What do you think?
Rate this book
The Great Book of Spain: Interesting Stories, Spanish History & Random Facts About Spain
How much do you know about Spain? There’s so much to learn about the largest country in the Iberian Peninsula that it could fill several books and you still wouldn’t even know it all. In this trivia book, you’ll learn several fascinating and fun facts about Spain’s history (ancient and modern), pop culture, geography, folklore, and so much more!In The Great Book of Spain, you’ll
What are the origins of the Spanish language?What did Hannibal and elephants have to do with early Spanish history?Who are some of Spain’s greatest and most influential artists?Where are some of Spain’s most haunted locales?How did Spain get its national flag?What are some of Spain’s top tourist spots?What are the most popular sports in Spain?What are Spain’s major industries?What is Spain’s most popular folk dance?And so much more!This book is packed with trivia facts about Spain that will at times make you wonder and at other times freak you out. There is no doubt, though, that all of the facts in this book will fascinate you.
Whether you just have a passing interest in Spain, or planning on visiting the country, or you already think you’re an expert on the country, you are sure to learn something new on every page of this book. You will amaze not only yourself with your newfound knowledge about Spain, but also your friends and family.So what are you waiting for? Open the pages and get started learning more about Spain!
What are the origins of the Spanish language?What did Hannibal and elephants have to do with early Spanish history?Who are some of Spain’s greatest and most influential artists?Where are some of Spain’s most haunted locales?How did Spain get its national flag?What are some of Spain’s top tourist spots?What are the most popular sports in Spain?What are Spain’s major industries?What is Spain’s most popular folk dance?And so much more!This book is packed with trivia facts about Spain that will at times make you wonder and at other times freak you out. There is no doubt, though, that all of the facts in this book will fascinate you.
Whether you just have a passing interest in Spain, or planning on visiting the country, or you already think you’re an expert on the country, you are sure to learn something new on every page of this book. You will amaze not only yourself with your newfound knowledge about Spain, but also your friends and family.So what are you waiting for? Open the pages and get started learning more about Spain!
192 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 17, 2020
69 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 27, 2022
A fun and easy book that covers a wide range of subjects!
Excerpts from the book:
Page 97
Excerpts from the book:
Page 97
Spanish wine may come in behind French and Italian wines in total exports, but most Spaniards will argue—and some will even fist-fight—if you refute that their wine is the best!Page 165
If you’re interested in running with the bulls, you need to be at least 18 years of age, sober, and have a couple of…well, a couple of things that are as big as a bull’s!
June 20, 2021
I am Spanish and I feel deeply offended by this book.
I don't think that the writer has ever been to Spain.
It's full of basic inaccuracies such as "the different provinces may have more freedom but the central government still makes all the laws" - this is just not true.
There are other embarrassing comments such as "incredible women made important advances in a variety of different fields, against all the odds. There was Margaret Thatcher in politics..." WTF????! Then he goes and mentions Marie Curie (misspelling her name).
It's such a bad book!!!
I don't think that the writer has ever been to Spain.
It's full of basic inaccuracies such as "the different provinces may have more freedom but the central government still makes all the laws" - this is just not true.
There are other embarrassing comments such as "incredible women made important advances in a variety of different fields, against all the odds. There was Margaret Thatcher in politics..." WTF????! Then he goes and mentions Marie Curie (misspelling her name).
It's such a bad book!!!
December 31, 2023
My goal was to get a crash course in Spain before I go, which this book accomplished. Three stars since it wasn’t anything special nor were there many details. I agree with the other reviews that the random facts pages at the end of each chapter were a bit stranger especially since some of those facts were repeating the content from the chapter.
October 4, 2024
It was good for a short history of Spain, one I could almost follow. It's kind of like a Readers Digest Condensed version. Some of the trivia was okay, but I think the random facts at the end should have been put within the chapters. The famous people should also have stuck to more historical ones, pop culture ones are too time sensitive. The shortness and questions were good, though.
May 6, 2023
A bit of a crash course for those in a hurry … covers history, geography, culture, sports and travel. Not fond of the style of narrative and the lack of depth in it. 1 star for the compilation of random facts.
April 21, 2024
3.5 This is a quick, entertaining read-exactly what I need for my upcoming trip. It is written in an informal, conversational tone with way too many exclamation marks (ugh, I detest excessive ❗) and it needs to be properly formatted, but the content makes it well worth the read.
March 2, 2021
This book was very informative and interesting to read.
January 15, 2022
interesting tidbits about Spain
Lots of interesting things about Spain including haunts history and odds and ends about the country. Well done but makes you yearn for more.
Lots of interesting things about Spain including haunts history and odds and ends about the country. Well done but makes you yearn for more.
November 9, 2025
Great read, fun and accurate guide to visiting Spain. Reads like a story.
