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Review
Michael Jacobs is perfectly placed to write an informed, approachable book on what one writer has called 'the most perfectly beautiful place in the world'. Add to this the many beautiful photographs of Francisco Fernandez and you have a book that works well as both source book and souvenir. (Sunday Times )
The Alhambra's extraordinary appeal is based on an unrivalled combination of architectural brilliance, a seductive setting, and a long and romantic history - all captured gloriously in this book. (Traveller )
The Alhambra's extraordinary appeal is based on an unrivalled combination of architectural brilliance, a seductive setting, and a long and romantic history - all captured gloriously in this book. (Traveller )
Product Description
The Alhambra palace complex is imposingly situated above the town of Granada, on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada, southern Spain. It is the most important surviving medieval Islamic palace in the world. Michael Jacobs takes a fresh look at this magical palace-fortress, built by the Muslim Nasrid rulers and the potent mythology that has grown up around it. The heart of the book is a tour of the palace and the adjoining gardens of the Generalife. The final chapter assesses the literature, art and architecture inspired by this legendary place.
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First Sentence
THE STATESMAN AND SCHOLAR IBN AL-KHATIB, a key witness to the Alhambra in its heyday, gave his invaluable account of Islamic Granada and its rulers the poetic title of The Shining Rays of the Full Moon. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THE STATESMAN AND SCHOLAR IBN AL-KHATIB, a key witness to the Alhambra in its heyday, gave his invaluable account of Islamic Granada and its rulers the poetic title of The Shining Rays of the Full Moon. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
To marvel at the richness, sensuality and atmosphere of the Alhambra in Granada is, as Michael Jacobs elegantly written account shows, to join a long and illustrious tradition. Equally enduring is the desire to understand something more of the life lived within its precincts and of the culture which produced its complex calligraphic and architectural splendours. Strangely, a search of the bookshelves may yield surprisingly little to a reader who wants to go beyond guidebook cliché but without trawling into the realms of academic debate. This volume endeavours to fill the gap in the literature.
One of the great joys of the book are the superb photographs of Francisco Fernandez which on one level will act as a faithful record and souvenir of a visit or as an appetite whetter for a future one. Yet the great achievement of this particular work is the successful marriage of image and a fluent, informed text. Jacobs' approach is to offer a systematic tour of the site, closely matching commentary to picture page by page so that the visual and intellectual understanding develop side by side. Few will fail to gain new insights as a result, but nor will they find this a difficult read. The only problem as the author frankly acknowledges, is that much about the life and culture of the place will remain forever a mystery thanks to the paucity of contemporary documents relating to it. One of his most important observations is the recognition that thanks to fires, wars, neglect and over enthusiastic restoration what we see today is radically different from the original C14th conception of the Nasirids. Perhaps the most fascinating section of the book is Jacob's exploration of the Alhambra's influence on succeeding generations of artists, writers and composers who transposed their own fantasises about Spain's lost golden age onto this unique edifice. Whether your primary aim is to learn more about the Alhambra or just to revel in the visual glories of a stunning yet misunderstood masterpiece, this book is the one to go for.
One of the great joys of the book are the superb photographs of Francisco Fernandez which on one level will act as a faithful record and souvenir of a visit or as an appetite whetter for a future one. Yet the great achievement of this particular work is the successful marriage of image and a fluent, informed text. Jacobs' approach is to offer a systematic tour of the site, closely matching commentary to picture page by page so that the visual and intellectual understanding develop side by side. Few will fail to gain new insights as a result, but nor will they find this a difficult read. The only problem as the author frankly acknowledges, is that much about the life and culture of the place will remain forever a mystery thanks to the paucity of contemporary documents relating to it. One of his most important observations is the recognition that thanks to fires, wars, neglect and over enthusiastic restoration what we see today is radically different from the original C14th conception of the Nasirids. Perhaps the most fascinating section of the book is Jacob's exploration of the Alhambra's influence on succeeding generations of artists, writers and composers who transposed their own fantasises about Spain's lost golden age onto this unique edifice. Whether your primary aim is to learn more about the Alhambra or just to revel in the visual glories of a stunning yet misunderstood masterpiece, this book is the one to go for.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Michael Jacobs is heaven sent for those who wish to understand the real cultural significance of tourist destinations. This book on the Alhambra tops even his guide to Andalucia and 'Between Hopes and Memories'. Jacobs' typically informed yet entertaining text is complemented by brilliant photographs. But he is ever aware that history is not just what happened, but also what people THINK happened. So the last third of this book is about travellers' perceptions of the Alhambra. Here the photographs are replaced by illustrations--which are of the same level of excellence as the photos. Dare one hope for a sequel on Cordoba, and another on Seville? Or perhaps Toledo? Best of all would be if Jacobs would employ his talents on an updated edition of Bevan's 'History of Spanish Architecture".
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Visited The Alhambra this year 2011, so much history and so much to see in the time allocated. This book and its pictures fills in so many gaps and provides photographs I was not able to take.Highly recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Don't judge a cover by its book!
This beautiful book literally fell completely out of its cover the very first time I picked it up. It was bound in China.
Published on 12 Mar 2010 by Kenneth Parkes
An unforgettable adventure in Granada
I have read and seen this wonderful book, and I insist, read and seen, because by reading it you discover a new approach of this monument. Read more
Published on 10 April 2000
Very good literary approach and better pictures
I'm very fond of this type of travel literature, but I've never seen anything with so much information, personal insight and scholar accuracy and besides you have the best of... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 2000
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