Fern Flora of Malabar

Book Description

Completely revised and updated, Let's Go: Greece is your insider's guide to this stunning destination. Our forty-five years of travel savvy deliver classical Greece, from the geometric perfection of the Parthenon to the ancient oracle of Delphi, while providing the practical know-how to get there, get around, and get busy. This revamped edition features coverage of new islands, new ancient sites, new parks, new daytrips, and new towns, as well as extensive new listings, bringing you the freshest and least-touristed Greece has to offer. Comprehensive information on archaeological sites, museums, and current events keeps you in the know. So, whether your tastes turn to wandering one of the world's only petrified forests or splashing in the majestic waters of Balos's blue lagoon, Let's Go can take you there.

Customer Reviews:

A great travel guide.......2005-09-14

This guide directed me to some really great cheap lodgings and restaurants, and also gives a good explanation of travel options within Greece.

Terrible travel book!.......2005-08-17

I spent two wks in Europe with a different guide book (Rick Steve's) and found that book very helpful. Unfortunately, my two wks in Greece using "Let's Go" were terrible (so bad, in fact, that I tried unsuccessfully to get a flight home ten days early). I don't believe that the authors actually traveled to all the small island towns they described. The rates they reported for Evia and Andros Island were double what they really were (despite the fact that I used the 2005 edition for travel during July/Aug 2005), they described a town as "sprawling and modern" when it wasn't even close to that (it was described instead on a Greek website as "what Athens was 20yrs ago"--meaning NOT modern), maps were not detailed enough, and there wasn't a personal touch to the recs they made for hotels/restaurants (it seemed that they randomly chose a few places but did not try many places and then list the BEST options for the price--as Rick Steves did). In addition, they used overly extravagant, and thus, inaccurate, descriptions to describe the beaches. The beaches of the Andros/Evia islands have their own charm, but they are not "beautiful" (other than the clear water, the beaches are very small and often rocky). I suspect that the writers got a lot of their info from internet research rather than personal experience; or, their travel experiences may be so narrow that they have no points of comparison for their descriptions. In addition, this guide book was written solely by non-minority travelers; and though there is a small paragraph describing some Greeks' negative attitudes toward minorities, it significantly minimizes this. I have traveled extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the U.S. and never have I experience the consistent, blantant racism that I did in Greece. To have no writers of ethnicity paints a narrow and inaccurate portrait of the serious problems of traveling through Greece as a person of ethnicity. In addition, I met other backpackers during my four wks of travel who also expressed disatisfaction/frustration with the "Let's Go" series of travel guides.

A HUGE Help.......2005-08-05

Let's Go 2005 Greece, was by far the best guide book that me and my father had brought with us to our recent 3 week trip to Greece. No matter where we went, we always had that book with us. I would actually rate this book a 4.9 if I could - since there are only a certain number of towns, hotels, restaurants, sights, bars, and other things that the writers can submit in to one single book - I found that there were so many other great things in Greece besides the things that they had listed. I had searched high and low for the best Greece guide so that my trip would be unforgetable - I ended up with this book and now that I'm back, I don't regret my choice at all! It was amazing!
For all of my future trips, I will look to Let's Go before any other guide book series!
(By the way, the things that they suggest are for all ages! I'm 17 and my dad is 57)

Customer Reviews:

Very versitile "book".......2002-01-26

Very unique book. Every page is suitable for framing. When used as a coffee table book with many people it shines because you can pass around the pages instead of handing around the whole book.

Dale Chihuly: Floats, drawings, new baskets : [exhibition] March 8-28, 1992

Average customer rating:

Dale Chihuly: Floats, drawings, new baskets : [exhibition] March 8-28, 1992
Maurine Littleton Gallery
Manufacturer: Maurine Littleton Gallery
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B0006OWGHK

Average customer rating:

fascinating experience

Bailey Bymyside

Bailey Bymyside:Golden Lessons for Life

A True Golden Find for Kids & Adults Alike!

