Mad Dogs - Rated 
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book but enjoy reading about travel and the adventurs of others throughout history so the title caught my eye. What I encountered was an inspiring story of a young lady stepping out from the 'norm' of life in post war England to head off abroard and experience the life and culture in a country that could in the 1950's have still been considered very foreign by todays standards. It was hard not to feel very attracted to this young lady as she encounters life in a Spanish town still reeling after a civil war in which everyone lost loved ones to the tyrants that now rule their country and to be transported into this new world of hers with all its sights, sounds, smells and experiences.
Caroline has managed to capture a world which might be forotten by many of us who think of Spain in terms of the 'Costas' and San Michel beer and are for the most part unaware of how recently this change has occurred to a country where running drinking water wass still a luxuary just fifty years ago. It's hard to think of Caroline as a grown woman now as we look back in time and relive her youthful enthusiasm for third class rail travel with chickens as companions and of course falling in love for the first time.
An excellent read, I couldn't put it down, wanting to know what happened next and having finsihed the booking am left wanting to know what happened to all the characters we were introduced to in the fifty years since this diary was first recorded. If Caroline ever writes a sequal I would place my order now.
Enjoyable, but... - Rated 
The subtitle - "A stranger in Franco's Spain" - and the snippet on the back cover about the army lorry made me expect a more insightful look at the politics of 1950's Spain; sadly, although this is a very enjoyable read I found it little more than a 50's version of the world inhabited by Chris Stewart. There is talk of "THEM" and brief references to how families had been affected by the Civil War but hardly the "political tension" promised on the rear cover. Amusing, yes, but not especially moving.
Mad Dogs and an English Girl by Caroline Waterman - Rated
This book is a delight to read and should satisfy teenagers to senior citizens (I am one of the latter). It also echoes ones own youth and experiences. Caroline shows us Spain and personalities that we must have met up with at sometime in our lives. Its a book that will keep you turning pages and regretting when it is ended.
Well done Caroline - your first book! Please write more.
Corinne Sauvage
mad dogs and an english girl:a stranger in Franco's Spain - Rated
I simply could not put this book down.. when i began reading it....it was written so realistically that i was there with the authoress sharing all her ups and downs, joys and sorrows, and successes and disappointments.I particularly liked the way she brought in lots of spanish words or phrases with an explanation of the meanings or translations....
She is obviously a lady with a wicked sense of humour but also had a great passion for Spain and the Spanish people and their way of life.A most remarkable tale which i would have no hestitaion in recommending to everyone.
Mad Dogs and an English Girl - Rated
Caroline Waterman's book is a powerful and beautifully written novel, accurately depicting Spain as it was in the early 1950's. And I know what I am talking about for I am Spanish and I lived in Spain throughout all those years of fear from "them", from the authorities in whatever guise.
Her description of a young man's possessivness (Julio), not even able to understand that in a couple's relationship, there is more than one's view point, together with the older man's attitude towards his younger employees (Dr. Vazquez), are two examples of the then prevailing "macho" mentality and the feeling in men that women were there to be used and to obey man's commands and desires.
And Caroline's account of her travelling in Spain is so true that I often had to remind myself that what I was reading, was a novel.
"Mad Dogs and an English Girl, is a compelling novel which I believe will be enjoyed by all who read it, "foreigners" and Spanish Nationals alike. I certainly have.
Jeronimo Maeso Castrillon
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