Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past

What comes to your mind when you think of Spain? Does it remind you of a place where you can spend your holidays? I have never been to Spain. Judging by the postcards, movies and the excitement on the faces of my friends, I expected Spain to be an ideal place to spend your holidays. But little did I know Spain has more layers to it besides being a place for fun and frolic. It is also a place which is struggling to come to terms with it's ghosts. Less than 40 years after the death of the Generalissimo, Francisco Franco, the people are still divided on what Spain went through during his reign. A lot of modernization happened under Franco. On the other hand, there was also a lot of brutality. Ironically, it was also a time when brother turned against brother or neighbour against neighbour. Even after all these years, Spain is still deeply divided on this subject and is reluctant in exorcising the demons. Modern Spain is trying to forget the past. At the same time, it is also trying to capitalize on the tourism. The tourism which has boosted construction has also ushered in corruption. At the same time, there are lone wolves who stand up against the tide. If this is not enough, nationalism is creating a division in the map of Spain. The Basques refuses to be Spanish. Similarly, Barcelona is not Spanish if you take the language and culture into consideration. Having spent a considerable time in Spain, Giles Tremlett shows us a side of Spain which we have not seen. In order to paint this picture of Spain, he not only draws from the experience of living in the country for so many years but also the networks he has created in the country. He goes to different parts of the country, conducts interviews and uses this as the basis for telling us about the struggles of Spain. This technique serves in telling the facts like in an investigation in a very interesting way. This is the book to read if you are armchair traveller or if you plan to visit the country. Visiting places can help you take photographs. Knowing the people will help you tell a much more interesting story using the photographs. It will also help you understand and appreciate the locals you meet.

I read this while flying to Spain for a vacation trip, and during the trip as well. It is a series of chapters covering various regions of the country. I wish it had been labelled more clearly but it wasnt difficult to figure out. It is not a travel guide at all, but for people who want to know about the area and the culture, this is interesting. The historical background of the regions and the people added a welcome depth to our understanding of the culture. I did not read it cover to cover, but read about each region we were going to be in. This year, we are returning to Spain. We are going to Basque country, so I am reading the seecion on the tensions in that region over separatism. His writing is a bit confusing at times, as if he could have used a better editor. Or perhaps he is writing for a Spanish audience that understands better than I the various parties and personalities entrenched in the government. Nonetheless, I have found the book quite interesting. If you enjoy history or cultural history, you should like this one.

I read this book about 3 months before a month long trip to Spain with my family (wife and three children -- 14, 11 & 8). I was surprised by two reviews claiming the author repetitive and a leftist sympathizer. I believe neither are the case or on the latter, certainly not evident by the treatment of the subject of the Civil War and its aftermath & repercussions. While not a travelogue, Tremlett does a nice job of covering all regions of Spain through a cultural, political, social and religious lens in a way that is eminently readable and entertaining. Some of the subject matter, particularly the building boom given the control of communities by local mayors, is highly topical given the subsequent collapse of the Spanish economy. While I'm not a deep Spanish historian, I believe Tremlett provides a well-rounded take on the Civil War, the rule of Franco and separatist causes in the Basque and Catalan regions of Spain. When choosing this book, I did not expect and wasn't looking for a historians view of the Spanish Civil War or Franco's regime, I purchased other books to provide that perspective. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone traveling to Spain or interested in a broad overview of modern Spain.

I'm a lover of history, and I love Spain. Very interesting book, focusing on the Franco years, but also the growing pains of the country afterwards. Great section on Flamenco, learned a lot, not what I thought Flamenco was. More in common with the Blues here in the states. This book also focuses on the other movements around Spain. It's scary how much similarities you are seeing between the U.S. now and Spain's past, including our current Autocracy, but the Ultra-Left (socialist) response. In Spain, blood was shed on each side, much being the war, but more misinterpretations of innocents. Hopefully we do not get to this point, but we never learn from our own past, or much older countries past. We are the teenagers in the worlds history, time to grow up and learn from our elders mistakes.

Nice follow up after reading the classic Iberia by James Michener. Brings the reader up to date on life in modern Spain which is still haunted by ghosts of its civil war and the battle between tradition and modernism. La Transicion, or Spain's transition to democracy is something that is occuring both historically, politically, and personally as Spain enters a more globalized, connected world. Tremlett describes this "transicion" from all perspectives, but it is his personal perspective, as an ex-pat Brit raising his family in Spain, which I found particularly enjoyable. His descriptions of day to day life juxtaposed into chapters dealing with deeper historical and political events, such as the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, the legacy of Franco, the Basque separatist movement, the pride of Catalans, and the 2004 Islamic bombings, makes this book very readable and pertitent to truly understanding not only the country but its people, and their remarkable history.

