While Spain is now a well-established democracy closely integrated into the European Union, it has suffered from a number of severe internal problems such as corruption, discord between state and regional nationalism, and separatist terrorism. The Politics of Contemporary Spain charts the trajectory of Spanish politics from the transition to democracy through to the present day, including the aftermath of the Madrid bombings of March 2004 and the elections that followed three days later. It offers new insights on the main political parties and the political system, on the monarchy, corruption, terrorism, regional and conservative nationalism, and on Spain's policies in the Mediterranean and the EU. It challenges many existing assumptions about politics in Spain, reaching beyond systems and practices to look at identities, political cultures and mentalities. It brings to bear on the analysis the latest empirical data and theoretical perspectives.

A former university professor delves into the mind and psyche of Fidel Castroand the forces that have kept him in power in Cuba.

Travel writer Dayna Benning tours Europe to write a feature story for a travel magazine. Along the way, she helps her bestie scatter her husband’s ashes. When Dayna accidentally sprinkles Alex Mendes with dried rose petals intended for the deceased, she senses a chemistry with the silver fox airline pilot. Just one catch—he wears a wedding band. Embittered by her divorce, Dayna refuses to be a homewrecker, like the woman who ruined her marriage. Alex and Dayna go their separate ways, but she’s mystified when serendipitous signs point her toward him at every turn. Determined to find out why, she learns Alex is a widower. Dayna hopes for a second chance at love…but her resentful heart stops her. Can she forgive those that broke her heart the first time? And for that matter, can she forgive herself for her failed marriage? Unless she finds a way to piece together her fragmented heart, Alex will forever remain a fantasy.

The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) pitted conservative forces including the army, the Church, the Falange (fascist party), landowners, and industrial capitalists against the Republic, installed in 1931 and supported by intellectuals, the petite bourgeoisie, many campesinos (farm laborers), and the urban proletariat. Provoking heated passions on both sides, the Civil War soon became an international phenomenon that inspired a number of literary works reflecting the impact of the war on foreign and national writers. While the literature of the period has been the subject of scholarship, women's literary production has not been studied as a body of work in the same way that literature by men has been, and its unique features have not been examined. Addressing this lacuna in literary studies, this volume provides fresh perspectives on well-known women writers, as well as less studied ones, whose works take the Spanish Civil War as a theme. The authors represented in this collection reflect a wide range of political positions. Writers such as Maria Zambrano, Mercè Rodoreda, and Josefina Aldecoa were clearly aligned with the Republic, whereas others, including Mercedes Salisachs and Liberata Masoliver, sympathized with the Nationalists. Most, however, are situated in a more ambiguous political space, although the ethics and character portraits that emerge in their works might suggest Republican sympathies. Taken together, the essays are an important contribution to scholarship on literature inspired by this pivotal point in Spanish history.