Nigel Townson – författare

‘The best account in a single volume of Spain since 1898, exemplary for concision and for accuracy in the use of language, as well as for equanimity and generosity of spirit’ Felipe Fernández-Armesto, TLSA revelatory new history of Spain, from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first'Spain is different,' proclaimed the Franco regime in the 1940s, keen to attract foreign tourists. For the most part, the world has agreed. From the end of its 'glorious empire' in 1898 to the dazzling World Cup victory in 2010, the prevailing narrative of modern Spain has emphasized the country's peculiarity. Generations of historians and readers have been transfixed by its implosion into civil war in the 1930s, seduced by the valiant struggle of the republicans, horrified by the barbarity of the dictatorship which followed. Franco's Spain was seen as an anomaly in the midst of prosperous and permissive post-war Western Europe. But, as Nigel Townson shows in this richly layered and exciting new history, beyond the familiar image, there lies a radically different history of Spain: of a dynamic and progressive society that fits firmly into the narrative of modern Europe.Drawing on over forty years of post-Franco scholarship, The Penguin History of Modern Spain transforms our knowledge of Spain and its politics, society, economics and culture. It interweaves cutting-edge Spanish-led research - never before published in English - and testimonies of peasants, housewives, soldiers, workers, entrepreneurs, feminists and worker-priests, for an original and surprising portrait, which allows us, at last, to discern the country behind the veil of propaganda and romantic myths which still endure today

‘The best account in a single volume of Spain since 1898, exemplary for concision and for accuracy in the use of language, as well as for equanimity and generosity of spirit’ Felipe Fernández-Armesto, TLSA revelatory new history of Spain, from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first'Spain is different,' proclaimed the Franco regime in the 1940s, keen to attract foreign tourists. For the most part, the world has agreed. From the end of its 'glorious empire' in 1898 to the dazzling World Cup victory in 2010, the prevailing narrative of modern Spain has emphasized the country's peculiarity. Generations of historians and readers have been transfixed by its implosion into civil war in the 1930s, seduced by the valiant struggle of the republicans, horrified by the barbarity of the dictatorship which followed. Franco's Spain was seen as an anomaly in the midst of prosperous and permissive post-war Western Europe. But, as Nigel Townson shows in this richly layered and exciting new history, beyond the familiar image, there lies a radically different history of Spain: of a dynamic and progressive society that fits firmly into the narrative of modern Europe.Drawing on over forty years of post-Franco scholarship, The Penguin History of Modern Spain transforms our knowledge of Spain and its politics, society, economics and culture. It interweaves cutting-edge Spanish-led research - never before published in English - and testimonies of peasants, housewives, soldiers, workers, entrepreneurs, feminists and worker-priests, for an original and surprising portrait, which allows us, at last, to discern the country behind the veil of propaganda and romantic myths which still endure today

The slogan that launched the tourist industry in the 1960s, Spain is different, has come to haunt historians. Much effort and energy have been expended ever since in endeavouring to show that Spain has not been different, but normal. Still, many of the defining features of the country's past -- the civil wars, the weak liberalism, the Franco dictatorship -- are taken as evidence of its distinctiveness. A related problem is that few historians have actually placed Spain's trajectory over the last two centuries within a truly comparative context. This book does so by tackling a number of key themes in modern Spanish history: liberalism, nationalism, anticlericalism, the Second Republic, the Franco dictatorship and the transition to democracy. Is Spain Different? thereby offers a fresh and stimulating perspective on Spain's recent past that is not only of interest to students of Spanish and European history alike, but also sheds new light on the current political debates regarding Spain's place in the world. Contributors to this volume include: José Álvarez Junco (Universidad Complutense, Madrid); María Cruz Romeo (University of Valencia); Edward Malefakis (Columbia University, New York); and Pamela Radcliff (University of California, San Diego).

The slogan that launched the tourist industry in the 1960s, Spain is different, has come to haunt historians. Much effort and energy have been expended ever since in endeavouring to show that Spain has not been different, but normal. Still, many of the defining features of the country's past -- the civil wars, the weak liberalism, the Franco dictatorship -- are taken as evidence of its distinctiveness. A related problem is that few historians have actually placed Spain's trajectory over the last two centuries within a truly comparative context. This book does so by tackling a number of key themes in modern Spanish history: liberalism, nationalism, anticlericalism, the Second Republic, the Franco dictatorship and the transition to democracy. Is Spain Different? thereby offers a fresh and stimulating perspective on Spain's recent past that is not only of interest to students of Spanish and European history alike, but also sheds new light on the current political debates regarding Spain's place in the world. Contributors to this volume include: José Álvarez Junco (Universidad Complutense, Madrid); María Cruz Romeo (University of Valencia); Edward Malefakis (Columbia University, New York); and Pamela Radcliff (University of California, San Diego).

This book explores the role of popular forms of social mobilization during Spain's process of transition to democracy. It focuses on the nature of citizenship that was forged during the period of conflict and mobilisation that characterised Spain from the late 1950s until the late 1980s. It offers a two-pronged exploration of social movements at the time.  On the one hand, it provides a detailed analysis of four very different cases of social mobilisation: among Catholics, residents, farmers and teachers. It discerns processes of organisation, repertoires of action, collective meaning, and interactions with communities and local political actors. On the other hand, it reflects on how the fight over specific issues and the use of similar tactics generated shared interpretations of what it meant to be a citizen in a democracy.

This book explores the role of popular forms of social mobilization during Spain's process of transition to democracy. It focuses on the nature of citizenship that was forged during the period of conflict and mobilisation that characterised Spain from the late 1950s until the late 1980s. It offers a two-pronged exploration of social movements at the time.  On the one hand, it provides a detailed analysis of four very different cases of social mobilisation: among Catholics, residents, farmers and teachers. It discerns processes of organisation, repertoires of action, collective meaning, and interactions with communities and local political actors. On the other hand, it reflects on how the fight over specific issues and the use of similar tactics generated shared interpretations of what it meant to be a citizen in a democracy.

Tras el final de la Primera Guerra Mundial (1914 -1918) se produce en el mundo un proceso de aceleracion de cambios politicos provocados por las consecuencias traumaticas del conflicto belico que se acaba de cerrar, y que lejos de lograr la paz y la cooperacion entre los pueblos y estados enfrentados en los campos de batalla , supuso un periodo de convulsiones sociales y economicas que llevarian a un nuevo conflicto militar, tambien de caracter mundial , con resultados devastadores para la humanidad. Esta obra en la que participan mas de 20 especialistas universitarios en historia y politica y cuyos textos en diferentes escenarios geopoliticos van acompanados de casi 50 imagenes de la epoca, nos sirve para comprender por que las crisis y conflictos locales vividos por el mundo de entreguerras no fueron episodios aislados entre si, sino el preludio argumental de la gran tragedia global que estaba a punto de estallar al finalizar la decada de 1930.