Bailey Bymyside: Golden Lessons for Life (Howell Reference Books)
Patricia Burlin Kennedy
Manufacturer: Howell Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Breeds | Dogs | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Dogs | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Essays | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Through Otis' Eyes: Lessons from a Guide Dog Puppy

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Why Goldens Do That: A Collection Of Curious Golden Retriever Behaviors

Life is Good!: Lessons in Joyful Living

What Goldens Teach Us: Life's Lessons Learned From Golden Retrievers

ASIN: 0764561316

Book Description

"Tuesdays With Morrie" for dog lovers!

In a perfect marriage of text and images, Patricia Burlin Kennedy's short, poetic observations and Robert Christie's gorgeous color paintings celebrate the Golden Retriever's innate wisdom and charm. Winsome, humorous, and inspiring, this affordably priced gift book is sure to strike a chord with do lovers everywhere.

She taught me
how to smile as she began her life's run;
to search for the undiscovered with enthusiasm; and
to find joy in the ordinary.
—From Baily Bymyside

Customer Reviews:

fascinating experience.......2001-12-22

i have actually read this book 3 times....what an enjoyable read and a time to reflect....want to feel better---buy a copy and you will immediately cheer up (with a few tears shed along the way). of course i'm a bit prejudice, believing that golden retrievers are our gift from heaven....

Bailey Bymyside.......2000-12-28

Anyone who owns a Golden Retriever will see a little bit of Bailey in him/her. Patricia Burlin Kennedy has been able to put into words what so many of us feel in our hearts. Anyone who reads this book will "feel" the connection that these four legged creatures have with us. You will smile, you will cry and hopefully, you will pause to think about these life lessons and promise to be a better person because of these reminders. Please buy this book for your children and encourage them to live by Bailey's example.

Bailey Bymyside:Golden Lessons for Life.......2000-11-14

Bravo! Kennedy and Christie have done it again. "Bailey Bymyside" is not simply a book about the amazing life of a fine Golden. It is a spiritual journey that will teach the reader some of the most important lessons life has to offer. Each page carries a profound statement with a glorious accompanying illustration, that will make you pause and reflect sometimes sirring a tear or a "dog earred" grin. For example, the lesson "that compromise allows us to move forward together" with a picture of 2 dogs swimming upstream with a shared stick in their mouths. What an profound message in today's world! This book is really for the young and old. Pair this book with their first book, "Through Otis' Eyes: Lessons from a Guide Dog Puppy" and you will be giving the best holiday or birthday gift a dog lover has ever received!

A True Golden Find for Kids & Adults Alike!.......2000-10-30

I received a copy of this book hot off the presses; and, I imagine that it will always remain a treasured part of my personal library. Not only are the Golden photos and situations universally recognizable, but the accompanying Golden "lessons" are truly therapeutic.

As a Nationally Certified School Psychologist, Private Clinician, and Graduate School Instructor, I utilize a cognitive-behavioral style such as that noted in Ellis' Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy [REBT]. And, it is that same kind of rational thinking that shouts out from this book. You see, sometimes us human folks fail to watch our Golden Retrievers close enough and we consequently miss the big picture. We fail to understand how our furry companions are so proficient at managing the ups and downs of life. Patty Kennedy's precious "Golden Lessons" do just that. They set out to help people think in a better more healthy way. And, in REBT, it is only when we are able to THINK better, that we will come to FEEL better.

This FEEL BETTER book has an incredible 106 pages with 52 full-color Golden Retriever illustrations & lessons. One scene typifies what Goldens continually do for us, rain or shine. It shows Golden Bailey smiling at the family's front door as it is being opened due to someone returning home. This illustration is accompanied by the lesson: "that it's not the size of the house that matters, but the love that dwells within." A deceptively simple statement, but one that is so often ignored. How much we worry about what others think about our homes -- whether they are big enough, have the best furnishings, or are in the best of neighborhoods. Yet, when it comes down to what truly matters, it's whether you have made this house into a warm, loving 'home,' appreciating the strength and well-being that can come from such a place of love.

Do yourself a favor and get this book. You certainly don't want to miss learning about Bailey's other 50+ lessons!

Book Description

Includes a brief description of each item with production date and significant variations. Pricing information is provided for numerically listed items in good, excellent, or new condition. Features the hobby's most accurate pricing data, compiling information from numerous sources around the country. Offers tips about how and where to buy toy trains, and insuring your collection

Covers Lionel's OO, O, Standard, and 2-7/8" gauge and large scale trains. Photo section features significant new products. Features a convenient, lay-flat binding.

