Homage to Catalonia

Amazon.com

"I wonder what is the appropriate first action when you come from a country at war and set foot on peaceful soil. Mine was to rush to the tobacco-kiosk and buy as many cigars and cigarettes as I could stuff into my pockets." Most war correspondents observe wars and then tell stories about the battles, the soldiers and the civilians. George Orwell--novelist, journalist, sometime socialist--actually traded his press pass for a uniform and fought against Franco's Fascists in the Spanish Civil War during 1936 and 1937. He put his politics and his formidable conscience to the toughest tests during those days in the trenches in the Catalan section of Spain. Then, after nearly getting killed, he went back to England and wrote a gripping account of his experiences, as well as a complex analysis of the political machinations that led to the defeat of the socialist Republicans and the victory of the Fascists.

Book Description

In 1936 Orwell went to Spain to report on the Civil War and instead joined the fight against the Fascists. This famous account describes the war and Orwell’s experiences. Introduction by Lionel Trilling.

Customer Reviews:

Against the war... any kind of war........2007-08-13

Maybe the best plea against _any_ type of war. I recommend it strongly to everyone.

Unattractive topic made surprisingly interesting.......2007-07-18

George Orwell must be an excellent writer because, in all honesty, I wasn't overwhelmingly interested in reading about the Spanish Civil War. Nevertheless, I really, really liked this book.

Understanding the history behind the war isn't a necessity, but I definitely recommend bringing yourself up to speed via wikipedia before starting. That way, Orwell's personal recollections, which are the meat of the book, will be more relevant to you.

Orwell presents a refreshingly honest account of the war and his own evolving take on it. Spain's resulting chaos is a prescient warning for those who take too passionately and seriously partisan politics. Orwell shows that it never takes too long before ideals are thrown out the window to be replaced by the centuries repeated same old quest for power.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War, human nature's struggle for power, or Orwell's insightful, often humorous observations.

George Orwell's interesting memoir of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War.......2007-05-23

"Homage to Catalonia" is a memoir of George Orwell's experiences during the Spanish Civil War. A committed socialist, Orwell was right in the thick of the action fighting on the side of the doomed Republic.

The book is at its best when it gives Orwell's first-hand account of life as a soldier, but is less compelling when he attempts to explain the complicated Republican politics, rivally, and in-fighting of the time.

Orwell's socialist politics also seem rather naive these days, given what has happened in the intervening 70 years.

Interesting for its personal insights, but read Anthony Beevor's great book for a comprehensive history of the Spanish Civil War.

Revolution & Politics: A Must-Read.......2007-02-19

George Orwell was one of the century's most honest, decent, and lucid writers about the human element in warfare and poltical revolution. His antitotalitarian novels "Animal Farm" and "1984," which made him famous, grew partly from his acute understanding of the events of World War II and partly from his personal experiences as a Loyalist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, which is the subject of "Homage to Catalonia."

Orwell was a Marxist-Leninist in the 1930s, sufficiently committed to risk his own life in battle to help bring about a people's revolution in Spain. This memoir, written in 1937-38 while the war was still on, records how his idealism was battered by the cynical, pro-USSR politics he saw betray the Marxist ideal on the one hand, and the irreducible practicality of most ordinary people that makes it an impossible dream on the other. In the process, Orwell's contempt for the low standards of news-media accuracy only increased. Fans of Fox and CNN, take note.

By 1947 Orwell, the Marxist idealist, had become convinced that despite all their shortcomings and failures, the liberal Western democracies had developed the best form of political governance yet possible. Since the 1930s, one might observe, a leavening of socialist thought in these nations has brought about societies that are closer to Marx's egalitarian goals than the inflexible, authoritarian regimes that he directly inspired. The good intentions of "people's revolutions" are sure to be betrayed by the most ruthless leaders and factions they create. For every socioeconomic wrong they correct, such revolutions inevitably create many more of their own, totalitarian control and denial of due process being among the worst.

"Homage to Catalonia," written at the moment of Orwell's complete break with the Leninist variety of Marxism, is a model of fair-minded reporting. Anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War, the '30s, revolutionary politics, or even "For Whom the Bell Tolls," should read this book.

