mkdiebold

Is anyone familiar with the series of history books written especially for travelers and published by Interlink? Example: A Travellers History of London. If so, do you recommend them? I'm planning trips to Spain and Ireland, two of the many countries or cities in the series. A readable history of each country would be good preparation. Any comments?

Marc_David_Miller

As an amateur historian I like the idea in theory, to educate tourists on a country's background; however, the one book that I have read (on Russia) was not well edited (some essays were out of date and contradicted each other), and some information was either poorly analyzed or just wrong.

I find that Lonely Planet and Rough Guide both have good histories written into their texts.

Also there is a good book which I read on the way to Spain two years ago, "The New Spaniards" by John Hooper. It was a good (and relatively short) overview of post-Franco (1975) Spanish society.

One fantasy of mine is to prepare a series of history texts which combine a narrative essay with photographs (both historic and current), as well as maps, so that people could visit the sites today and understand their significance.

mkdiebold

Thanks for your comments. I'll check out the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides.
Currently,I'm really enjoying reading historical fiction. It's an easy way for me to become familiar with the history of a country...enough facts but wrapped in an enjoyable story. Have you any such recommendations for either Spain or Ireland?

Bree

For novels that will give you a good background in Irish history, but are also very entertaining, try Thomas Flanagan's trilogy: The Year of the French (set in 1798), The Tenants of Time (late 19th century), and The End of the Hunt (1916 and the years immediately following).

SuzieC

As to Ireland, Edward Rutherford has a new one out, "Irish Princes". If its anything like his "London", he'll start with prehistoric history and work upwards in detail. I enjoy his work, but I find it a "tough go"...