Customer Reviews:

Essential Price Guide.......2007-03-02

When it comes to concise and easy to use price guides to Lionel Trains I have found Greenberg's Guides to be invaluable. It breaks the catalogue numbers down into eras or distinct ranges of years of production and lists price ranges based on condition in a very orderly fashion. If you sell or buy on eBay this is a valuable tool. Greenberg's Lionel Trains Guides and publications are all first rate and come highly recommended.

Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains 2006 Pocket Price Guide (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Average customer rating:

Indispensable Price Guide
Indispensable
Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains 2006 Pocket Price Guide
Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide to Lionel Trains 2006
Greenberg's guide to vintage lionel pricing

Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains 2006 Pocket Price Guide (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Transportation | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toys | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toymaking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0897785320

Customer Reviews:

Indispensable Price Guide.......2007-02-28

Indispensable.......2006-03-17

This is an indispensable, pocket guide for identifying Lionel Trains at train shows. It's easy to use and obviously handy because it slips easily into a back pocket. I use the pricing only as a way of identifying general area of value. Any one item could be worth more or less. Guide is great for keeping track of train items you own or are looking for.

Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains 2006 Pocket Price Guide.......2006-03-17

Excellent book! Get resource! My last one was falling apart from all the times I used it.

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide to Lionel Trains 2006.......2006-03-10

A great book for the casual buyer or serius collector. A wealth of pricing information. Wouldn't buy without it. The only thing that keeps it from a 5 star rating is lack of pictures.

Greenberg's guide to vintage lionel pricing.......2006-03-01

A must have for every collector, offered at a great price.

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains 1901-1999 (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Average customer rating:

Good book.
Very good for realistic prices

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains 1901-1999 (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toys | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Model Trains | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Models | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toymaking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897784596

Customer Reviews:

Good book........1999-08-31

I thought this reference book was great. It gives you a ton of information that is helpful when buying used trains. I wish it had more pricing categories.

Very good for realistic prices.......1998-12-15

This book is great for realistic market prices. It has two price listings one for good condition and one for excellent for Postwar and Prewar and excellent and new for everything after 1969. Every listing is in numeric order with era it was made and even list special club cars but no prices

Greenberg Guides Lionel Trains: Pocket Price Guide (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide to Lionel Trains, 2001)

Average customer rating:

trains
Greenberg's Price Guide For Lionel Trains.

Greenberg Guides Lionel Trains: Pocket Price Guide (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide to Lionel Trains, 2001)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toys | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Model Trains | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897784685

Customer Reviews:

trains.......2001-07-11

Both of these books helped me to date my personal train set as well as a train set that had belonged to my cousin that was given to me quite a while ago.I discontinued playing with my trains and fell out of touch with Lionel products many years ago as one book says the space age took them over. I still get out my trains and enjoy them. These books have opened a door that I thought closed a long time ago. Thank you so much, DMP

Greenberg's Price Guide For Lionel Trains........2001-01-12

They made some good changes with this edition. They added subcategories to some items ie. colors and details. They also arranged the modern era(1970-2001)in one section by number instead of by each of the owners of Lionel. Lastly,the prices in the guide are still realistic instead of overinflated.

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains 1901-1998 (Serial)

Average customer rating:

A very handy reference

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains 1901-1998 (Serial)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toys | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Model Trains | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897784413

Customer Reviews:

A very handy reference.......1998-06-03

I found this to be a good book to have on hand when I go to train shows. It gives you a good idea of the rough value of a piece before you begin to haggle with a dealer.

Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains Pocket Price Guide 2008 (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Average customer rating:

Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains Pocket Price Guide 2008 (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Transportation | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toys | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toymaking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0897784855

Product Description

Lionel Pocket Price Guide 1901-2008

Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains: Pocket Price Guide 2003 " 1901-2003 (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Average customer rating:

A Must for Train Collectors

Greenberg's Guides Lionel Trains: Pocket Price Guide 2003 " 1901-2003 (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toys | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Model Trains | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897785207

Customer Reviews:

A Must for Train Collectors.......2003-03-19

Greenberg's Price Guides are easy to use and provide current values for all Lionel trains and accessories. A must for anyone that has Lionel trains.