As somebody else mentioned, the fine recent movie "Land and Freedom" takes its inspiration from Orwell's book and ought to be watched in conjunction with it. Though fitted out with an imaginary love story, it is completely faithful to Orwell's spirit in "Homage to Catalonia."

Compulsively readable..........2007-02-16

As with most everything Orwell, this book will not have you leafing ahead impatiently to find out if and when things get good. If there is one book you read on the Spanish Civil War (and I bet it will be only one), this should be it.

Barcelona & Catalonia (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Average customer rating:

great resource
Loved Barcelona
Beautiful book, beautiful city
Barcelona (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

Barcelona & Catalonia (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
DK Publishing
Manufacturer: DK ADULT
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Turtleback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0756615364

Book Description

Days are long in Barcelona, the morning extends until well after midday, with lunch starting around 2pm, and the late opening hours mean the afternoon merges into evening. With all of this time on your hands you want to make the most of it, and the Eyewitness Travel to Barcelona and Catalonia will help you to make the most of your time and your trip. Find out intimate details about each of the cities and what to do and see. Don't miss the new feature called Four Great Days in Barcelona. Each day maps out an itinerary ranging from Gaudi Greats to Family Fun.

Customer Reviews:

great resource.......2007-09-09

Very useful guidebook. Compact and easy to carry around. Easy to read with great pictures and street maps (includes metro line maps too). Very helpful in deciding which sites are most important to visit. I would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting an easy guide to travel around Barcelona and Catalonia.

Loved Barcelona.......2007-04-20

I really liked the Eye Witness travel guide for Barcelona. It made it very easy to find sites and I love having all the pictures so you can determine if this is a site you actaully want to see. But I do wish that there was a top 10 list of places that you absolutely need to see. You never want to leave a city and think that you missed seeing something very important.

Beautiful book, beautiful city.......2007-02-11

I went to Barcelona recently, and in the planning of the trip I consulted four guide books:

Lonely Planet's Barcelona City Guide
Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Barcelona and Catalonia
Cadogan Guides Barcelona (Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls)
Time Out Barcelona

All of them were good. I took two with me: Lonely Planet and Eyewitness.
The reasons I chose those two:

Eyewitness unfailingly has a good quality map, which in my view is LP's downfall. Eyewitness always includes a Street Finder Index which LP does not, and LP often misses out on streets other than the major ones, which can be very frustrating, especially in a city like Barca where there are many alleyways. I never use Eyewitness for hotels - the information is scant and usually more expensive than my (more Lonely Planet) budget, but it has fantastic colour photos and cutaways of buildings, and illustrations which place buildings within their streetscapes. It's a nice book to read on the bus or train going somewhere.

LP specialises in listings, which seemed to be more up-to-date and comprehensive than either Time Out or Cadogan, It also had a good Excursions section which helped a couple of times when I travelled beyond the city. I also liked a couple of the walking routes they recommended. Information on matters such as public transport is comprehensive and detailed. I like the chapters on history, architecture and food as well.

Time Out's great strength was in helping to plan. It had a huge array of hotels, and if you were especially interested in nightlife, I would take Time Out. I was there primarily for a conference, and many of my evenings were organised. And I'm also night a great nightclubber, perhaps contrary to Barca lifestyle!! If you are - consider Time Out. Its maps were pretty good, but not comprehensive for the area I was staying in, beachside Barceloneta.

That is where the Cadogan guide excelled. Its maps were so good that I pulled them out of the book and took them with me. I would have taken the whole book, but for the weight in my suitcase! Its info about places and sights seemed accurate and comprehensive.

Barcelona (Eyewitness Travel Guides).......2007-01-09

I like Eyewitness Travel Guides books by DK Publishing. The Barcelona Eyewitness Travel guide is as good as I expected. I could recomend travel books by DK Publishing to everybody. It has all the information you need to feel comfortable in the foreign country.

Eyewitness Travel Guide to Barcelona and Catalonia

Average customer rating:

Lavish photos, poor information
Second place this time
Dorling Eyewitness Guide to Barcelona
not up to the usual D-K standard
Great for Barcelona, not so much for rest of Catalonia

Eyewitness Travel Guide to Barcelona and Catalonia

Manufacturer: DK Travel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0789446200

Book Description

The guide that shows you what other travel books only tell you!

