Rating: 
Summary: Changed my ideas and pre-conceptions about the Basque Nation
Review: You hear about Basques in newspapers all the time: ussually about some violent situation attributed to them. What you don't hear in the 10pm news is what these people have done for humanity, and how the good Basques have to pay up for the violence and errors made by the few ill behaved ones. Mark Kurlansky fixes that.The Author correlates the history of this little understood/known group of people, and how they have iteracted with neighboring countries, and how they have helped shape the world as we know it today. Great history book, and entertaining as well. Now I must read "Salt" and "Cod".
Rating: 
Summary: Cookbook or History
Review: This book as well as this author's other book, "COD", contain a wealth of information about cooking recipes, and it does not mix well with the historical section. This author has to decide if he wants to write a cookbook or a history book. It makes this reader hesitant to take on another book by this author entitled "Salt" , because a history of salt may bring an overwhelming list of recipes. If the reader can ignore the history v.s. cookbook controversy, then the historical section is good writing, very interesting and informative. It seems civilizations, and conquerors may come and go, but the Basques remain, always attempting to remain true to their laws and traditions. A small fringe Basque group employs violent terrorist tactics with the aim of forming a separate Basque nation. The author conveys historical sympathy with majority of peaceful Basque people against the failed policies of the central Spanish government. His view is that they are often portrayed as scapegoats. I thought this sympathy may be a case of the author becoming a little too close to his subject matter and losing his objectivity, until the recent spate of train bombings in Spain. The Spanish government's first suspect was announced to be the Basque separatist movement, but later it was discovered to be Islamic extremists. All in all, it was a very worthwhile book dealing to inform oneself about the Basques and Basque history.
Rating: 
Summary: Despite flaws this is a good book
Review: Despite the fact this this is popular history this is a good read. Few books detail the Basques or their unique history and even fewer books are as illuminating as this one. From short histories of whaling to the birth of the Jesuit missionaries and other things this read is like a scroll of history. From detailing the odd and confounded Carlist wars to the Basque support of Republicanism, although they had nothing in common with the radical communists, and of course the modern issue of the ETA and the suppression of the Basques under Franco, this book seems to do it all. Immensely informative while not always willing to make judgment calls this book is still a must read. On par with other wonderful works like 1968 and `The Chosen Few' this book also has great chapters on Basque food and the Basque language. Anyone will enjoy this book. The expert Spanish historian may have qualms with the authors slight bias but nevertheless this wide span of this book out-ways any criticism. Seth J. Frantzman
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable introduction to lesser known subject...
Review: The Basques certainly deserve their own history, even if this retelling is highly subjective and not objectively historical. Kurlansky seems more in the business of giving clues to the Basque world without spelling everything out. The importance of home or "etxea" in the Basque mindset is explained, as are the resurgences of Basque languages (there seems to be more than one,) and nationalism. The devolution of some aspect of that nationalism into pure violence, and the terrorism of the ETA, is not developed. But the Basque identities of historical figures like Saint Ignatius Loyola and the writer Miguel De Unamuno are satisfyingly explained, as are the differences between later Basque leaders like Sabino Arano, and the chief executive in exile during WWII, Aguirre. Beyond that it's a bit of a hodge-podge, going from the development of Basque trade and industry with the Americas, the creation of the dish "pil-pil," the roots of Basque theology, and the significance of Guernica both as the center of Basque identity and as the victim of the staggering attack by Franco during the Spanish Civil War. And of course, the other reviewer is right. Ferdinand and Isabella had several children, the most significant of which are Juana La Loca and Katherine of Aragon who was the unfortunate first wife of England's Henry VIII. Kurlansky got that wrong, but I assumed he was oversimplifying.
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