Iberia

Sort of interesting travelogue, but not as interesting as Mitchner thinks it is. Needed a more assertive editor. A bit dated in attitudes and descriptions, but still an interesting read before traveling to Spain. It seems that there's a lot of padding in the vignettes, some of which really aren't that interesting. Some are, some aren't. There's some occasional commentary that's really rather offensive by today's standards.

Just be aware that this is not a Michener novel. Instead, it is a record of his many trips to Spain and the things he learned and loved about that country. I'm a fan of both Michener's writing and Spain. If you feel that way too, you will likely love this book.

I love James Michener's writing and am going to Spain in spring so wanted some insight into Spanish culture. First, the book was written in 1968 during Franco's last year's as dictator so some of Michener's views are now dated. Starting in the most remote, under-populated portion of Spain put me off from reading the rest of the book. But several weeks later, I picked it up and tried again and found his deep knowledge of the culture, people, food and life of Spain to be fascinating (once he got past Extremadura). I have read a few current guidebooks and a history of Spain, but this was by far, the book that gave me a real sense of Spain and what I should look for when we travel there. There is a wonderful chapter on Barcelona and Catalonia which gave me a deeper understanding of the current situation between Catalonia and Madrid. I would have given it 5 stars except for that awful first chapter and the last chapter that was all about bullfighting, the bulls, the matadors ad nauseum. If you're into bullfighting, this is the chapter for you, otherwise just skip over it like I did.

A brilliant book, endlessly fascinating and including immensely varied perspectives on everything concerning Spain. It is not a travelogue, but an analysis of the Spanish people, their way of life, their psychology, their history, art, music, etc., etc. Basing himself in a number of different cities, many of them small cities that are not often featured in books on Spain. But through his conversations with people in all these places, he gains insights into all aspects of Spanish life. Michener's acquainance with the country is old and intimate, and he is deeply knowledgeable about Spanish art, music, literature, drama, the bullfight, and discusses all these topics, and many more, not in a lengthy, well-ordered and complete study of the subject, but as each topic is suggested by events, conversations, buildings, paintings, music, and other "encounters" he has during his many visits to Spain. The writer's style is magnificent, simple and unaffected, but inspiringly lyrical when he turns to topics that he loves particularly, art, music, birds, the bulls, etc.A deeply satisfying book and one that the lover of Spain will want to return to time and again.

I start this review by stating that James Michener is my absolute favorite author. I love his fictional works and enjoy them immensely. Iberia was my first read of his nonfiction, and, candidly, it just fell very flat for me. First, his descriptions of art, which mesmerize me in the context of a story, bored me in this one. He goes on for pages with descriptive detail on his observations, and I had difficulty wrapping my mind around it. Second, the photos in this book were random, and did not fit within the text. I found them distracting. Third, I just can't get into the beauty of bullfighting. I mean no disrespect for those that do, and not advocating that folks should not enjoy it. But, I don't get it, and there is a lot of story in this book about it. Too dry for me.This book has merit, and there are some passages I really enjoyed. But, I almost stopped reading this several times, unheard of with my love of Michener. I still don't really care to visit Spain, which, once again, is unheard of with me after reading of a locale he has written about. I guess, for me, I should stick to his fictional masterpieces.

I read this during a recent trip to Spain to get away from the craziness here. His tales were a lovely addition to the trip, and although over 50 years old, amazingly relevant to current events. Michener was fascinated by Spanish history in that they had literally boatloads of gold coming to them, but they became quite backwards for a very long time. They used all the wealth in a quest to "defend the faith" rather than invest in needed agriculture, and expelled endless Jews and Moors who contributed expertise, to purify the country. That, along with inept and sometimesderanged rulers, was enough to overwhelm all the advantages they started out with.There are also a lot of personal anecdotes and adventures that help to decide where to go and to appreciate what you see.