Greenberg's Guides: Lionel Trains 2002 Pocket Price Guide (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Average customer rating:

Placing a Value on Your Lionel Trains

Greenberg's Guides: Lionel Trains 2002 Pocket Price Guide (Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains)

Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toys | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Model Trains | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Toymaking | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897785134

Customer Reviews:

Placing a Value on Your Lionel Trains.......2002-04-16

Guide was VERY comprehensive, well laid out, easy to use. Everything was in that book! It's the only book you'd need for your Lionel train collection, regardless of when it was manufactured.

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains 1901-2000

Average customer rating:

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide Lionel Trains 1901-2000
Kent J. (editor) Johnson
Manufacturer: Kalmbach Publishing Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000WG8TC8

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide and Inventory Checklist to Lionel Trains 1901-1991, Prewar, Postwar, Modern Era (10-7490)

Average customer rating:

Greenberg's Pocket Price Guide and Inventory Checklist to Lionel Trains 1901-1991, Prewar, Postwar, Modern Era (10-7490)
Bruce C. Greenberg
Manufacturer: Greenberg Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Model Trains | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Reference | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0897781759

Average customer rating:

A great book for Midwest gardeners!

The Indiana Gardener's Guide: Revised Edition (Indiana Gardener's Guide)
Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp , and Tom Tyler
Manufacturer: Cool Springs Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Midwest | Regional | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Go Native!: Gardening With Native Plants and Wildflowers in the Lower Midwest

ASIN: 1591860687

Book Description

Written by Jo Ellen Sharp and Tom Tyler, leading Indiana gardening experts. This proven format has helped gardeners experience success and enjoyment from their gardens.

The trend in gardening books is toward regional titles, and book retailers are well aware of this. The Gardener's Guide series provides credible information on the plants that perform best in specific states. Gardeners will find information they can trust and use successfully in their own gardens.

Gardening is now the favorite leisure pastime in America. Homeowners are realizing the health benefits derived from gardening, and the resulting increase in their home's property value.

Customer Reviews:

A great book for Midwest gardeners!.......2000-01-17

Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp, garden columnist for the Indianapolis Star on Sundays and Tom Tyler, past Extension Educator and horticulturist for the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service in Indianapolis collaborated to pick more than 175 ornamental plants that do well in the Hoosier landscape. Detailed information on each plant including the "when, where and how" to plant is included. Although not every plant that does well in Indiana is listed, this book provides a great starting point. A must for long-time Hoosier residents and new arrivals as well!

Book Description

Literacy is essentially about the control of information, memory, and belief, and with colonialism in Southern Africa came the Bible and text-based literacy monitored by missionaries and colonial authorities. Old and new oral traditions, however, are beyond the control of empire and often carry the resistance, hopes, and dreams of colonized people. The essays in this volume recover aspects of Southern Africa's rich oral tradition. The authors, from disciplines such as anthropology, African literature, and biblical studies, delineate some of the contours of the indigenous knowledge systems which sustained resistance to colonialism and today provide resources for postapartheid society in Southern Africa.

Orality, Literacy, and Colonialism in Southern Africa

Average customer rating:

Orality, Literacy, and Colonialism in Southern Africa
Jonathan a. Draper
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MHIEM2

Book Description

The definitive biography of Spain's enigmatic king, a riveting work of late-twentieth-century history.

Paul Preston, the author of the definitive biography Franco, explores the political and personal mysteries of the Spanish monarch's life in Juan Carlos, a story of unprecedented sweep and exquisite detail. Handed over to the Franco regime as a young boy, Juan Carlos was raised according to authoritarian traditions designed to make him a cornerstone of the dictatorship. How then did he later emerge as an emphatic defender of the democracy that began to form after Franco's death? In his peerless voice, Preston provides the details necessary to answer this central question, examining the king's troubled relationship with his father and his vital work in consolidating parliamentary democracy in Spain. What begins as the story of one monarch becomes at once a history of modern Spain and an indispensable exegesis of how democracies come to be. 16 pages of b/w illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Crucial Times.......2006-11-08

This is an immensely detailed account of the life of Juan Carlos. It's not a book to skip through quickly - the author goes into exhaustive detail, and much concentration is needed to absorb the casade of events and long list of characters. You cannot complain at the end of it that you have no knowledge of the life of Juan Carlos and no apprecation of the difficulties faced by the Spanish in the lead-up to and immediate aftermath of the death of Franco.

