Product Description

A fully revised, expanded and updated edition of this masterly portrayal of contemporary Spain. The restoration of democracy in 1977 heralded a period of intense change that continues today. Spain has become a land of extraordinary paradoxes in which traditional attitudes and contemporary preoccupations exist side by side. Focussing on issues which affect ordinary Spaniards, from housing to gambling, from changing sexual mores to rising crime rates. John Hooper's fascinating study brings to life the new Spain of the twenty-first century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24947 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

About the Author
John Hooper's experience as a foreign correspondent spans more than 25 years. He has lived in every major capital in western Europe - Paris, Madrid, Rome and Berlin - and speaks fluently all five major languages of western Europe. John Hooper is currently Rome correspondent for The Economist and the Guardian.

Customer Reviews

Ideal if you want to explore Spain from your armchair!
Hooper has managed to paint, inside five hundred colourless pages of text, a magnificent picture of Spain's vivacity, culture and history. As a student of Spanish, this is one of the best general accounts of Spain that I have read. Not only does it contain detailed information about every possible aspect of Spanish life, culture, history or geography, but Hooper manages to present the material in a logical and intriguing manner. Indeed, apart from being readable from cover to cover - although you may wish to set aside a few weeks for this task - the book can be consulted via an index as a type of "Encyclopedia of Spain." Useful explanatory footnotes are also provided throughout.

I would thoroughly recommend this as a general history of Spain, a general - but detailed - introduction to Spain and her ways, for a hispanophile, or anyone who wishes to discover "the real Spain" in the comfort of their own home.

A fabulous review of Spanish life
I read this book before going for a year to Spain. I read it again when I returned and couldn't believe the accuracy of it. While Hooper offers critical analysis of the country, it is nevertheless obvious that this is a place he feels deep affection for. That is what makes it special.

A good reading
This book is an excellent review of the current Spanish reality. Some chapters could be seen as very standard in the way the author analyzes the theme but this is because most of the book is a really good and well documented analysis of the country and its people. Yet I miss in this edition the critical apparatus and bibiography, I highly recommend it to anyone that really wants to understand the Spaniards' way of thinking and to get a hint of one of such a big and important country in the European history.