The enthusiasm for life in the northeastern region of Spain literally jumps off the pages of DK's Eyewitness Travel Guides: Barcelona & Catalonia with colorful street maps, cutaway diagrams of historic buildings, and over 500 full-color photographs. Barcelona, located halfway down Catalonia's coastline is one of the great Mediterranean cities, both saturated in the rich history of the region and boldly modern. Catalonia has an exceptional collection of medieval architecture from the 11th and 13th centuries and it is easy to see the influences of many different cultures. Easy-to-use color coding and clearly labeled photographs help guide you through nearly 2,000 churches. A special section highlights entertainment, sports, music, and recreation. If it's the beautiful palm-tree lined beaches or breathtaking views of the Pyrenees this comprehensive guidebook is designed specifically so you can't overlook any of the regions amazing sites.

Customer Reviews:

Lavish photos, poor information.......2005-10-06

I've been born in Barcelona and I am an enthusiastic traveller all around the world and a travel guide collector. It is true that the visual standard of the Eyewitness travel Guides is topnotch (oh, that beautiful DK design...), but the lack of really useful information is certainly a problem of these guides. And here, with the Barcelona guide, that problem is even more evident than in others. Yes, it is good for the top visits you need to do during a week-end, but it lacks the necessary info for a long-term stay (that Barcelona is certainly worth) or for a trip to be planned on your own. What about low-budget hotels and restaurants? Not even one. What about information about timetables, trains, buses? Where are they? The Lonely planet / Rough guides may be less lush, but certainly more useful concerning such matters (with good reviews concerning hotels/ restaurants/ services... for all budgets). Not to mention the lack of detailed information about gastronomy/ history/ culture. It is painful.

So, it seems that the Eyewitness travels are aimed to customers with their trip arranged in a circuit... staying about one night or two in Barcelona and who need a minimal information for their stay.

Second place this time.......2004-07-24

Usually the Eyewitness series guide for whatever city is an unbeatable guidebook, however this one comes up a little short. It has all the great photos, as always the maps are excellent, the pictures/descriptions of the foods & architecture are very good. It is the same successful formula they use in their series of guidebooks but here they could have expanded some where they condensed. There is nothing in the book about bullfighting, or flamenco; there are 2 pages on Romanesque architecture, 2 pages on Modernism architecture, nothing on Gothic even though Barcelona has one of the most complete Gothic neighborhoods in all of Europe. The first 40 pages are history and introduction, food, flora, art etc.: Only 49 pages on the city sights, 20 pages on the rest of Catalonia. It is as if they rushed to compact everything as they might with somewhere much larger, like New York City. The book could have relaxed and breathed a bit more. The town of Tarragona with its great cathedral and fantastic Roman ruins only gets two columns of ink. There are only 6 pages of detailed maps in the back, Parc Guell is not even on the map.
If you are going to BCN you should get this book, match it up with National Geographic Traveler Barcelona and the Time Out Guide

Dorling Eyewitness Guide to Barcelona.......2002-06-26

.
Great Travel Guide, Beautiful Coffee Table Book!

Summary:
Every Dorling Kindersley Guide has been a great and interesting book... and delightful to have and use, even if you are not traveling to that location, but are only interested in learning more!

The Guides are well organized in a logical and easy to follow manner. They are beautifully illustrated, well developed with accurate information (it is unusual for hotel and restaurant information to be that accurate), have enough history to help the reader understand the people and cultural background, and have a lot of useful travel information and useable maps in the appendixes.

The really great attraction to this book is several fold; it is:
............Very complete
............Easy to read
............Beautifully and artistically completed
............Good shopping, safety and other tips
............Gorgeous photographs too numerous to list.

Specifics:
The guides are organized as follows:

How to use this guide
Introduction to Historical and Geographical information
Geographical Regions
............Introduction Barcelona and Catalonia
........................Intro to Barcelona / Catalonia
........................Portrait of Catalonia
........................Catalonia Through the Year (events, holidays)
........................History of Catalonia

............Barcelona Area by Area, each section includes:
........................Introduction to street by street area

........................Detailed pictorials of area buildings
........................Architectural drawings, pictures, cut-aways of buildings
........................Specific stops, historical monuments, churches, buildings, etc.