James Michener's books are chalk-full of details, personal anecdotes, and basically immersing yourself in the worlds he is writing about. "Iberia" was escapism at it's best, clearly his love-letter to Spain, and an opportunity for the reader to "travel" this intriguing country by reading the book alone. Michener introduces us to the geography, culture, history, politics, people, and unique characteristics of this country. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in taking a deep dive into Spain.

I read my first James Michener book about 30 years ago and was totally captivated by his story of Hawaii and Alaska. To date, they are still my very favourite books, so when they finally became available on Kindle, I bought them both again and have just re-read them both and enjoyed them again as much the second time round. I hadn't read Iberia before and just downloaded it, along with a few other James Michener books, at the same time as I bought Hawaii and Alaska. I hoped that it would be another epic story that would take me back through time and teach me about the history of the Iberian peninsula. After reading the first couple of chapters I realised that the book was just a history of the author's personal journeys and experiences in Spain throughout his life. He obviously loved Spain and found himself truly comfortable visiting and spending time there. As others have mentioned below, it's quite a dry book and very old-fashioned now but still quite interesting - although not spell-binding. As someone who has lived in Spain for for 38 years, I must say that I recognise nothing of his tales but then I have not yet been to Teruel! I'm really hoping that his book "Mexico" is about the history of Mexico and not just another travelogue.

Having been totally absorbed — twice in 20 years — by both ‘The Source’ and ‘The Covenant’, which, although works of fiction, are so well researched that they teach us an enormous amount about the respective histories of Judaism and South Africa, I found the travelogue ‘Iberia’ to be sadly outdated, and as dry as dust.In this book, published 50 years ago, Michener first describes the Spain of the 1940s, moving on through the ‘50s and into the ‘60s. The geographical terrain won’t have changed much, of course, but from most other points of view none of these ‘Spains’ exists in 2018. And let us not forget that Spain today is no longer the exotic and mysterious country explored by Michener and by Laurie Lee - who, by the way, provided far more riveting descriptions in ‘Cider with Rosie’ and ‘As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning’.Michener, on the other hand, drones on and on, addressing the (in those days barely-travelled) American public, and seeming over-fond of making all sorts of frankly pointless comparisons between Spain and other countries — especially, I need hardly add, the great US of A.One of his early 1950s comments is that he is surprised by the way young married Spanish women allow themselves to get so fat. They are quite relaxed about this, he says, because - in his opinion - each one has already caught her man ; and in Catholic Spain she need not fear losing him. Each of these women weighs, he assures us, at least 20lbs (around 10 kilos) more than her counterparts in the USA. In light of 21st-century American obesity statistics, that comment is pretty amusing, and it certainly reminds us that past is past.So : in my humble opinion, this book is not one of Michener’s best.

This book is an account of Michener's memories of Spain stretched out over many years and several visits and was originally published in 1968. There are various parts of the book which "date" it unfavourably - for example, he refers to Watts, in Los Angeles, as the "Negro" section of that city. This should, of course, been edited out for later editions. He, also, rather naively, foresees a war between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar which was ceded to Britain at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession by way of the Treaty of Utrecht - of course, he never predicted the establishment of the European Union!But, his observations on Catalunya and its relationship with the rest of Spain remain pertinent although this relationship has advanced somewhat since his day.An interesting read but NOT up to date and lovers of Spain, warts and all, may not agree.

I have owned the paperback edition since 1989 and was curious to see a hardback edition (mainly to see Vavra's photos more prominently). It's a great combination of beautiful photos combined with astute writing from Michener.It's a pity the dust jacket shown in the illustration didn't come with the book.

What a book! either his notes or his memory was fantastic and it gives a very interesting picture of Spain to the outsider during the Franco era. Unfortunately (but understandably) he does not get to the Almeria province and he does dwell rather too long on his obsession with bullfighting. It's a four-and-three-quarters star book. If you are living or going to live in Spain then do read. (His worries about what would happen post-Franco are interesting too. But he didn't really foresee the value of the E.U. to Spain - inter alia)