* Provides a deeper, long-term understanding of the nation and its people
* Designed to supplement the “usual suspect” guide books

A guidebook can show you where to go, a phrasebook what to say when you get there. Only Speak the Culture: Spain will lead you to the nation’s soul.

Spain boasts a rich and sometimes misunderstood culture, itself infused with the influences of other great and distant civilizations. Spanish life, language and culture in its widest sense is a major force of growing influence. How many outside it understand its origins and significance?

Through exploring the people, the movements and the lifestyles that have shaped the Spanish experience, you will come to an intimate understanding of Spain and the Spanish.

There are many travel guides and manuals on living in Spain. Speak the Culture: Spain is different: a superbly designed, informed and entertaining insight into Spanish life and culture and who the Spanish really are.

For new residents, business travelers, holidaymakers, students and lovers of Spain everywhere, Speak the Culture: Spain is an engaging companion and guide to an enviably rich civilization at the heart of Europe.

Excerpt
“As you might expect Spain’s traditional vernacular architecture isn’t easily pigeonholed; regionalism generates marked variation. Available building materials and, more significantly, climate have always dictated how people build their houses or outbuildings. The Spaniards’ approach to living arrangements is more easily summed up. They’re nothing if not sociable; while northern Europeans anxiously section off their own plot of terra firma, in Spain they seem to enjoy living on top of each other, clustered in apartments and houses around the plaza mayor. It’s not like they’re short of space either—a population density of around 85 per sq km is one of the lowest in Europe.”

Table of Contents:

Introduction: 1) Identity: The Building Blocks of Spanish Culture: Geography; History; Language and Psyche; 2) Literature and Philosophy: Literature; Philosophy; 3) Art and Architecture; Art; Architecture; 4) Performing Arts: Music; Theatre; 5) Cinema and Fashion: Cinema; Fashion; 6) Media and Communications: Media; Communications; 7) Food and Drink: Food; Drink; 8) Living Culture: the Details of Modern Spain: The Changing Face of Spanish Society; Mass Appeal; Big Issues; On the Money; Within the Law; Steep Learning Curve; Time Out; Bulls, Blls and Baskets.