Paul Preston

REACTION, REVELUTION & REVENGE

No war in modern times has inflamed the passions of both ordinary people and intellectuals in the way that the conflict in Spain in 1936 did.The Spanish Civil War is burned into European consciousness, not simply because it prefigured the much larger world war that followed it, but because the intense manner of its prosecution was a harbinger of a new and horrific form of warfare that was universally dreaded. At the same time, the hopes awakened by the attempted social revolution in republican Spain chimed with the aspirations of many in Europe and the United States during the grim years of the great Depression. This is a full-blooded account of this pivotal period in twentieth-century European history. Paul Preston vividly recounts the struggles of the war, analyzes the wider implications of the revolution in the Republican zone, tracks the emergence of Francisco Franco’s brutal (and, ultimately, extraordinarily durable) fascist dictatorship and assesses the ways in which the Spanish Civil War was a portent of the Second World War that ensued so rapidly after it.

Price 14.90€

Toby Green

The Reighn Of Fear

Everybody has heard of the Inquisition. It was an institution that pursued heretics, philandering priests and sexual deviants in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America for a period of over 350 years, changing its focus with the times and enduring stubbornly into the nineteenth century. Today the word implies dread, fear and a withheld threat of torture. But who were its targets? Why did it provoke such fear? How and where did it operate? Why was it founded, and why did it last for so long?Toby Green’s incredible new book brings an extraordinary 350-year period vividly to life by focusing on the hitherto untold stories of individuals from all walks of life. Because the Inquisition touched every aspect of society, it changed the world: people attending church had to look suitably devout, or they might be denounced; a curse at a game of cards, thrown out in the heat of the moment, could bring an investigation; stripping fat from a leg of lamb was enough to excite accusations of being a Jew. A secret police and a thought police, the Inquisition produced a permanent state of fear.This history, though filled with stories of terror and the unspeakable ways in which human beings can treat one another, is also one of hope and ultimately of the resilience of the human spirit. Instead of being cowed by their fear, countless people rebelled in small and big ways, paving the way for a more inclusive society.The story of the Inquisition is not, then, one to be hidden and avoided; it deserves to be told in all its human richness and complexity.

Price 14.90

Victoria Hislop

Beneath the majestic towers of the Alhambra, Granada’s cobbled streets resonate with music and secrets. Sonia Cameron knows nothing of the city’s shocking past; she is here to dance. But in a quiet cafe, a chance conversation and an intriguing collection of old photographs draw her into the extraordinary tale of Spain’s devastating civil war. Seventy years earlier, the cafe is home to the close-knit Ramirez family. In 1936, an army coup led by Franco shatters the country’s fragile peace, and in the heart of Granada the family witnesses the worst atrocities of conflict. Divided by politics and tragedy, everyone must take a side, fighting a personal battle as Spain rips itself apart.

In The Return, Victoria Hislop again creates brilliant characters and weaves the story line around historical events in such a way, you live the experiences with them. I feel I have learnt a lot about the Spanish Civil War and events in quite recent history really, in a fantastic story.

We stock this book second hand at 5.00€.  All our books are in Prestine condition

Active gardeners in their adopted country, Clodagh and Dick Handscombe bring 40 years’ combined experience of gardening in Spain to this comprehensive and beautifully illustrated guide for residents and holiday-home owners.

New Euro 19.90

Sergio Vasquez

A Mouthwatering selection of authentic Spanish recipes with a fresh healthy twist, for all occasions from family meals to entertaining friends.

13.50€

Kompass

This handy little book and map is ideal while exploring Mallorca.

Full of tours and excursions:

• The entire island on a scale of 1: 75000
• City map of Palma de Mallorca
• hiking and biking routes
• attractions and sights
• Easy to read and GPS compatible
• Beaches and Bays
• Parks and Gardens

This well illustrated book and map sells new for 6.95€

Look and learn to recall a wealth of everyday vocabulary in Spanish with this innovative new language guide. This introduction to key vocabulary covers a range of subjects, provides fast and effective learning for any situation and is easy to use with a detailed index for instant reference.

There are full-colour artworks and photographs to display all the elements of everyday life and with scenes and items clearly labelled, it’s easy to find the words you want in this dictionary that shows you what others only tell you.

This book is sold new 14.90 euros. Paperback

Serra de Tramuntana Mallorca

Ruta de Pedra en Sec / Dry stone route

Miquel Rayo, Joan Sastre, Vincenc Sastre, Sebastia Torrens

On foot from Andratx to Pollensa. Written by veterans in aquiring and spreading knowledge about the nature and culture of the Balearic Islands, this guide book takes us on a 8 stage walk from Andratx to Pollensa the Serra de Tramuntana, the mountains often refeered to as the “backbone of Mallorca”. Comes with tourist infomation, Public transport, nature note, refuge and guest house infomation.

This book is sold New for 12.00 euros English Edition

Jason Webster - A Journey in search of Flamenco

Jason Webster travels to Spain taking on it´s music and culture. And in search of DUENDE - the intense emotional state at the heart of flamenco. DUENDE is an account of his years spent in Spain feeding his obsessive interest in flamenco: he subjects himself to the tyranny of his guitar teacher, practising for hours on end until his fingers bleed; he becomes involved in a passionate affair with Lola, a flamenco dancer (and older woman) married to the gun-toting Vicente, only to flee Alicante in fear of his life;

In Madrid, he falls in with Gypsies and meets the imperious Jesus. Joining their dislocated, cocaine-fuelled world, stealing cars by night and sleeping away the days in tawdry rooms, he finds himself spiralling self-destructively downwards.It is only when he arrives in Granada bruised and battered, after two years total immersion in the flamenco lifestyle that he is able to put his obsession into context.

Bernal Diaz

Vivid and absorbing, this is a first-person account of one of the most startling episodes in history: the overthrow of Montezuma´s Aztec empire by the ruthless Hernan Cortes and his band of adventurers. Bernal Dias del Castillo, himself a soldier under Cortes, presents a fascinatingly detailed description of the Spanish landing in Mexico in 1520, their amazement at the city, the exploitation of the natives for gold and other treasures,  the expulsion and flight of the Spaniards, their regrouping and eventual capture of the Aztec capital. The Conquest of Spain has a compelling immediacy that brings the past to life and offers a unique eyewitness viewof the conquest of one of the greatest civilazations in the New World.

J.M.Cohen´s clear, fluent translation is supplemented by the introduction that illuminates the life and memories of Bernal Diaz and explores changing views of the conquest, and there are also maps of the conquered terrotory-

New Price 16.90€