........................Barcelona At a Glance
........................Old Town
........................Eixample
........................Monjuic
........................Further Afield

............Catalonia Area by Area
........................Llieda, Andorra, Girona, Barcelona Province, Tarragona

Travelers Needs - includes full list with rankings and notes
............Hotels
............Restaurants, cafes, bars
............Shopping
............Entertainment
............Outdoor activities

Survival Information
............Practical
........................Tourist info., Etiquete, Personal Security and Health
........................Currencies, Telephones, misc info.
............Travel Information (Getting to Barcelona )

............Street Maps (Getting Around Barcelona )

............General Index
............Catalan Phrase Book
............Barcelona Metro and Train Routes (Maps)

Discussion:
The book begins with "Introducing Barcelona", including a complete map, a review, the city's history, and Barcelona thought the Year - including events, etc.

Areas with an "At a glance" overview, then has subsections of specific blocks, or forums, then specific locations, churches, historical monuments, bridges, galleries, etc.

Architectural reviews include various views, and cutaways; given greater understanding and better perspective. They are all attractive, if not works of art - honestly.

The travelers' Info. offers good and valid info. on prices, currencies, customs, important words, etc. I have used the reviews on hotel's restaurants and nightclubs, in most European cities, and Dorling has yet to disappoint me. I have found they were useful and accurate, and helpful with my touring and site decisions.

The books are so well thought-out that it has multiple maps, with various lookup tables, and the book's flaps are designed to be used as bookmarks for map pages.

Traveling to Barcelona Specifically:
Do it! I have never been disappointed with Barcelona, its people, its food, or anything at all. It is definitely one of the better European cities to visit, or spend time in. Also, just south of Barcelona is a little town called "Sitges" which is an absolute Mediterranean gem! Gorgeous, friendly, beautiful beaches, and very comfortable to simple visit and relax in!

Conclusion:
Each book in this series is a great help, and beautiful collectible resource. As the President, CEO of an International Meeting Planning Corporation we have many resources and techniques to learn about places we have meetings / groups at as well as the cities and sights. But, as a traveler, this book really is top notch and I would recommend it to anyone going on a personal trip, or wanting to learn about a city, or location. We have used some of these books to augment our research to investigate cities for our groups.

not up to the usual D-K standard.......2001-02-15

This guide is not up to the usual D-K standard. I like to take pictures for photo.net when I travel and it is very helpful to have the little sample photos of destinations so that one can decide whether or not to invest the time.

But D-K Barcelona is very skimpy on details and also on tourist attractions and facilities as soon as you venture out of the Old City.

For authoritative restaurant and hotel recommendations, go with Michelin Red. For architecture and art history, get the Blue Guide. For nightlife, try the TimeOut guide. Overall, people say that the Rough Guide is very good.

Whatever guidebook you choose, watch your belongings in Barcelona. Pickpocketing is an industry there, esp. in the Old City and on La Rambla. Women should not carry purses. Men should keep money in a money belt or zippered inner jacket pocket. Limit yourself to one camera that you can keep in your hands at all times.

Great for Barcelona, not so much for rest of Catalonia.......2000-06-21

This is a great book for any newcomer to the beautiful city of Barcelona. The images pull you in, and the background history on the Barcelona area is well done. My only gripe is that the "rest of Catalonia" section is quite small for all that's out there! If you're spending a few days in Barcelona, this is the book to buy. If you plan to spend most of your time in the surrounding region, or in the Balearic islands, I'd skip it.

Average customer rating:

Catalan Cuisine
Colman Andrews
Manufacturer: Harvard Common Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 1558323295

Product Description

Revered writer Colman Andrews explores a once undiscovered gem among Europe's great culinary traditions. Using many of the same ingredients that other Mediterranean cuisines are known for, Catalonian cooks combine them in fresh and unexpectedly delicious ways. Try "fricando," braised veal with wild mushrooms; "tumbet," a Majorcan vegetable casserole; or "bunyols," a delectable fried pastry. These and many other tempting dishes along with a wealth of information on the history and lore of the region make this the definitive guide to the food culture of Catalan.

Average customer rating:

Warm Reading About Adoption
A bestseller in Spain

Daughter of the Ganges: A Memoir
Asha Miro
Manufacturer: Atria
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0743286723

Book Description

A moving and emotional story about one girl's adoption

While growing up in an Indian orphanage, Asha Miró dreamed of someday being adopted. Her wish finally came true, but only at the misfortune of another. When Asha was six, a Catalan family was in the process of adopting twins but one of the children suddenly fell ill and died. This twist of fate led the family to adopt Asha instead. Leaving a life of poverty behind, Asha was given a second chance.

