A Concise History of Portugal

By David Birmingham

This concise, illustrated history of Portugal presents an introduction to the people and culture of the country and its search for economic modernization, political stability and international partnership. The first single-volume account of Portugal's history since the days of dictatorship and colonization, this updated second edition also covers the state of historical writing on Portugal at the turn of the millennium. First Edition Hb (1993): 0-521-43308-8 First Edition Pb (1993): 0-521-43880-2 David Birmingham is a Professor of Modern History at the University of Kent, Canterbury. He has written extensively on Portugal and Africa including, among others, The Decolonization of Africa (UCL Press, 1995), History of Central Africa, Volume Three (Longman, 1998), and Portugal and Africa (Macmillan, 1999) and, more recently, a survey of Trade and Empire in the Atlantic, 1400-1600 (Routledge, 2000).

A Short History of Europe: From Charlemagne to the Treaty of Lisbon

By Gordon Kerr

This fascinating history for beginners provides a coherent map of the jumbled history of Europe and the European idea that has led up to this point. A continent of countless disparate peoples, races, and nations, governed by different ideas, philosophies, religions, and attitudes, Europe nonetheless has a common thread of history running through it, stitching the lands and peoples of its past and present into one fabric and held together by the continent’s great institutions: the Church of Rome, the Holy Roman Empire, the European Union, individual monarchies, trade organizations, and social movements. However, people have always harbored aspirations to make this vast territory one. The Romans came close and a few centuries later, the foundations for a great European state were laid with the creation of the Holy Roman Empire. Napoleon overreached himself in attempting to create a European-wide Empire—as did Adolf Hitler. Now, Europe is as close as it ever has been to being one entity, yet Europeans still cling to national independence.

Lisbon: War in the Shadows of the City of Light: A World War II Story of Espionage, Intrigue, and Gold

By Neill Lochery

Lisbon had a pivotal role in the history of World War II, though not a gun was fired there. The only European city in which both the Allies and the Axis power operated openly, it was temporary home to much of Europe’s exiled royalty, over one million refugees seeking passage to the U.S., and a host of spies, secret police, captains of industry, bankers, prominent Jews, writers and artists, escaped POWs, and black marketeers. An operations officer writing in 1944 described the daily scene at Lisbon’s airport as being like the movie “Casablanca,” times twenty. In this riveting narrative, renowned historian Neill Lochery draws on his relationships with high-level Portuguese contacts, access to records recently uncovered from Portuguese secret police and banking archives, and other unpublished documents to offer a revelatory portrait of the War’s back stage. And he tells the story of how Portugal, a relatively poor European country trying frantically to remain neutral amidst extraordinary pressures, survived the war not only physically intact but significantly wealthier. The country’s emergence as a prosperous European Union nation would be financed in part, it turns out, by a cache of Nazi gold.

The Portuguese: A Modern History

By Barry Hatton

“Combining history and anecdote, Barry Hatton paints an intimate portrait of a fascinating country and its people.

“Portugal is an established member of the European Union, one of the founders of the euro currency and a founding member of NATO. Yet it is an inconspicuous and largely overlooked country on the continent's south-west rim.

“Barry Hatton shines a light on this enigmatic corner of Europe by blending historical analysis with entertaining personal anecdotes. He describes the idiosyncrasies that make the Portuguese unique and surveys the eventful path that brought them to where they are today.

“In the fifteenth-and sixteenth-century Age of Discovery the Portuguese led Europe out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic and they brought Asia and Europe together. Evidence of their one-time four-continent empire can still be felt, not least in the Portuguese language which is spoken by more than 220 million people from Brazil, across parts of Africa to Asia.

“Analyzing present-day society and culture, The Portuguese also considers the nation's often tumultuous past. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake was one of Europe's greatest natural disasters, strongly influencing continental thought and heralding Portugal's extended decline. The Portuguese also weathered Europe's longest dictatorship under twentieth-century ruler António Salazar. A 1974 military coup, called the Carnation Revolution, placed the Portuguese at the center of Cold War attentions. Portugal's quirky relationship with Spain, and with its oldest ally England, is also scrutinized.

Authentic Portuguese Cooking: More than 185 Classic Mediterranean-style Recipes of the Azores, Madeira, and Continental Portugal

By Ana Patuleia Ortins

An Encyclopedic Collection of Recipes from One of the World's Most Cherished Food Cultures

Ana Patuleia Ortins will help you travel to and experience the unique paradise of Portugal without setting foot on a plane. Portugal is known for its cuisine that while mild in spice, is rich in flavor. As the authority on Portuguese cooking, Ana highlights the fare through an encyclopedic look into her family's cooking and the country's history.

Embrace the flavors of Portugal and learn how to make all parts of a true Portuguese meal, from meats such as Madeiran Wine and Garlic Beef Kabobs, Mushroom-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Pomegranate Sauce and Saint Martin's Grilled Salt Cod with Potatoes, to sides of Sautéed Kale with Pine Nuts and Onions and homemade bread. Ana's step-by-step guides to preparing and cooking present easy-to-follow methods for the most delicious results!

Discover why Portugal should be on every foodie's list of places to visit, even if it's in your own kitchen!

