The Alhambra (Wonders of the World (Harvard University Press)) [Idioma Inglés]: 20 - Tapa blanda

This book captures and conveys the mysterious attractions of the Alhambra.--Doris Lessing"The Spectator" (01/17/2004)

[A] fascinating book.--Malise Ruthven"Sunday Times" (01/04/2004)

[A] delicious, tart monograph.--Vera Rule"The Independent on Sunday" (01/11/2004)

Irwin's book is both a perfect introduction to the place and a first-rate account of its history.--Mark Cocker"The Guardian" (01/10/2004)

Robert Irwin writes beautifully and is dauntingly clever but the stunning thing about him is his originality.--Ruth Rendell

Irwin's book is a learned but entertaining companion for any visitor.--Oleg Grabar

Robert Irwin has written a compact companion to the history, architectural features, and enduring attraction of the Alhambra. Although this book is in a small guidebook format, the text corrects many of the romantic myths about the Alhambra that most tourists encounter. This book is recommended as excellent reading for someone planning a visit to the Alhambra or for the armchair traveler...His thesis about the geometrical foundations of the design and the use of the Alhambra as 'a palace to think in' is persuasively argued.--Karen Gould

[Irwin] brings the majestic ruins to life.--Newsweek

Edward Said pointed out that in writing about the Arab world, authors always have an agenda. Perhaps Irwin has replaced a Romantic illusion about the Alhambra with one more attractive to the New Age. Irwin is, however, modest about the possibility of ever knowing what the Alhambra was for. And his agenda seems to be nothing more sinister than to get us to look once more and to marvel once again at something we only thought we knew.-- (01/22/2004)

In this rich, concise contribution to the literature, Robert Irwin uses his vast knowledge of medieval Islam to illumine both myth and reality, history and imagination, without disenchanting the romantic reader...Having been to the Alhambra many times, after reading this wonderful book I wished to go back--and see it for the first time.-- (02/13/2004)

Read the Bldg Blog interview with Mary Beard about the Wonders of the World series(Part I and Part II)

The Alhambra has long been a byword for exotic and melancholy beauty. In his absorbing new book, Robert Irwin, Arabist and novelist, examines its history and allure.

The Alhambra is the only Muslim palace to have survived since the Middle Ages. Built by a threatened dynasty of Muslim Spain, it was preserved as a monument to the triumph of Christianity. Every day thousands of tourists enter this magnificent site to be awestruck by its towers and courts, its fountained gardens, its honeycombed ceilings and intricate tile work. It is a complex full of mysteries--even its purpose is unclear. Its sophisticated ornamentation is not indiscriminate but full of hidden meaning. Its most impressive buildings were designed not by architects, but by philosophers and poets. The Alhambra, which resembles a fairy-tale palace, was constructed by slave labor in an era of economic decline, plague, and political violence. Its sumptuously appointed halls have lain witness to murder and mayhem. Yet its influence on art and on literature--including Orientalist painting and the architecture of cinemas, Washington Irving and Jorge Luis Borges--has been lasting and significant. As our guide to this architectural masterpiece, Robert Irwin allows us to fully understand the impact of the Alhambra.

. NOTA: El libro no está en español, sino en inglés.