Twenty-one years later, Asha takes a heart-wrenching trip back to India to uncover her native roots. Full of unexpected encounters, this adventure informs and touches Asha beyond her expectations. She visits her old orphanage, speaks with her former caretakers, explores the land that she might not have ever left, and comes to form a more solid identity. Yet one trip is not enough. Eight years later she returns. This time she journeys to the small rural village where she was born. As well as uncovering the details behind her adoption, she finds the only living member of her immediate Indian family: a sister she never knew she had.

Customer Reviews:

Warm Reading About Adoption.......2007-08-29

With the proliferation of books about adoption and adoptees on the market Asha Miro's story of retracing her roots in India will seem familiar.

However, what was truly wonderful about this book was Asha's gentle touch. Bitterness does not overtake this book.
There is so much love in this book. Usually, nuns in orphanages are portrayed as mean and cruel. Not so in this book. Instead, you find a group of women doing the best they can for Indian orphans with extremely limited resources. Usually, parents who give their children up in other countries are portrayed at best as pitiful and at worst as little more than savages. Definitely not so with this book.
Asha meets up with her biological family. It is a joyful reunion. By the time she finishes reconstructing why her family gave her up, and also her biological sister's life, her family feels about as exotic as people down the street.
And you understand why they did it. You're rather left with the feeling that you would have done the same in that situation.
I found Asha's portrait of her biological sister fascinating, and I kept thinking about it afterward.

A bestseller in Spain.......2006-04-10

This is lovely book about a woman now in her late 30's, adopted at the age of 6 by a Catalan couple, searching for her birth family in India. Very sensitively written, with great respect both for her adoptive parents (entries from her adoptive mother's journal form a part of the book) and her birth parents, about whom she discovers a great deal. A must for all adoptive families and recommended for anyone interested in Indian culture. This book was a huge bestseller in Spain and documentaries and a followup book have also been written by Ms. Miro. I have not read the English version; I hope it does the book justice.

Drive Around Catalonia & the Spanish Pyrenees: Your guide to great drives (Drive Around - Thomas Cook)

Average customer rating:

Good descriptions but useless as a driving guide

Drive Around Catalonia & the Spanish Pyrenees: Your guide to great drives (Drive Around - Thomas Cook)
Tony Kelly
Manufacturer: Thomas Cook Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
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Barcelona & Catalonia (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
Eyewitness Travel Guide to Barcelona and Catalonia

ASIN: 1841574635

Book Description

This title features the best of Catalonia and neighboring regions (including Bilbao, the Basque Country, the Rioja wine country, and Pamplona), featuring Barcelona, Dalíland, the Costa Brava, and Daurada.

Customer Reviews:

Good descriptions but useless as a driving guide.......2007-04-12

This "driving guide" lacks a detailed map of the region it is describing. Instead, it provides the suggested tour maps in various parts of the region. However, those maps lack clarity and sufficient detail as well making them useful only if one drives the exact route described in the text. Therefore, the book is rather useless as a driving guide, but can be used to supplement a regular map because it has informative descriptions of various points of interest.

Average customer rating:

Antoni Gaudi
Ignasi De Sola-Morales
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Gaudi of Barcelona
Antonio Gaudi: Master Architect (Tiny Fellows)
Gaudi: A Biography
Living Gaudi
Barcelona The Great Enchantress (Directions)

ASIN: 0810946254

Book Description

"Color in architecture must be intense, logical, and fertile," wrote Catalan architect and designer Antoni Gaudí in his diary in the late 1870s. Known for his sensuous, curving, almost surreal Art Nouveau buildings-many are among Barcelona's most popular tourist attractions-Gaudí (1852-1926) is today one of the best-known architects in the world. Antoni Gaudí is the most up-to-date look at this visionary architect and his greatest buildings.

With all-new photography by Gaudí expert Rafael Vargas and the now-classic text of Ignasi de Solà-Morales, this volume provides a thorough yet highly accessible introduction to 16 of the architect's works, including houses, apartment buildings, churches and cathedrals, schools, and a little-known design for a hotel on what would become the World Trade Center site. Among the magnificent buildings toured here are the Casa Vicens, Palau Güell, Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, Chapel of Colònia Güell, and Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Família.

