Spain Myths

Scholars, journalists, and politicians uphold Muslim-ruled medieval Spain - "al-Andalus" - as a multicultural paradise, a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in harmony. There is only one problem with this widely accepted account: It is a myth. In this groundbreaking book, Northwestern University scholar Darío Fernández-Morera tells the full story of Islamic Spain. As professors, politicians, and pundits continue to celebrate Islamic Spain for its "multiculturalism" and "diversity", Fernández-Morera sets the record straight.

This audiobook traces Spain's development from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. It introduces listeners to key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture, including its varied landscapes and climates; the impact of waves of diverse human migrations; the importance of its location as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa; and religion, particularly militant Catholic Christianity and its centuries of conflict with Islam and Protestantism.

Spain has long had a tradition for wonderful stories - of bold knights and beautiful princesses; of castles in the clouds; magical kings and mystical Moors. For centuries the great majority of the Spanish people could neither read nor write. So these stories, so well-worn in the telling, have become full of the native wit, humanity and humour of ordinary men and women.

Historia de un molinero que, queriendo dárselas de importante, miente al rey contándole que su hija es capaz de convertir la paja en oro usando una rueca. Para probar dicha habilidad, el rey encierra a la hija del molinero en una habitación llena de paja con una rueca.

Un soldadito de plomo mutilado, se enamora de una bailarina. Después de pasar por muchas desgracias, el diablo de la caja de sorpresa, de marinero por las alcantarillas, se lo come un pez...al final, gracias a su empeño y a su fuerza de voluntad, consigue estar unido a su bailarina, ya que debido a una caída fortuita en el fuego de la chimenea de la casa, sus penas se fundirán y se unirán para siempre formando un bonito corazón.