Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Barcelona: the Great Enchantress (Directions)
Robert Hughes has been going to Barcelona regularly since the 1960s and was married in its Gothic city hall last year. Although in his new book Hughes is compelling and engaging in describing Barcelona's remarkable culture and history, his first subject is his 40-year love affair with the city. Thus it is a much more personal book than his earlier Barcelona. Since publicat...more
Hardcover, 176 pages
Published
June 1st 2004
by National Geographic
(first published November 1st 1992)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
194)
Feb 28, 2011
Elsje
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Barcelona-adepts
Recommended to Elsje by:
my boyfriend
Shelves:
read-2006
Tijdens mijn verblijf in Barcelona, een maand geleden, had ik behoefte aan een alternatieve reisgids. Ik ben er nl. inmiddels zo vaak geweest, dan hoef je de Lonely Planet ff niet meer. Gelukkig kreeg ik voor mijn verjaardag, vlak voor het reisje, een leuk boekje over Barcelona. Uitgegeven in een reeks onder de vlag van National Geographic.
In slechts drie hoofdstukken (175 pagina's) vertelt de Australische Robert Hughes over zijn passie voor Barcelona. Die passie begon toen hij er voor het eerst...more
In slechts drie hoofdstukken (175 pagina's) vertelt de Australische Robert Hughes over zijn passie voor Barcelona. Die passie begon toen hij er voor het eerst...more
if you can't handle Hughes' magisterial 1992 "Barcelona" this lighter version would be good to get a little "methadone fix" of art, history, personalities, and architecture of the next best place to the Basque Country.Barcelona
I happened on this book by accident a few years back and relished it. An ode to the city and to love, and is maybe more accessible to readers who found the earlier and fatter 'Barcelona' fabulous but hard work. Next time you visit, leave TimeOut and LPlanet behind (way too ponderous and beaten track in any case) and instead take this lovely work with you. I'm re-reading it now and reflecting how much we miss Bob Hughes: his prose, his acerbic originality and intellect, simply knowing he was ther...more
Robert Hughes was born in Australia and has lived in NYC a good part of his life, as art critic for Time magazine and a frequent contributor to the Times Book Review, but he has spent good chunks of his life in Barcelona, loves it and has studied its history (and written a much bigger book called _Barcelona_). This is a great overview of the history of Barcelona and the region of Catalunya--but because it's written from the personal perspective of a man who loves the city and has dug around in i...more
I didn't get to spend enough time in Spain. Something about Madrid... Something about the people... Something about Barcelona... I still can't shake that City even a year later. So I picked up a book by someone who can't seem to shake Barcelona either. Maybe Robert Hughes can explain the allure.
Update Jan 24th, 2008
Unfortunately, Robert Hughes can't explain shit. While he wanders from favorite place to favorite place, Hughes gives a very limited history of a few obscure buildings that only socie...more
Update Jan 24th, 2008
Unfortunately, Robert Hughes can't explain shit. While he wanders from favorite place to favorite place, Hughes gives a very limited history of a few obscure buildings that only socie...more
Robert Hughes is a very amusing author (and obviously a difficult person). Being an art critic means never being afraid to voice your opinion (or any critic actually). This is an entertaining little book about the city he loves. A brief history, a quick look at the culture, and of course Gaudi. The book suffers from lack of illustration.
I'm hoping to go to Barcelona in the fall and am reading this book in preparation for that...and for reading Hughes' much bigger book on Barcelona.
I'm hoping to go to Barcelona in the fall and am reading this book in preparation for that...and for reading Hughes' much bigger book on Barcelona.
The city may not transcend its faults, but it does outweigh them. Perhaps it always has. “You are boastful and treacherous and vulgar,” wrote Joan Maragall, in the last lines of his “Ode to Barcelona.” But then, the cry of infatuated loyalty. “Barcelona! And with your sins, ours, ours! Our Barcelona, the great enchantress!” There is still ample truth in this.
This was the book I wished his earlier history, Barcelona, had been. More personal and engaging, reminds me of all the things I love about Barcelona and all the reasons I want to return again and again.
I read this book in my last two days in Barcelona and finished it off on the plane. I really like how he wove history, art, and contemporary Barcelona into one small book.
was a great companion on my trip to barcelona this past spring! loved the anecdotes and the connections the author had to different places in the city.
One of the places I would love to see, Hughes not only gives a great view and love of the city, he gives some tidbits for travelers to seek out.
An overview of Barcelona, told through its three major building booms. I wish it had been a little less lecture-y and a little more impressionistic.
just go for the (much) longer _Barcelona_ by Hughes, this one feels too condensed and jumpy.
Barcelona Redux- a more personal and abbreviated version of his big book.
Read this before my trip to the Costa Brava, and while it did lead me to some great architectural treasures that I probably never would have visited -- the Palau de Musica Catalana and Santa Maria del Mar -- and it did give me a quick history of Catalonia -- I was hoping for more. Actually my evening at the Palau de Musica Catalana was the highpoint of my stay in Barcelona.
Anyone who ever visited Barcelona will love to reminisce with this book!
Erg goed, vooral als je naar Barcelona gaat :)
Living in a new city fills one with a special feeling of wonder and awe. Hughes takes this to a new height, giving the reader a special appreciation and reverence for the city of Barcelona. From Catalan food to traditional human-pyramid towers (castells) to architecture that you can find nowhere else on this planet, one is in for a fantastic adventure in Barcelona! Living here while reading this book gave me a greater sense of Catalan culture and their deep pride for thier magnificent city!
Fascinating book for learning about this interesting city or as a guidebook. Well written by an expat who loves the city. Highly recommended if you are visiting this city.
If I were planning a visit to Barcelona, Spain this would have been a great book to read. Really interesting history of the city and its peoples.
This is a great read if you've never been to Barcelona and are planning to go, or if you love the city and want to rekindle the excitement.
Amazing stories and history of an amazing city. Wonderful background for anyone traveling to Catalunya.
Me encanta Barcelona...
Quite interesting.
May 10, 2013
Giulia
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Robert Studley Forrest Hughes, AO is an Australian art critic, writer and television documentary maker who has resided in New York since 1970. He was educated at St Ignatius' College, Riverview before going on to study arts and then architecture at the University of Sydney. At university, Hughes associated with the Sydney "Push" – a group of artists, writers, intellectuals and drinkers. Among the...more
More about Robert Hughes...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
Mar 01, 2013 01:15am