For those already familiar with Gaudi's work, the spectacular new photographs will prove a revelation; for those just discovering Gaudi, this book is the next best thing to experiencing his buildings firsthand.

Honey from a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia
Average customer rating:

Real Food for the Soul

A Fascinating Window on Rural Greek and Italian Life and Eating

Epitome of Great Culinary Writing. Buy it and Read it Now!

A rare treasure

If Gauguin wrote cookbooks...

Honey from a Weed: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia
Patience Gray
Manufacturer: Harpercollins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Baking | Cooking, Food & Wine | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0061813222

Amazon.com

Simply put, Honey from a Weed is a jewel of a book. Reading it, one realizes the true artistry of the author, a person whose relationship with the world around her is both intimate and immediate--someone who can transform the fruits of the earth--beans, potatoes, garlic, herbs--into a gustatory masterpiece. The subtitle of Gray's book is Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia, but there's far more feast than famine in this culinary odyssey. Recipes for such Mediterranean favorites as rabbit with garlic sauce or polenta punctuate wonderful reflections on such varied topics as wine, pigs, and edible weeds; chapters on feasts and festivals; and sharp-eyed observations about the lives of those Gray has lived among for so many years.

Literate and lyrical, Honey from a Weed is a feast for both body and soul. Read Gray's wonderful portraits of the places she's lived and the cooks she's learned from, and let your mind wander over the sunbathed hills, through the rustic villages and deep quarries Gray knows so intimately. Though reading Honey from a Weed may not influence you to take up stone-carving or cooking, at least you'll have spent your time in charming company.

Book Description

The author has for the last 20 years shared her life with a sculptor whose appetite for marble and sedimentary rocks has taken them to Tuscany, Catalonia, Naxos and Apulia. She has written a passionate autobiographical cookbook, Mediterranean through and through and as compelling as a first class novel.

Customer Reviews:

Real Food for the Soul.......2007-08-16

Honey From a Weed provides a feel for a life of love and a lust for life. Here we have the essence of the Slow Food Movement, healthy heart, and devotional spiritual life -- love the Earth and be loved by the Earth.

I once asked the great Portland Chef Greg Higgins to identify his favorite cook book . He said he buys Honey from a Weed for his friends so they can forage together in the fields and steams of the Northwest.

This is as good as it gets.

1. Stunning writing as good a food literature ever becomes.
2. Fresh and found ingredients as all food is local and right outside the door - between the rows of corn and the among the vineyard weeds.
3. Slow and steady and simple. This puts a spear right through the heart of the royal and the pompous food world.
4. Peasant food is the food that 90 percent of the world eats and holds up to God at sunrise.
5. Simple tools. Forget the newest and fanciest electronic gadget and go to the thrift store if you want to be a great cook.
6. One or two dish meals. What is better than crusty bread, tomatoes, olives, garlic, local cheese, basil and red wine? Do we really want or need more?
7. Family food for one or two or three or friends or village.
8. What recipes? See, gather, prepare, cook, eat, devote.
9. Spiritual life in the garden and in the field. The hills glow with the peasant energy of Jean Giono.

I read this book every year. It is nourishing in every dimension -- the body, the brain, and the spirit.

Get it and live a better life.

A Fascinating Window on Rural Greek and Italian Life and Eating.......2005-09-23

Traditional cultural habits of eating, involving foraging for foods growing wild in the area, have always fascinated me, but I have found that most books talk about the foods harvested in general terms, and give little of substance to work with. Patience Gray opens the door to the world of wild food foraging, describing and discussing in great detail the species used, with the local names for each, when they are used, and how they are collected for everything from spring salads to autumn seafood, and how wild and cultivated foods are integrated with one another into the day to day cuisine. The best book on European cooking I have ever read. It is so good it has become one of my favorite gifts to give to f riends.

Epitome of Great Culinary Writing. Buy it and Read it Now!.......2004-12-31

`Honey from a Weed' by Patience Gray, by my very informal survey of approximately 400 cookbooks over the last year is probably the single most cited culinary book after Harold McGee's `On Food and Cooking' and Julia Child's `Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And, I have been trying to place this most distinctive work in the world of culinary writing for about the same time. I think I am finally able to identify its niche in a way that will assist potential readers to know what it is they can look forward to.