The story is told not just on a political level, but on a personal one too, particularly concentrating on the young prince's arrival in Francoist Spain at the age of 10, having been sent there by his father Don Juan with the aim of placing the boy under Franco's tutelage, thus supposedly increasing Don Juan's chances of eventually succeeding the Caudillo. Preston devotes a great deal of space to the uncertainties and machinations surrounding the subject of the succession and the re-establishment of the monarchy - it was no means certain that either Don Juan or Juan Carlos would succeed. Relations between Juan Carlos, his father and Franco were often strained.

Preston then describes the handling of the transition to democracy and the threat of coups by the army, culminating in the February 1981 coup attempt. The King's role in protecting the newly-born democracy seems to have been crucial.

Whatever criticism is made of the role of monarchies in other states, it seems that modern Spain found the monarch it needed.

G Rodgers

Good but a little hard to understand.......2006-11-03

I made the mistake of thinking this was just a biography on Juan Carlos but instead its a complex read on Spain during the dictatorship and how it became a democrarcy again. It was a good book and well written but a little difficult to understand.

masterful analysis, but a trying read.......2005-05-17

If I were rating this book on content alone, Preston would get 5 stars. However, his writing style hampers him somewhat. This unique biography traces what is supposedly the life of King Juan Carlos of Spain, a man for whom I have immense respect, from the fall of Alfonso XIII to the present, but it winds up being a historical analysis of the transition of Spain out of the Franco regime, similar to Preston's Triumph of Democracy in Spain, which I read for school, only longer and with more focus on Juan Carlos. I was initially disappointed because I wanted personal information about the king, [...]Or somehow get a copy of The King by Jose Luis de Vilallonga (good luck, I had to order it used from Australia). However, this book contains more information and analysis about Francoist and post-Francoist Spain than you will ever need in your entire life. Preston tells the tale largely with a mind for the role of Juan Carlos in it (the manipulation by his father, the restoration, the initial democratic difficulties, etc.) but this winds up being so complex that he constantly goes elsewhere. I liked the book but you need to read it in small chunks, because his writing is exhausting. It's very complex and dry and full of untranslated Spanish and acronyms, so don't read this while you're tired or you won't remember a thing. Preston obviously has a lot of enthusiasm for the subject, though, which comes across in his writing and the sheer volume of the work. Buy this book if you want a long, scholarly read!

Definitely a masterpiece!.......2005-02-21

The complete title of Paul Preston's book on the present Spanish monarch-- "Juan Carlos, Steering Spain from Dictatorship to Democracy"--says it all. If you want to read about the king and his love of fast cars and beautiful women, consult the tabloids. Several biographies of his wife, Queen Sofía, a woman admired and beloved by most Spaniards for her strength, humanity, and dignity, have been written in Spanish. There are also many magazine articles about her in both Spanish and English. The author does assume that the reader has some knowledge of Spanish history. For those who don't, he has written a number of other books on the subject ("The Coming of the Spanish Civil War", "The Points of Revenge", and "A Concise History of the Spanish Civil War").

When I lived in Spain in the sixties, the prevailing opinion of most of my friends was that, when Franco died, the society would plunge in another civil war as Juan Carlos would never be able to stand up to the generals and lead the country toward becoming a democracy. Undoubtedly this is one of the reasons I found fascinating the abundance of details of how the king was able to do exactly that. Preston's book is a complete study of the process that does not cater to sensationalism. For that I also consider it a "masterpiece".

The Good King.......2004-09-26

Royalty demands sycophancy from its subjects, and this is especially the case for royal biography. Notwithstanding that it doesn't take too much for people to realize that most monarchs are deeply unattractive people. Whether it is the selfish, irresponsible house of Savoy so acutely delineated in Denis Mack Smith's Italy and its Monarchy, or the houses of Hohenzollern and Romanov leading their countries to disaster, or the fundamentally mediocre British monarchy as seen in the essays of David Cannadine, or for that matter Juan Carlos' irresponsible, shallow brother-in-law, Constantine II, the last king of Greece, monarchs are people who believe the rest of the world owes them a living.

