A Concise History of Portugal (Cambridge Concise Histories)

Probably the easiest to read general history of Portugal ever published. The Portuguese greatly value their history as central to their culture – far more than in US culture. This is the book you want to read to show that you care.

A Concise History of Portugal provides a step by step review of Portuguese history starting from the Iron Age through the late 18th century. It is not particularly spell binding, but that is a long period of time and the book, while not short, certainly is "concise" by comparison to the time frame covered. We are travelling to Portugal in January and I knew very little about Portuguese history, i.e., how it came to be an independent country, and how it stayed independent despite it larger, more powerful neighbor, how it became a worldwide power, and how that power dissipated, etc. The book provides an understanding on those topics and many others. I am sure I am not retaining all the details but do now have an understanding of the flow of Portuguese history.

I bought this book before a trip to Portugal. It is authoritative and well researched, but there is nothing here that captures the imagination.

There are so few excellent histories of Portugal. This is one.

No complaints

This book does not start Portuguese history until 1640 although there is one chapter summarizing Portuguese history up to that point. I was very interested in learning more about Portuguese history in the 1400 and 1500s so somewhat disappointed. Also, very focused on economics and not so much on events.

Very interesting book for someone that wants to learn about the history of Portugal. It has a lot of information.

I assumed that a book by an Emeritus Professor of Modern History at University of Kent would have some value but its value is ZERO. The book is badly written with sections that have awkward and grammatically incorrect English as if possibly a bad direct translation from Portuguese (I speak Portuguese) - the Introduction alone has many examples of this. The book's perspective is to glorify the colonial days of Portugal, with an occasional attempt to mix in a more modern and critical point of view which read as if added later by an editor or assistant. There is historic inaccuracy throughout, especially with regard to the liberation of Portuguese African colonies. I was VERY disappointed in my purchase of this book and strongly recommend looking elsewhere for a good Portuguese history.