It is no whim to the publishers, Lyons & Burford, tagging the work as `Cooking/Literature'. The quality of the writing is easily on a par with the greatest food writers in English and this talent is directed to producing an almost unique genre that can be approximated by combining at least three common genres of culinary writing. First, take 40% from culinary diarists such as Amanda Hesser's `The Cook and the Gardener' and Elizabeth Romer's `The Tuscan Year'. Then, leaven with John Thorne's brand of culinary reporting and bake in the oven of Elizabeth David's culinary sophistication and cosmopolitan outlook.

Like Hesser in `The Cook and the Gardener', Ms. Gray is `embedded' within the milieu's on which she reports. But like Hesser of `Cooking for Mr. Latte', Ms. Gray is also participating in these cultures of Tuscany (Beantown central), Catalonia (Spain on the Mediterranean coast just south of France), the Cyclades (Greek islands in the Aegean), and Apulia (the heel of Italy). She is living and working in these worlds in a way very uncommon for a typical journalist or scholar.

The events driving the book's backstory are the travels of Ms. Gray with her partner, never identified more exactly than by the references `the sculptor' and `a stone carver' to various sites around the Mediterranean which are homes to marble quarries for giving up raw materials for statuary. A sample of the poetic imagery in the book describes this fact as `A vein of marble runs through this book. Marble determined where, how, and among whom we lived; always in primitive conditions.' These primitive conditions place Ms. Gray and her companion smack into the heart of environments which well-fed culinary commentators such as Mario Batali have been describing as the wellspring of great cuisine in Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean. Making do with local seasonal ingredients is not an ideological position for Ms. Gray; it is a daily fact of life!

I am generally not impressed with authors' lists of kitchen equipment offered as suggestions for your kitchen in order to pad out an extra ten pages in their books, when whole volumes cannot deal with this subject. Ms. Gray's recitation of her kitchen gear is not to teach, it is to aid us in understanding her kitchen environment in these rocky corners of the world.

The text is divided fairly evenly between chapters that deal with the author's experiences in these places with chapters dealing with a class of recipes typical of the local folk. This means one can pick up the thread of Ms. Gray's dialogue with her environment at just about any page and follow it's thread through the Mediterranean labyrinth of cuisine, as suggested by John Thorne in his Foreword. Just now, I open the book at random to a description of the rural Tuscan method for preserving `lardo', the fat from the pig's rump which is rubbed with salt, sprinkled with some dried thyme and bay, and sealed in an earthenware jar, where it stays as sweet as the day it was stored. The finer fat from around the pig's organs, `lardo strutto', is saved separately and used for yeast cakes and pastry. In a single paragraph there is information which some authors have used to fill whole articles in `Saveur'.

One especially delightful confluence of the book's themes is the chapter on mushrooms found near the marble quarry used by Michelangelo. Having read more than one book on mushrooms by such experts as Antonio Carluccio and Patricia Grigson, I find Ms. Gray's writing on these mycological treasures to be as entertaining and as informative as some of the best known works on the subject by other culinary writers.

While virtually all of the recipes can be done in a modern American kitchen, Ms. Gray typically describes them as they are done `in situ' on the campfires and coal burning ovens available to her. This enhances her work as a study of primitive cookery, leaving it to us to translate the primitive to our electric All-Clad kitchens. The book is also a feast of words. Everything is labeled with its proper Italian, Spanish, or Greek names, with complete translations. This is, after all, a work of scholarship where names in the original language are needed to be certain that references in Italian, Spanish, or Greek books are matched up correctly.

While this is a book of scholarship as much as it is a literary effort, I am delighted that Ms. Gray has included two items that I consider essential to good culinary studies. The first is not one but an entire set of excellent maps identifying the locations that are the subject of her writing. The second is an excellent bibliography arranged by site that cites not just the usual sources such as Elizabeth David and Alan Davidson. It includes both ancient and modern sources in English and Spanish, Italian, and Greek. But, we are not left to our own devices with ancient Latin or Greek, as classical works are cited in good English translations. The author has also been so considerate as to provide a list of Corinna Sargood's line drawings that contribute much to the charm of the book.