May 22, 2020
The mysteries and beauties of Spain
Author Bill O’Neill has authored many books on Trivia and stands as somewhat of an expert in this field! His topics include movies, football, baseball, wars, rock music, simply random trivia facts and US States. His volumes of American trivia visited NEW YORK, TEXAS, CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, ALASKA, OHIO, NORTH CAROLINA, MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA, and HAWAII, and now he steps foot outside the US and offers us a fun assortment of fun facts and history, first of IRELAND, then MEXICO, and now SPAIN.
In his richly colorful manner Bill offers a very fine early history of Spain (the ancient cave of Altamira, the tombs and megaliths, the Celts and Iberians, the emperors, philosophers, poets born there, the Muslim rule, Hannibal and the elephants, that magical year of 1492! etc), the modern history (explorers and conquistadors, WW I and WW II neutrality, the Spanish Civil War), the geography, climate and industry (the importance of the Pyrenees Mountains, defining Catalonia, Madrid’s importance), Spanish pop culture, sport, art and entertainment (Spain is the site for Conan the Barbarian movie, facts about Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, the inception of the novel was in Spain, flamenco dancing and music, sangria, bullfighting and fútbol), where to visit when going to Spain - all the fascinating sites to see and appreciate, and some weird ghost stories and legends of Spain (Don Juan, El Cid, Franco, La Mancha and more).
Not only is the book entertaining – it is also very instructive for every reader. Bill O’Neill once again enhances our appreciation of a significant country and encourages our inquisitive (no, not Inquisition!) nature to discover the splendors of Spain. Have fun, learn, and be ready for the next gathering of very smart friends! You’ll be on top.
Author Bill O’Neill has authored many books on Trivia and stands as somewhat of an expert in this field! His topics include movies, football, baseball, wars, rock music, simply random trivia facts and US States. His volumes of American trivia visited NEW YORK, TEXAS, CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA, ALASKA, OHIO, NORTH CAROLINA, MICHIGAN, PENNSYLVANIA, and HAWAII, and now he steps foot outside the US and offers us a fun assortment of fun facts and history, first of IRELAND, then MEXICO, and now SPAIN.
In his richly colorful manner Bill offers a very fine early history of Spain (the ancient cave of Altamira, the tombs and megaliths, the Celts and Iberians, the emperors, philosophers, poets born there, the Muslim rule, Hannibal and the elephants, that magical year of 1492! etc), the modern history (explorers and conquistadors, WW I and WW II neutrality, the Spanish Civil War), the geography, climate and industry (the importance of the Pyrenees Mountains, defining Catalonia, Madrid’s importance), Spanish pop culture, sport, art and entertainment (Spain is the site for Conan the Barbarian movie, facts about Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, the inception of the novel was in Spain, flamenco dancing and music, sangria, bullfighting and fútbol), where to visit when going to Spain - all the fascinating sites to see and appreciate, and some weird ghost stories and legends of Spain (Don Juan, El Cid, Franco, La Mancha and more).
Not only is the book entertaining – it is also very instructive for every reader. Bill O’Neill once again enhances our appreciation of a significant country and encourages our inquisitive (no, not Inquisition!) nature to discover the splendors of Spain. Have fun, learn, and be ready for the next gathering of very smart friends! You’ll be on top.
June 1, 2020
Interesting Stories and Trivia
This is an easy-to-read book filled with stories and facts/trivia about Spain—ancient, historical, and current. The author has a breezy style, making assimilating the facts straightforward and the book pleasant to read. There were some odd spacing issues in the ARC version I received. I did check out the book on Amazon, and it has some different formatting issues that I think impede full enjoyment. The eye loves white space, so I would have loved to have seen more space between sections and between paragraphs. A book like this, too, is ripe for photographs. I think he could have driven these fascinating facts and stories home better if the book had at least a smattering of photographs of Spain—the cities, the countryside, famous buildings, etc. Other than that, I found this to be a fun and enlightening read.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
This is an easy-to-read book filled with stories and facts/trivia about Spain—ancient, historical, and current. The author has a breezy style, making assimilating the facts straightforward and the book pleasant to read. There were some odd spacing issues in the ARC version I received. I did check out the book on Amazon, and it has some different formatting issues that I think impede full enjoyment. The eye loves white space, so I would have loved to have seen more space between sections and between paragraphs. A book like this, too, is ripe for photographs. I think he could have driven these fascinating facts and stories home better if the book had at least a smattering of photographs of Spain—the cities, the countryside, famous buildings, etc. Other than that, I found this to be a fun and enlightening read.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
My book blog: https://www.readingfanaticreviews.com
December 18, 2024
A trivia book about Spain. It’s a perfect book if we want to know more about Spain’s history, industry, culture, visit and some of the most famous legends and stories.
What I really liked in this book that I can just pick whichever chapter I want to, then I can get the basic information from the small parts, and after that i can even test my newly earned knowledge with a quick quiz.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers
What I really liked in this book that I can just pick whichever chapter I want to, then I can get the basic information from the small parts, and after that i can even test my newly earned knowledge with a quick quiz.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers
June 1, 2020
Good book to learn interesting and fun facts about Spain. Facts are random and interesting. Good resource of learning about Spain.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews