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Title: Spain
Subtitle: A Unique History
Author: Stanley G. Payne
Narrator: Kevin Pierce
Format: Unabridged
Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
Language: English
Release date: 12-28-12
Publisher: University Press Audiobooks
Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 66 votes
Genres: History, European
Publisher's Summary:
From bloodthirsty conquest to exotic romance, stereotypes of Spain abound. This new volume by distinguished historian Stanley G. Payne draws on his half-century of experience to offer a balanced, broadly chronological survey of Spanish history from the Visigoths to the present. Who were the first Spaniards? Is Spain a fully Western country? Was Spanish liberalism a failure? Examining Spain's unique role in the larger history of Western Europe, Payne reinterprets key aspects of the country's history.
Topics include Muslim culture in the peninsula, the Spanish monarchy, the empire, and the relationship between Spain and Portugal. Turning to the twentieth century, Payne discusses the Second Republic and the Spanish Civil War. The book's final chapters focus on the Franco regime, the nature of Spanish fascism, and the special role of the military. Analyzing the figure of Franco himself, Payne seeks to explain why some Spaniards still regard him with respect, while many others view the late dictator with profound loathing.
Framed by reflections on the author's own formation as a Hispanist and his evaluation of the controversy about historical memory in contemporary Spain, this volume offers deeply informed insights into both the history and the historiography of a unique country.
A Choice Outstanding Academic Book
Critic Reviews:
An excellent, balanced discussion of important controversies. (Juan Linz, author of
Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes)
Concise, engaging, and above all scholarly, this volume offers a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of Spanish history. (Julius Ruiz, author of
Franco's Justice)
Thoughtful yet provocative; indispensable reading for everyone. (
CHOICE)
Members Reviews:
An Academic Wonder
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would highly recommend this to anyone who has the patience to listen closely to a deeply layered analysis of Spanish history. I found the academic tone of the work to be highly stimulating. This is no rough sketch such as you might find in any lesser work; the author brings his long career as an historian and academician to bear on analyzing everything from economics to war to geography to politics in the shaping the Spain of today.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The discussion of the highly controversial dictator Franco was intensely interesting, as was having a better understanding of the root causes of the Civil War. But so was the entire story from the Visigoths to the Twenty-First Century.
Have you listened to any of Kevin Pierces other performances before? How does this one compare?
I haven't listened him before, but he gave an incredible performance in spite of his understandably Anglicized enunciation of tons of Spanish words. Getting past those hiccups was a bit distracting, but not much.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The closing chapter, in which specific conclusions are drawn to illustrate what Spain is today and where it might be going, from the perspective of a very intelligent social scientist.
Any additional comments?
The lengthy introduction was tedious but probably necessary in order to establish the author's credibility. The rest of the work was so good that I've given it a couple of listens. Of course, just having traveled through Spain for the first time added to the correlative joy of hearing this.