I must encourage you to seek this book out if you love reading about food. The author lives and paints the culinary environment most other writers simply report. Very highly recommended.

A rare treasure.......2000-12-06

This is a wonderful book, a true and rare treasure, full of hunger and appetite, joy and toil. Books like this are sometimes called "a labor of love", which is somewhat of a cliche, but this book is brimfull of all the labor and love that goes into gathering, harvesting, preserving and cooking food grown for its own sake. Here, food is not a commodity to be bought and sold but a mainstay of life, a vital ingredient for happiness, a celebration of simple and good - but hard - life. The book would be valuable enough if that was all but there are also so many delightful recipes, so many wonderful anecdotes and descriptions, so much interesting autobiographical material. I've seen someone compare Honey from a Weed to Frances Mayers tedious Tuscanny books but don't let that mislead you; this is a very different book, written with immense sensitivity and hard-earned knowledge of the land the author has cultivated and the people she lived with and learned from.

If Gauguin wrote cookbooks..........1997-08-18

I first read Ms. Gray's book looking for a specific recipe, how was I to know it was not just a 'cookbook', but a charming look at life? Ms. Gray's stories about life among the stonecutters, peasants and artists of Greece and Italy was a delight to read. I'm buying extra copies to pass them around to cooks and non-cooks alike, anyone who needs to see firsthand that living well, often on a shoestring, can be the best revenge. Wonderful illustrations, simple recipes for soul-satisfying food...and one woman's recipe for a simpler life. If this doesn't make you long to quit the 'day job' and run off to live on grilled sardines and fresh tomatoes in Tuscany or Naxos, call Tech Support, you've got some wires disconnected.

Catalonia: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)

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Catalonia: A Cultural History (Landscapes of the Imagination)
Michael Eaude
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0195327977

Book Description

In Catalonia, Michael Eaude illuminates the cultural and literary history of one of the world's most intriguing places--from the stunning modern architecture of Barcelona, to the medieval Bendictine abbey at Montserrat, to the ancient Roman ruins of Tarragona. Eaude takes us on a revealing tour of Catalonia's breathtaking landscape, from the Pyrenees to the Costa Brava, recounting the region's rich history and relating tales of Catalonia's most colorful figures, such as Abbot Aliva, who brought Moorish learning to Europe; the ruthless mercenary, Roger de Flor; and Jacint Verdaguer, the handsome nineteenth-century poet-priest. Of course, Catalonia is famous for its twentieth-century art. This book sheds light on the revolutionary Art Nouveau buildings (including the Sagrada Familia) and Antoni Gaudi and it also explores the region's artistic legacy: the young Picasso painting Barcelona's vibrant slums; Salvador Dali, inspired by the twisted rocks of Cap de Creus to paint his landscapes of the human mind; and Joan Miro, discovering the colors of the red earth at Montroig. Drawing on social history, literature local and foreign, the arts and music, Catalonia will dramatically change how we view the topography of one of the most vibrant regions of Spain.

Nationalist Movements and European Integration: The Case of Catalonia (Routledge Advances in European Politics)

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Nationalist Movements and European Integration: The Case of Catalonia (Routledge Advances in European Politics)
Elisa Roller
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

History & Theory | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Nationalist Movements and European Integration provides a thorough overview of the effects that the process of European integration has had on both regional governments and nationalist/regionalist movements in Western Europe.

This volume explores the following questions:

*How appropriate is it to say that there is an emerging 'Europe of the Regions'?

*How has minority nationalism coped with the process of European integration?

*How has the emergence of new regional structures adapted to European integration?

By using the case study of the Spanish region of Catalonia, the book encapsulates the changes of the relations among the different levels of government - European, national, and sub-national - since Spain's accession to the EC in 1986 and particularly, the developments rapidly evolving in the late 1990s and early 21st century. The study includes an assessment of the sociological, political, legal and constitutional aspects of the relations among the three levels of government - European, national and sub-national. It examines the sub-national mobilization of an influential nationalist movement and how its strategies having been emulated by other regions of Europe. Catalonia is seen as a 'leader' amongst the regions of Europe and as such, this study of its relationship between two other levels of government is key to understanding the changing nature of regional and supranational governance in today's Europe.

This book will be of interest to students of national and federal studies and European politics.

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