Spain

Michael Reid was an editor and writer at The Economist for many years. He was the magazine’s Spain correspondent between 2016 and 2021. He is the author of Brazil: The Troubled Rise of a Global Power and Forgotten Continent. He lives between London and Madrid.

“Reid has a gift for making the abstruse accessible, and he maintains a superb narrative evenhandedness that is invaluable in any account of a society as ideologically riven as Spain’s.”—Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal“Comprehensive and engaging.”—Gideon Rachman, Financial Times“Meticulously researched. . . . Reid’s book is bang up to date.”—Stephen Burgen, Irish Times“[Spain] is tightly and elegantly written, insightful, wide-ranging, and with a deep sense of history.”—William Chislett, Bulletin of Advanced Spanish“The best and most complete book I have read about Spain today and the historical roots of the present.”—Antonio Muñoz Molina, prize-winning novelist“Scrupulous, masterly, gentle and fair. I had thought the task impossible—but at last! A clear, careful unpicking of the knot of Catalan identity and separatism.”—Matthew Parris, author of A Castle in Spain “This is a thoroughly up-to-date, astute account of contemporary Spain. Reid situates the country’s recent political turbulence in its Western European context, yet also concisely explains the history behind it. . . . An engaging read for those new to and already familiar with Spain alike.”—Caroline Gray, author of Territorial Politics and the Party System in Spain“A lucid and engaging account of 21st century Spain enriched, not just by Reid’s sharp-eyed reporting for The Economist, but also by his deep understanding of the country’s past. He is particularly adept at sorting historical fact from separatist myth.”—John Hooper, author of The New Spaniards “Michael Reid offers a comprehensive and witty assessment of contemporary Spain. Balancing his personal experiences with the incisive, analytical reflections of a journalist, Reid has produced a text that is accessible, yet original.”—Ana Palacio, former Foreign Minister of Spain