Rating: 
Summary: Turgid
Review: This book is effectively a 540-page Encyclopedia Britannica article -- lots of facts dryly presented. I read it after spending 7 days seeing what I thought were the worthwhile sights in Barcelona, and soon had a list of things I missed good for another 7 days. I recommend it to anyone planning a visit to Barcelona, since I am not aware of any other source of information about the city that is as comprehensive.Hughes does a fine job of describing the architectural history of the city, particularly the Modernisme (Art Nouveau) period, but wastes far too much time on Catalan music, literature and art, which even he admits are mediocre. You will do yourself a favor by skimming those chapters. Note that this book was written in 1993, after the city had been spruced up for the 1992 Olympics but still 11 years ago. It is an even better city today, with nice people, excellent and reasonably priced food, and plenty of things to see and do. The comparison that comes to mind is "Tuscany 25 years ago." Additional recommended reading: George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia"
Rating:
Summary: Turgid
Review: This book is effectively a 540-page Encyclopedia Britannica article -- lots of facts dryly presented. I read it after spending 7 days seeing what I thought were the worthwhile sites in Barcelona, and soon had a list of things I missed good for another 7 days. I recommend it to anyone planning a visit to Barcelona, since I am not aware of any other source of information about the city that is as comprehensive. Hughes does a fine job of describing the architectural history of the city, particularly the Modernisme (Art Nouveau) period, but wastes far too much time on Catalan music, literature and art, which even he admits are mediocre. You will do yourself a favor by skimming those chapters. Note that this book was written in 1993, after the city had been spruced up for the 1992 Olympics but still 11 years ago. It is an even better city today, with nice people, excellent and reasonably food, and plenty of things to see and do. The comparison that comes to mind is "Tuscany 25 years ago." Additional recommended reading: George Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia"
Rating: 
Summary: An Armchair Hit and A Must-Read for Barcelona Visitors
Review: This book is enormous fun to read, full of keen observation, and vastly informative about the city. On a recent trip to Barcelona I carried it everywhere. Anytime I wound up somewhere that felt "historic" I'd open it up and refresh my memory about what Hughes said. His chapter on Gaudi is essential to understanding the architect, and the way he spots figures like the Catalan inventor of the submarine, and weaves them into his text, is enchanting. Hughes on Barcelona is even better than Hughes on the culture wars and modern art, which is saying a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant or boring
Review: When on his game Hughes' writing is insightful, witty, observant, educational. Here that would be the first 100 pages and the last 120, of the 574 pages which reveal that the Catlans are not Spanish, but Catalan; their art, architecture and politics come from their history of being with or against the rest of Spain, having their own language and culture, with economic/political battles against Madrid from early Roman history to today (Beckham was going to Barcelona F.C. before Real Madrid stole him away at the last second). I imagine he started with the idea of writing a book about the fantastic Art Nouveau architecture in one of the most architecturally interesting cities in the world, to discover that the Catalan spirit was such a force in shaping the uniqueness of the style that more needed to understood about who these people with their own language and culture that is sometimes banned by the national government. Unfortunately the author goes too deep in cataloging the complexities of the history of Barcelona, some of which is just not that interesting, the large middle of the book saps the reader's strength. The text comes alive again for the ending sections on the late 1800s when Barcelona was the bomb throwing anarchy capital of the world leading into the development of the Art Nouveau/Modernista movement, although slowing a bit before finishing with a really excellent examination and comment of Gaudi, the person and his work.
Mr Hughes needed a stronger editor for this book, it would be a brilliant 250 page book. Some severe editing to take out the boring but academic sections was really needed.
That said, it is worth reading. Scim the middle sections. When Hughes is on his game it is good reading
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