I read this book while touring Spain. I wish that I had read it before beginning the tour, but it found it to be exceptionally well written, very balanced, and wonderfully educational. I gave it to our tour guide once I completed reading it. I would recommend this book to anyone that plans to travel to Spain, especially those that will travel within the country. The descriptions of the various regions will appreciate the history of each, the differences, and most importantly, why the Spanish seem to lack a sense of nationalism, and are much more loyal to their region.

What a fantastic book this is. I can't praise it enough. The author addresses so much important subject matter including the horrendous Civil War Spain experienced. The last time I visited that country was in 1978. The natural environment and the concrete jungle of development had not yet devastated so much of its magnificent landscapes. I recall my one visit to The Valley of the Fallen, and just as the author had written, the only visitors there were tourists such as myself. Anyone interested in Spain and Spanish culture today, should read this book. It's really outstanding.

As a regular visitor to Spain who unfortunately hasn't had much luck mastering the language, I've scoured bookstores and websites in order to learn everything I can about the the history and culture of this amazing country. Many of the books available are not very comprehensive, or dry to the point of being boring. Most books in English you buy in Spain (translations) are almost unreadable, and clearly not edited by native English speakers. Ghosts of Spain has got a ton of information...and insight, and it's very readable. I highly recommend it for anyone with casual interest, or for "Span-o-files" like myself.

Would it interest you to know which Spanish mayor was nearly excommunicated by the church in the 1950s after signing a document allowing bikinis to be worn in his new town and how this was prevented from happening? Would you like to know how the effects of the Civil War are still felt in modern day Spain? Are you intrigued to find out why Catalans hate Madrid, and why the Basques feel as they do? The answers to all the above - as well as those for many more questions are contained in this amazing and intriguing book, making it an absolute must for all hispanophiles. Although not a light read, read slowly and given time to absorb the information within, it provides a fascinating insight into the modern History of Spain, and I guarantee that you will come out of this far more knowledgeable about the history of Spain than you were before! You only have to sit in a Spanish restaurant to know that the Spanish are a garrulous people on the whole, and never slow to express their opinion about many things; however they tend to be much more quiet about their recent History and seldom talk about such things as the terrors of the Civil War or the reign of Franco. Giles Tremlett, after many years of living in Spain, decided to find out more about the history of his adopted country. The result is this fascinating and intriguing book, which I guarantee will teach every one of us something new - possibly even in every chapter. It is clear that Tremlett is a true hispanophile, which makes this book a delight to read and, through his interviews and discussions with real Spaniards of all ages within it, we encounter more of the History of Spain as seen by Spaniards. He begins by looking into the horrors and atrocities of the Civil War, attending a ceremony where the bodies of three women, victims of the Falangists, are removed from their roadside grave and reinterred in the local graveyard - in spite of some local opposition. He interviews people from both sides, coming up with some interesting conclusions. From here, he goes in search of Franco himself - trying to find out who he was and what he was like. I was intrigued to read that, the Valley of the Fallen is about the only real remaining `tribute' to him. Many of the references to Franco in the towns and cities around Spain have been virtually erased as the majority of roads and squares previously named after him returned to their original names back in the 1970s, and statues have been removed. Tremlett states that the Spaniards have, on the whole, pushed Franco into storage. He states, "Franco showed that the best thing to do with a difficult problem was to shove it into the back of a drawer. That is where he is now." Interesting! Perhaps one of the most interesting chapters for those of us who either travel regularly to Spain or who have moved to live there is the chapter entitled `How the Bikini Saved Spain'. This is packed full of interesting information and facts about the development of tourism in Spain, giving a delightful picture of the development of towns such as Benidorm and Marbella. The book goes on to explore many more aspects of Spanish history - right up to the present day and the Madrid bombings of 2004, giving a fantastic insight into what has gone to make Spain the country that it is now. Although not an easy book to read (having taken me, an avid reader, more than a week to read) it is a real `must read' to all those of us who love Spain and want to know more about the country we visit regularly and/or have chosen to make our home.

Ein Buch, das ich immer zur Hand habe. Ich habe es noch nicht ganz durch, kann aber als gute Kennerin dieses so ungeheuer vielschichtige Land sagen, dass Giles Tremlett hier ein wunderbares Buch gelungen ist, vielleicht das beste überhaupt. Erstaunlich ist, dass er als Engländer die erforderliche Einfühlsamkeit aufweist, die man beim Verständnis dieses Landes und seiner Bevölkerung und der entsprechenden Sprachen braucht. Ich kenne kein ähnliches Werk von einem spanischen Autor.

Probably the best book I've read on Spain - a great perspective of an outsider who has lived in Spain and explains history and social behaviour as observed in the country. Reads like a novel.

Fabulous story based on true events. Helps to understand some of the cultural aspects of Spain

I love Spain and have spent quite some time travelling through it. I now realise how little I knew about the country. An excellent book.