Suggestions for Spain esp. Andalucia

Hello,

I am traveling to Spain next May and am looking for some reading recommendations. I am a landscape designer and will be traveling mainly in the South to explore the gardens and architecture, but I am interested in all aspects - social, cultural, historical etc.

Would really appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks,
Carrie

I can recommend Paul Richardson's A Late Dinner; I haven't read his Our Lady of the Sewers, but can vouch that he writes well.

I enjoyed Laurie Lee's A rose for winter. It is his story of returning to Andalusia after the Civil War - thought provoking and very evocative. Laurie Lee A rose for winter; travels in Andalusia.

I really enjoyed three books around the time I visited Spain: Spanish Lessons, Driving Over Lemons and Duende. The first and second are both breezy narratives about Englishmen who buy rustic farms in the south of Spain and encounter the usual array of strange local customs, language glitches, unhurried plumbers, carpenters and gardeners, and struggles against the weather. The third is a more uneven work about a young man's quest to understand the emotional heart of flamenco music by immersing himself into learning guitar, penetrating the inner circle of flamenco musicians and traveling with a gypsy flamenco band. Despite its unevenness, the book is highly recommended both for its vivid portraits of the flamenco clubs and the insights it provides into a part of Spanish culture it is difficult to experience on a casual trip. Finally, if you plan to visit Madrid and see Guernica behind its bulletproof glass case at the contemporary art museum there, you may find Picasso's War: The Destruction of Guernica and the Masterpiece That Changed the World interesting.

Also, there is an older volume The Garden Lover's Guide to Spain and Portugal. It pointed me in the direction of Cordoba (which from a garden standpoint outshone anything I visited in Seville or Granada) and several private gardens north of Barcelona in the Costa Brava region that were among the highlights of the trip.

Tracy, thank you- I actually managed to purchase a copy of The Garden Lover's Guide off ABE. I am still waiting for it... now very eagerly. How interesting that you managed some residential gardens, I have been reading how private the Spanish are with regard to their gardens.... I am sincerely hoping to see some private gardens in Andalusia. Well, thanks again for the great recommendations.

Just updating this topic- any more suggestions for Seville, Cordoba or Grenada travel?
( also Barcelona)

An excellent overview of Andalucia is The Sierras of the South by Alistair Boyd. Myandalucia.com lists a number of books on Andalucia. For Barcelona, the best book hands down is Barcelona by Robert Hughes. For Granada, I would recommend Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving as an atmospheric accent to a visit to the Alhambra.

An excellent overview of Andalucia is The Sierras of the South by Alistair Boyd. Myandalucia.com lists a number of books on Andalucia. For Barcelona, the best book hands down is Barcelona by Robert Hughes. For Granada, I would recommend Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving as an atmospheric accent to a visit to the Alhambra.