O'Callaghan's A History of Medieval Spain is indispensable to the medievalist and to the Latin-Americanist alike. It is encyclopedic in nature, making it a valuable reference tool. . . . On the whole, it represents considerable familiarity with the sources of information and learned condensation of that material. The chapters on society, economy, and culture give the reader a wider ... Read moreview than a skeletal political history of medieval Spain. - Southeastern Latin Americanist There is no existing substitute for this volume in English for the undergraduate or graduate student seeking a reliable orientation to medieval peninsular history. -Choice This book is a comprehensive narrative history based on an impressively wide reading in the sources and secondary literature. It should prove useful to teachers, students, and general readers in European history. . . . Soundly traditional in its organization, it gives primacy to political events without neglecting institutional, social, and cultural matters. -American Historical Review Joseph O'Callaghan has now given us, for the first time, a solid and in-depth survey in English on the peninsular kingdoms, drawing together the myriad recent contributions, with the expertise of a recognized scholar in the field and the practicality of a long-time teacher of the topic. . . . Competence, thorough inclusiveness, clear organization, and solidity are the qualifiers which best sum O'Callaghan's accomplishment. -The History Teacher Joseph F. O'Callaghan has met a major, long-felt need with a clearly written, balanced, thorough survey that belongs in every history collection. His Spain is the entire peninsula-Islamic, Jewish, Christian, Portuguese, and Catalonian as well as Castilian. A substantial political narrative is followed by chapters on government, social and economic developments, and religion and culture. The author even-handedly represents the major sides in disputed issues, for his aim is to present the current state of scholarship in a simple narrative form. He has succeeded admirably. -Library Journal Show Less