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Title: Not an entry-level history
Review: I agree that this book suffers from poor organization and an overwhelming avalanche of detail. Kamen often shifts from one continent to another with no transition at all, only an extra line between paragraphs. A paragraph that presents an argument about one century will use as evidence an example from 200 years and a continent away. I am a huge history buff and patiently plod through even the driest field, but I found his text exceedingly hard to follow.Perhaps Kamen is an iconoclast blasting away at received wisdom about the Spanish empire, but I lack the background to say what arguments he is overturning here. If you are looking for an overview or general history of Spain, this book is not what you're looking for. Maybe I will come back to it when I have read some other works in the field and have a better grasp of the basics.
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