In 1931 it seemed that the Spanish branch of the Bourbons had met its own well-deserved fate, as King Alfonso went into exile and his countrymen formed a democratic republic. As Preston puts it, the royal family does not take exile well. Hemophiliac uncles, morganatic marriages, adulterous affairs, a deaf and dumb uncle whose son will be used by Preston to make Juan Carlos' life even more miserable, it all looked most unpromising. One detail that comes to mind is a picture of a four year old Juan Carlos in military uniform. It was only after he had been standing in it for hours that people realized that his books were too small and his feet had been rubbed raw. But on the whole this is a picture of Juan Carlos that is fairly sympathetic to him. After he appears on the scene, there is little gossip of the Eurotrash aspect of things. (Although we do learn that Juan Carlos accidentally shot his brother to death.)

Juan Carlos, born in 1938, and his father Don Juan had to find a way to restore the monarchy after the Spanish Civil war. The problem was simple. Franco at the time made monarchist sentiments and many monarchists were among his followers. The problem was that he had no desire of sharing power with anyone, and himself had little respect for the previous monarchy which had tolerated a limited parliamentarianism. He suspected Don Juan might try to reconcille his divided country, and remove it from Franco's regime of divine vindictiveness. The problem for Don Juan, who spent most of Franco's reign living in Portugal, was that he had little to offer and little power to use it. Although much of the Francoist elite would have prefered to see a monarchy, they were not going to risk their power trying to force the issue. And so for until 1968 Don Juan waited, endured Franco's condescension and lies, occasionally got angry, was separated from his son for long periods of time at considerable psychological stress for both of them, and ended up doing what Franco wanted. Franco got the idea that Juan Carlos might be more ameneable to Francoist propaganda and so in 1948 he was sent to Spain and educated under Falangist tuetalage. Finally after two decades of toying with them, Franco made Juan Carlos, not his father, his heir apparent.

Juan Carlos' prospects were not promising. Being made heir was better than having to look over his shoulders at Carlist and other pretenders. But now he, although of generally liberal opinions, was stuck in a regime that was firmly reactionary. Franco had no desire to step down, and would remain in power almost until the very end. Consistently he and his entourage took the most reactionary path. Had his prime minister Carrero Blanco not been assassinated in 1973 by Basque separatists, the transition to democracy would have been much more difficult. And even when Franco grew less malevolent as old age, senility and death came upon him (the last a process that took months to complete) Juan Carlos still had to worry about the reactionary entourage of Franco's wife.

And then Preston discusses how Juan Carlos managed to ease out the more reactionary Francoists from the cabinet, got the more moderate Suarez to make a transition to power, and, most dramatic of all, stopped the coup of February 1981 by making his clear his unconditional oppostion to it. For this transition to democracy Juan Carlos is beloved by his subjects and the Spanish monarchy appears as stable as Britain, Scandinavia and the Benelux countries. There are some points I would like to mention here. For a start, although there is new detail, much of the storyline can be seen in Preston's earlier books "Franco" and "The Triumph of Spanish Democracy." Second, one should point out that Juan Carlos was assisted by the Spanish Socialist and Communist parties, who agreed to let Juan Carlos remain, instead of pointing out that he had no popular mandate to do so. Third, it does seem unfair that the Spanish monarchy should get the credit for Juan Carlos' bravery, since the same crisis is not likely to be repeated again, and the absence of republicanism in contemporary Spain appears less as an act of gratitude than the whole post-socialist failure of imagination.

Average customer rating:

California Missions: A Pictorial Tour

Manufacturer: Scenic Art
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000FXUZ2K

Product Description

Pictures & text about 21 Catholic missions & order of founding between 1769 & 1823 in California when Spanish King Carlos III authorized development to discourage Russian influence that never really materialized (Friendly Russians at Fort Ross helped with founding of last small mission at Sonoma by providing useful articles.).

Abdicara el rey?: Espana ante el ano 2000 (Coleccion Aqui y siempre)

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Abdicara el rey?: Espana ante el ano 2000 (Coleccion Aqui y siempre)
Fernando de Gonzalez-Doria
Manufacturer: Editorial Master
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books