Phil Ball
Morbo - The Story of
Spanish Football (When
Saturday Comes Books, UK).
Excellent and well-written
account of the history of
Spanish football from its
nineteenth-century
beginnings with the
British workers at the
mines of Río Tinto in
Huelva to the golden years
of Real Madrid and the
dark days of Franco, with
the ever present backdrop
of the ferocious rivalry
or
morbo -
political, historical,
regional and linguistic -
which has driven the
Spanish game since its
birth. Essential reading
for every football
aficionado visiting Spain.
Bob Carrick
Ventas Within a Short
Drive of the Costa del Sol
(Santana, Málaga). Useful
guide to some of the best ventas
- Spain's bargain roadside
restaurants - within easy
reach of the Málaga
coast. Widely available at
bookshops in major
resorts.
Frederic Grunfeld and
Teresa Farino
Wild Spain (Sheldrake
Press; Prentice Hall). A
knowledgeable and
practical guide to Spain's
national parks, ecology
and wildlife.
Heinzel, Fitter and
Parslow Collins
Guide to the Birds of
Britain and Europe
(Collins, UK). Alternative
to the other Collins
guide.
Peterson, Mountfort
and Hollom
Collins Field Guide to
the Birds of Britain and
Europe (Collins
Reference; Houghton
Mifflin). Standard
reference book - covers
most birds in Spain.
Oleg Polunin and
Anthony Huxley
Flowers of the
Mediterranean (Chatto,
UK). Useful if by no means
exhaustive field guide.
K.J. Stoba
Bird Watching in
Mallorca (Cicerone
Press, UK). Island guide
listing 282 species and
where and when to see
them.
Coleman Andrews
Catalan Cuisine
(Grub Street, UK). Best
available English-language
book dealing with Spain's
most adventurous regional
cuisine.
Nicholas Butcher
The Spanish Kitchen
(Macmillan, UK). A
practical and
knowledgeable guide to
creating Spanish dishes
when you get back. Lots of
informative detail on
tapas, olive oil, jamón
serrano and herbs.
Penelope Casas
The Foods and Wines of
Spain (Knopf, US).
Superb Spanish cookbook,
covering classic and
regional dishes with
equal, authoritative
aplomb. By the same author
is the useful Tapas:
the little dishes of Spain
. (Knopf, US).
Alan Davidson
The Tio Pepe Guide to
the Seafood of Spain and
Portugal (Anness, UK).
An indispensible pocket
book that details and
illustrates every fish and
crustacean you're likely
to meet in restaurants and
bars along the Spanish
costas.
Julian Jeffs , Sherry
(Faber, UK). The story of
sherry - history,
production, blending and
brands. Rightly a classic
and the best introduction
to Andalucía's great
wine.
Mark and Kim Millon
Wine Roads of Spain
(HarperCollins, UK/US).
Everything you ever wanted
to know about Spanish wine
and sherry: when, how and
where it's made, with a
good array of useful maps.
John Radford
The New Spain
(Mitchell Beazley, UK).
Lavish coffee table format
disguises this book's
serious content - a
detailed region-by-region
guide to Spanish wine with
colour maps, bodega
and vintage evaluations
and fine illustrations.
Jan Read
Guide to the Wines of
Spain (Mitchell
Beazley, UK). Encyclopedic
(yet pocketable) guide to
the classic and emerging
wines of Spain by a
leading authority.
Includes maps, vintages
and vineyards.
