching all the way down the coast. The war deeply divided Spain along ideological lines. The fascists led by Franco committed numerous atrocities and a lot of the dead were placed in mass graves that have only recently begun to be dug up. A]n evocative, often poignant sojourn through the as-yet uncleared psychic mists of the civil war."-- "Star-Tribune "(Michael J. Bonafield)

The Guardian Haunted by Franco | History books | The Guardian

My impression of Spain when I initially moved there was one of a country of siestas, sun and beaches. This was built on what I had encountered during previous trips to the country and stereotypes of Spain. Dan Hancox, The International Brigades by Giles Tremlett review – fighting fascism in Spain, [in:] The Guardian 3 October 2020His biography of Isabella of Castile – the Spanish queen who sent Columbus to the Americas – was published in 2017. [4] It won the Elizabeth Longford Prize in 2018. [5] It was a top-selling history book in Spain in 2018 and has also been translated into Portuguese and Chinese. [ citation needed] An] incisive and engaging book....[Tremlett's] sober analysis of how the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004...exposed deep fissures in Spanish society is the best report I've read on the subject....[A]n invaluable book. Indeed, since it appeared in Britain last year, 'Ghosts of Spain' has become something of a bible for those of us "extranjeros" whoz One of the biggest shadows is in regard to the Spanish Civil War, which saw anywhere between 149,213 to 2,000,000 people killed. George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia gives an account of what Spain was like during the war if you want to do some further reading. Richard Baxell, How the International Brigades were ‘thrown into the heart of the fire, [in:] The Spectator 17 October 2020