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Summary: The Essential Work on Post-Franco Spain
Review: After having visited the land of paella 19 times, I find that Hooper is dependably dead-on perfect in most all his observations and assessments of post Franco Spain. He masterfully explains how the country reached its present point, fitting a surprising amount of historic/cultural background into 470 pages. Hooper offers methodical analysis of every imaginable mileau (art, education, politics, crime, sex, religion, the press,etc etc), plus evocative (and unerring) portraits of each of Spain's strikingly different states. Indispensible for those traveling there, and a fascinating read for anyone even mildly interested in the region.
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Summary: a masterpiece of perception
Review: As a spaniard I find incredible merit in this book. It is accurate like no other study (spanish or otherwise) and very entertaining. It has made me understand my country like never before through its very well documented and almost totally impartial overview of the Spain of recent years. Sometimes it takes a certain distance to see the whole picture and not corrupt the reality with stereotypes, myths repeated like mantras or official versions of the facts. For any Spain lover this is -the- book.
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Summary: Fascinating book for a tourist
Review: I enjoyed my 10 day trip to Spain so much more because of having read this book before I went. Spain came out of a dictatorship in 1977; the time spent under it and the process of coming out of it is a fascinating story. This book gives entertaining and thoughtful insight into the Spainish peopele and their culture from many angles. It should also be listed along with the travel selection of books.
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Summary: Interesting tour of modern Spain
Review: I suppose that this book could be described as a handy guide to contemporary Spain, covering everything from economics and politics to bullfighting. A good read it is too - Hooper's style is informative, reflective and very accessible, almost conversational. I wish that I'd read this book prior to my recent trip to Spain, but no matter as it's served merely to whet my appetite for another visit.Hooper gives due weight to the historical influences on modern Spain, trying - sometimes with difficulty - to put the Franco years in context, and also devotes space to Basque, Catalan and Galician affairs. The book contains lots of stuff I was previously unaware of, such as the "Opus Dei". It is the fate of books such as this to be out-of-date as soon as they are published. For instance, Hooper's contention that Britain's high TV viewing figures compared to Spain and the rest of Europe are due to "the exceptionally high quality of British television's output" struck me as an extraordinary statement: either Mr Hooper hasn't seen (suffered?) much British TV recently or Spanish TV is unbelieveably dire. More seriously, the book might deserve an updating to reflect more fully on the effects of Spain's entry to the European Union and to her participation in the single currency. To his credit, Hooper speculates briefly on both of those issues, and alludes to what might be the elephant in the room that few people are noticing as Europe gets on with building a "super-state": that is, how the creation of such a state can be reconciled with the increased desire in many regions of Europe for greater autonomy. Spain's history might serve as a warning, as a model, or as a barometer. But at least it's worth a thought.
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Summary: Finally a true likeness of Spain
Review: I was born in Madrid around the time Mr. Hooper chooses to begin his book with. The events in Spain in the second half of the XX century were very complex and their description by journalists, artists and scholars so off the mark, that I could never gain proper perspective on my own country. I left Spain in 1989, spun off by a society I never understood. This book has helped me re-learn about my own past and also about the last eleven years of the country, which I did not know first-hand. Mr. Hooper's analyses are remarkably accurate and insightful. I know of no other book about Spain (with the exception of G. Jackson's "The Second Republic and the Civil War") that has succeeded in taking the measure of such a deceptive country.
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Summary: COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY SPANISH SOCIETY
Review: I would categorize this book less as politics and current affairs and more as a complete sociological analysis of contemporary Spanish society. The author covers all aspects of modern Spain including its politics, economy, demographics, education, housing, labor, family, religion, and popular culture. The author explains the changes over the past 25 years from the ossified Franco regime to the modern nation involved politically,economically, and socially with the rest of Europe and the world. Very well written and organized with insightful analysis and illuminating explanation of Spanish society and mores.
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Summary: COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY SPANISH SOCIETY
Review: I would categorize this book less as politics and current affairs and more as a complete sociological analysis of contemporary Spanish society. The author covers all aspects of modern Spain including its politics, economy, demographics, education, housing, labor, family, religion, and popular culture. The author explains the changes over the past 25 years from the ossified Franco regime to the modern nation involved politically,economically, and socially with the rest of Europe and the world. Very well written and organized with insightful analysis and illuminating explanation of Spanish society and mores.
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Summary: Excellent introduction to Spain in all its variety
Review: No praise is too high for this book, which is exceptionally entertaining as well as informative. Its most attractive quality is the way that it gets behind the newspaper headlines and gives a real sense of what life is like in the hugely different regions of Spain. Particularly interesting on the modern Spanish Catholic church and on youth culture.
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Summary: Scholarly and interesting
Review: This must be a definitive review of Spanish society and culture in the last half century, and while it's certainly fascinating reading, it is oversaturated. It can be a bit difficult to get through learning EVERYTHING about Spain if you are a newcomer to the topic. The section on the press becomes passionately detailed. Hooper seems to give the names, political bents and histories (behind the scenes and otherwise,) of every newspaper and magazine printed since 1936, as well as statistics about readership levels among various classes and regions over time which he compares to those of Britain and other European countries. Granted the information, with his analysis, does make for a very vivid portrait of the country, but you may feel a bit as though you're being hit on the head with a hammer when he starts doing the same thing in a chapter on television broadcasting. I simply couldn't keep track of the TV stations, and what they were up to, who was running them, how and why. Though I did get the point. Spanish love television, and they don't seem to have a problem with government control of the medium. On the other hand the chapters on education, the arts, film, and the significantly independent regions of Spain, to wit, the Basque, the Catalan and the Galician regions, were much more breathable, and did fill in many gaps in my understanding,(though there were far too many personalities to keep track of, and all involved in very intricate negotiations,) as did earlier chapters about the general History of the country, and how the conflicts, between the various nations which came to form Spain, still exist today. In the minds of most Spaniards, the formation of Spain as a nation was never a forgone conclusion. And Hooper covers this national psychological fragmentation, and its present day outpourings and consequences, with startling detail.
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