book data
416 ratings,
3.71
average rating, 78 reviews
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published
February 1st 2001
(first published 1999)
by Penguin (Non-Classics)
binding
Paperback, 400 pages
isbn
0140298517
(isbn13: 9780140298512)
description
The buzz about the Guggenheim Bilbão aside, the Basques seldom get good press--from the 12th-century Codex of Calixtus ("A Basque or Navarrese w...more
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avg 3.71
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
This is a fascinating book about a mysterious people. The ancestral Basque homelands lie on the border between France and Spain, encompassing a bit of each country's territory.
While the Basque are officially considered citizens of Spain, they consider themselves a separate group entirely. They are a mysterious group because anthropologists can't say exactly where they, or their native language, came from, only that both their physical traits and language have little in common with e...more
While the Basque are officially considered citizens of Spain, they consider themselves a separate group entirely. They are a mysterious group because anthropologists can't say exactly where they, or their native language, came from, only that both their physical traits and language have little in common with e...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
people very curious about the basque, mark kurlansky's mom
mark kurlanksy has a real gift for taking a potentially great subject & running it into the ground with his painful writing style. he's a classic pop historian, more interested in writing about himself & what a totally awesome dude he is than the subject his book is supposed to be addressing...or he writes about his perceived self-awesomeness through the prism & drama provided by his subject. but unlike some other authors who certainly inject plenty of their own personalities into books that are...more
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Read in November, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I was very disappointed in this book. I've had it on my shelf for years (like many books) and I finally got around to reading it. I had high expectations because I'd heard great things about the book Cod by the same author and because I've been interested in the Basques since I stopped in Irun to change trains and I asked to buy a ticket in very bad spanish and the ticketmaster looked at me like I was the biggest idiot on the planet. I realized later that he was just pissed that I wasn't tryi...more
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Read in December, 2008
Having lived fairly near the Basque country many years ago, this book served as an incredibly valuable augmentation to the knowledge I already had of the region. In fact, it brought together the fragments of my knowledge and experience and knitted them logically together. Kurlansky's exploration of this remarkable culture is thoroughly researched; it's clear he understands the culture. Interspersed in the telling of the history are recipes and discussions of food preparation. At first this might...more
Read in March, 2007
I think I did learn a lot, but it really wasn't made for car reading. There were too many names (many hard to pronounce or remember) and dates. Also, it sort of felt like a cheat in that the 'history' was heavily biased to the last 50, or even 30 years, concentrating on whether or not the Basque separatists are 'really' terrorists.
Really 3.5
Really 3.5
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Read in June, 2009
No footnotes always makes me weary of historical non-fiction. There are clearly some errors in this one. However, this book was quite entertaining and had some good anecdotes. I did learn a lot from this book. And the author interview at the end of this cd was actually what made me appreciate this book a lot more. Kurlansky's heart is in the right place, his research just falls a little short.
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Read in May, 2008
I'm glad that I read this book. The Basque people are quite amazing and incredibly unique. There are many known things that make them different, such as their language that isn't related to other know languages, they are thought to be the oldest people in Europe, and they always struggled to exist as their own group, but they tried to be their own official nation. The Basque have had a huge influence on other societies even though they have always been a very small group occupying a region in...more
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Read in April, 2009
The edition I listened to was from Recorded Books and read by George Guidall, who could make grocery lists sound interesting. I learned a lot about the basques and their impact on the rest of the world and vice versa. It was a very good thing to listen to as I drove my car.
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Read in July, 2008
recommends it for:
Spanish history, Basque culture, Pyrannese
it took a while to get through this book, but I have a better understanding of the Basque people and the place I visited three years ago. The book can be summed up in the last two chapters where the idea that "The idealized new Europe, economies are merged, citizenship is merged. But those who support the idea deny that countries will be eliminated, there will simply be a new idea of the nation. Nation maintains it's own culture and identity while being economically linked and politicall...more
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Read in January, 2008
Incredibly interesting view of the history of the Basques. This should be read as an opinion piece though and not as a textbook containing pure unbiased facts. I also love how Kurlansky has included recipes of traditional Basque dishes in there as well.
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Read in January, 2002
I love Kurlansky's idea of defining world history from a different point of view. It brought me a greater appreciation and knowledge of a very enigmatic group of people. I didn't know very much about the Basques, other than the fact that they're one of Spain's autonomous communities and that they, generally want to be their own independent state. Not that I know very much, now, but I do think the Basques are a fascinating people whose language is one of the world's great linguistic mysteries.
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Read in March, 2007
An interesting exploration of the language, culture, food, traditions, politics and history of one of the most unique groups in the entire world. Kurlansky certainly adopts a rather unorthodox approach, throwing in recipes in the middle of long expositions on Basque history and tradition. The book is chock full of wonderful little facts but could have done with a little pruning - I found myself skipping through yet another random recipe that was chucked in the middle of a passage to get on with ...more
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Read in April, 2009
The basque are a mystery - no one knows where they or their language are from, or how long they have been in northern Spain/Southern France. Even their blood type is unique - with 50% of the population being type O.
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the Basque are amazing! I got bogged down in the modern history, but the background and early days of their incredible culture really helped me with the fact that my daughter is there now for the year.
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2 comments
Read in January, 2004
As a Basque I found this book to be a fun, easy read about Basque culture, politics and gastronomy ( there are receipes too). Kurlansky is a great writer and I look forward to read his other book Salt and Cod.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in December, 2005
recommends it for:
history, culture,
this was a really entertaining book. i learned a good deal about basque culture. it is quite amazing that they have been able to preserve their culture and language while being nation-stateless and severely persecuted. franco actively tried to destroy basque society while in power and the persecution continues in the present. it was really personally relevant because of the paralells with irish society. the irish have revived their language but seem to be moving more in line with the materia...more
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Very interesting. I liked Cod and Salt better, however, this is a little known and often misunderstood group of people, so it definitely was fascinating to become more informed.
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Read in January, 2006
Quick review: This is a book I read several years ago for book club and so I don’t remember all that much but it’s part of my series of reviews that are more impressionistic (and based on my faulty memory). This one may be very relevant to a certain friend who may or may not be near Basque country. I generally liked the book but I think it was a little long and I got a sense that there is nothing in the modern world that the Basque’s didn’t create, have a hand in creating, or heavily ...more
03/19/09
Miguel Centellas
is currently reading it
This is a great little book from the author of "Cod" and "Salt" that focuses on a people, rather than a commodity.
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