Food of Portugal

By Jean Anderson

An extensive bilingual glossary explains, defines, and describes Portuguese food, wine, cooking, and restaurant terms.
With notes for cooks and travelers on the language of Portuguese wine, food, and dining.
Wine notes have been completely revised and updated.

Color photographs of Portugal by the author.

Madeira: The Mid-Atlantic Wine

By Alexander Liddell

Who does not know the phrase "Have some madeira, m'dear"? Madeira is one of the world's greatest wines, with a fascinating history few others can equal. Capable of evolution over decades and with seemingly indefinite longevity, precious centenarian bottles are sought by wine connoisseurs world wide, but to the ordinary wine lover more commercial wines offer a wide range of delicious and varied drinking. Once dismissed as a cooking wine, discriminating drinkers enjoy it on its own and, increasingly, as an accompaniment to food. Over a million tourists visit this small island every year, and expanding export markets indicate that the recent revival of interest in madeira continues to gain strength.
This book, originally published in 1998, was short-listed for the Andre Simon Award and quickly established itself as a wine classic. Alexander Liddell, recognised as the leading authority on madeira, has known the island and its wine for over forty years, and this completely revised new edition brings matters up to date.

Journey to Portugal: In Pursuit of Portugal's History and Culture

By José Saramago, Nick Caistor (Translator), Amanda Hopkinson (Translator)

When José Saramago decided to write a book about Portugal some twenty years ago, his only desire was that it be unlike all other books on the subject, and in this he certainly has succeeded. Recording the events and observations of a journey across the length and breadth of the country that he loves dearly, this travelogue brings Portugal to life as only a writer of Saramago's brilliance can. Forfeiting sources of information such as tourist guides and road maps, he scours the country with the eyes and ears of an observer fascinated by the ancient myths and history of his people. Whether an inaccessible medieval fortress set on a cliff, a wayside chapel thick with cobwebs, or a grand mansion in the city, the extraordinary places of this land come alive with the kings, warriors, painters, explorers, writers, saints, and sinners who have fed its rich store of myth and history. Always meticulously attentive to those elements of ancient Portugal that persist today, he examines the country in its current period of rapid transition and growth.

The Book of Disquiet

By Fernando Pessoa, Richard Zenith (Translator)

Fernando Pessoa was many writers in one. He attributed his prolific writings to a wide range of alternate selves, each of which had a distinct biography, ideology, and horoscope. When he died in 1935, Pessoa left behind a trunk filled with unfinished and unpublished writings, among which were the remarkable pages that make up his posthumous masterpiece, The Book of Disquiet, an astonishing work that, in George Steiner's words, "gives to Lisbon the haunting spell of Joyce's Dublin or Kafka's Prague." Published for the first time some fifty years after his death, this unique collection of short, aphoristic paragraphs comprises the "autobiography" of Bernardo Soares, one of Pessoa's alternate selves. Part intimate diary, part prose poetry, part descriptive narrative, captivatingly translated by Richard Zenith, The Book of Disquiet is one of the greatest works of the twentieth century.

Lisbon

Ray Milland

Ray Milland and Maureen O’Hara star in this suspenseful yarn about a smuggling ring and a wealthy husband imprisoned behind the Iron Curtain. This atmospheric crime movie was shot on location in Lisbon, providing scenes of the city at mid-century. Filmed in Lisbon.

The Holy Queen

Henrique Campos, Aníbal Contreiras and Rafael Gil

One of many popular 1940s Spanish costume films, this historic drama portrays the life of Isabel of Aragon, the Spanish-born 14th-century queen of Portugal who rectified peace among different parties of the Portuguese court. Originally titled Reina santa.

The Dancer Upstairs

John Malkovich

When a series of attacks against people in politics escalates from remote villages to areas near the capital, Lieutenant Agustin Rejas is assigned to investigate. As a way to relieve the stress of the investigation, Rejas begins to keep company with a dancer and teacher of his teenage daughter’s ballet class. Filmed in multiple locations including Madrid, Spain; Porto, Portugal; and Quito, Ecuador.

Mysteries of Lisbon

Raúl Ruiz

This highly acclaimed movie traces the adventures of a jealous countess, a rich businessman and a young orphaned boy as they travel across Portugal, France and Italy, and to Brazil. Filmed in multiple locations including Lisbon.

Fados

Carlos Saura

The relationship among music, dance and the culture of Portugal is illustrated in this documentary film. Filmed in Lisbon, Portugal.

Night Train to Lisbon

Bille August

After an unexpected meeting with a Portuguese woman, Raimund Gregorius, an aging Swiss professor, discovers a small book in the pocket of a coat left behind by the woman. In the book, Raimund finds a train ticket to Lisbon; on a whim, he quits his job and travels to Lisbon to search for her. Filmed in multiple locations including Lisbon.

The Last Run

Richard Fleischer

George C. Scott and Colleen Dewhurst star in this story of a career criminal wanting to retire in the Portuguese fishing village of Albufeira. Reluctantly, he takes one last job: driving an escaped killer across Spain into France. Filmed in Andalusia.

O Velho do Restelo

Manoel de Oliveira

A different kind of meeting takes place when Don Quixote, Luís de Camões, Camilo Castelo Branco and Teixeira de Pascoaes meet in a modern city to talk about life. Filmed in Porto.