The Basque History of the World

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Interesting book - Rated
Kurlansky's book is an interesting first approach to Basque History. It gives an interesting historical background on many places as well as a detailed insight of the historical events that gave birth to its separatist politics. Although it is very nice to read, it is too much lengthy and very much biased...
Nevertheless I consider it an essential reading.

Four plus three equals one (Basque graffiti) - Rated
There are a total of seven provinces in Basque land. Three are in France and four are in Spain. Consequently, the birth of local Basque wall graffiti, "four plus three equals one." "The Basque History of the World," is a comprehensive historical portrait of a proud people. Moreover, author Mark Kurlansky details the very unique and "tenacious" characteristics of the Basque population. Interestingly enough, Kurlansky argues that the Basque tongue, "Euskera" is likely the oldest living European language.

Kurlansky's narrative starts in the Bronze age, examines the bloody difficulties of the Spanish Civil War, it documents the stunning bravery of the Basque people during World War II, and reports the terrible human rights violations inflicted on the Basque people by the Franco Dictatorship. Kurlansky also does not fail to report the impressive economic development of the region from fishing to shipbuilding to steel manufacturing. On a diplomatic note, the author makes a point of reporting the shameful American State Department betrayal of the Basque people due to Cold War politics. Finally, this book is an important source of information for all Latin Americans...you may very well discover your own links to the Basque culture. Recommended.

Bert Ruiz

the basques are no longer an enigma - Rated
the basques, like the irish before the peace process, tended to get only negative press before this book was written. it's a gem. although the author's style is somewhat like a pot pourri, especially the insertion of basque recipes in "odd places" at the end of insightful analyses of basque historical chapters. maybe he wants to normalise their experience back to the culinary, as this can bring a greater understanding of the culture itself too. this book encouraged me to look at p woodward's analysis of the gal episode in spanish history which highlights the stain of state terroism against the basque nationality. it is a worthy introduction to a country often talked about but misunderstood. get it today!

The Basque History of the World. - Rated
So much I have always wanted to know.

Amazing information on Basque history, politics and best of all cooking.... Baccaloa recipes.

The section on the linguistics of the Basque language is so easy to follow and I very much enjoyed the guide on how to pronounce the inpenetrable "tx."

The coverage of the American influence on Basque feelings and the effect of Franco on the immediate lives of the Basque people was electrifying.

The bibliograhy is stunning.

An extremely well-written and wonderfully researched book.

I would reccommend it anyone who is interested in exploring the totality of "Spanish Culture and History."

An interesting concept, but.... - Rated
As I was planning a trip to Bilbao, I thought this book would be an ideal choice of background reading material. Up to a point, it was just that.
There is a lot of very interesting detail in this book, although in some places there is too much detail and insufficient in other places. The book certainly helped put my trip into perspective and enhanced the experience. The book is also challenging in places - I certainly disagree with the author's views on the Guggenheim - and rightly so.

However, in many ways the book is an absolute disaster. It is very poorly written. It is often a difficult read because of the author's tortuous syntax, which makes ideas hard to follow in places. It is also ungrammatical. For example, there are many occasions where capital letters follow colons.
In my opinion, the biggest fault is in the editing, or seeming lack of it. Many chapters ramble on in a confusing way, with lots of repetition. Some thoughts are repeated, almost word for word, in consecutive sentences. Better editing could have reduced the length of the book by about 100 pages and made it a more coherent read. Perhaps there would then have been room to include more details about certain things. I would certainly have liked to learn more about the basque beret and bacalao pil pil, for example.
In comclusion, an interesting book that could have been very much better.