- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: The Armchair Traveller at the bookHaus; 2nd edition edition (14 Feb 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1905214715
- ISBN-13: 978-1905214716
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.6 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 899,645 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
A definitive concise history of Portugal, from its earliest beginnings right up to the politics and life of the present day. It was not until the twelfth century that Portugal became a country in its own right, having been a Roman colony and then having suffered both Barbarian and Islamic invasions. The golden age of discoveries, the reign and foresight of Henry the Navigator, and great seamen such as Vasco da Gama led to the founding of Portugal’s empire and wealth. Troubled times followed: in 1755 Lisbon was virtually leveled by the Great Earthquake, and the country had hardly recovered its former prosperity when it was overrun by Napoleon’s troops at the start of the Peninsular War, to be followed not long after by the Miguelite civil war. The middle decades of the nineteenth century saw the port wine trade flourishing, and further expansion into Africa. During the last quarter of the twentieth century, ever since the bloodless revolution of 1974 overthrew the right-wing dictatorship of Salazar, the country has regained its stability, and now takes its rightful place in the European Community.
About the Author
Ian Robertson was once described as 'the Elizabeth David of travel writers' and is the author of the Blue Guides to Portugal and Spain; he edited and extensively contributed to 'Portugal: A Companion History'. He was born in Tokyo in 1928 and educated at Stowe. He now lives in Arles in France.
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First Sentence
Portugal is situated at the south-western extremity of Europe, covering an area of 88,550 square kilometres (34,200 square miles), approximately one-fifth of the Iberian Peninsula, which she shares with Spain. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Portugal is situated at the south-western extremity of Europe, covering an area of 88,550 square kilometres (34,200 square miles), approximately one-fifth of the Iberian Peninsula, which she shares with Spain. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Read it with caution,
By John Parker (Manchester, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Traveller's History of Portugal (Paperback)
Read it with cautionThis book contains a lot of information, some correct some incorrect, some useful some unlikely to interest the general reader. Do you really want to read a page-long list of Visigothic kings? Worse than this kind of information is the considerable number of errors, as a typical mistake, "The Luciades". This is supposed to be "The Lusiads" (see "The Lusiads", Oxford World's Classics, a five-star book). This traveller's history puts together a lot of material from different sources, but does so unselectively and without checking for accuracy. This is as bad as the Tyson-Ward Portuguese books!
33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
You can't call this a history!,
By Jane Goddard (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Traveller's History of Portugal (Paperback)
This is not really a history but mainly lists of events a large number of them presented in an unusual way and with the wrong date. Names are often spelt wrong, some beyond recognition. Others are quite amusing in their changed form, like Manrique (Manique). We the readers deserve better, much better. If you want a concise history of Portugal good for the traveller, then you have the right book in Portugal a Companion History by Jose Hermano Saraiva. That one is good!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
2.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Read it with caution,
By John Parker - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Traveller's History of Portugal (Paperback)
Read it with cautionThis book contains a lot of information, some correct some incorrect, some useful some unlikely to interest the general reader. Do you really want to read a page-long list of Visigothic kings? Worse than this kind of information is the considerable number of errors,as a typical mistake, "The Luciades". This is supposed to be "The Lusiads" (see "The Lusiads", Oxford World's Classics, a five-star book). This traveller's history puts together a lot of material from different sources, but does so unselectively and without checking for accuracy. This is as bad as the Tyson-Ward Portuguese books! 21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
You can't call this a history!,
By Jane Goddard - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Traveller's History of Portugal (Paperback)
This is not really a history but mainly lists of events a large number of them presented in an unusual way and with the wrong date. Names are often spelt wrong, some beyond recognition. Others are quite amusing in their changed form, like Manrique (Manique). We the readers deserve better, much better. If you want a concise history of Portugal good for the traveller, then you have the right book in Portugal a Companion History by Jose Hermano Saraiva. That one is good!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Decent, basic travel history,
By Scott C. Locklin "Selectos nisi das mihi libe... - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: A Traveller's History of Portugal (Paperback)
I don't understand what all the fuss below is about. Some people must be upset with Mr. Robertson for reasons other than the actual content of the book. Yes, he does spell 'Os Luciados' a couple of different ways in this book, and that does seem to be poor editing; however, google indicates that the "misspellings" are all legitimate. I suppose a catholic might find fault with his characterization of Fatima as a "spiritual disneyland." But then, if he wrote about it from a Catholic perspective, it would be a theology rather than a history book.
This book is very obviously meant to be a quick overview of Portugese history for people who are on vacation there. My book dealer even helpfully put it in the "travel" section, rather than the history section. Many times in my travels, I found myself in an interesting place, completely at the mercy of the cretinous author of whatever travel book I was able to procure for myself. Having a slim book like this I can read while travelling, and refer to while in museums and other places of culture (say, to remind myself who Luis de Camoes might be) makes the trip that much more exciting and relevant. While travelling, you do not want some vast tome, impossible to carry around with you: you want a light reference, which includes timelines, and, yes, lists of Visigothic kings. I think this book admirably succeeds in its purpose for Portugal. My trip was dramatically enriched by having this book along. I probably wouldn't choose this book in studying for a test on Portugese history, and I did find it a bit dry in places and perhaps a bit spare in others. I also allow there may be better examples of this 'travel genre' on the subject of Portugese history, but those weren't available in the bookstore. I think the average english speaking tourist to Portugal will be just as pleased with this book as I was. |
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