jjares reviewed on 2/14/2021 + 3292 more book reviews

One thing that became obvious after reading this book is that the Basques are hard to categorize. Their language is linguistically nothing like the surrounding countries or any other known culture. As more research is done with the Basque DNA, I'm sure there will be fascinating things to learn about their ethnic makeup. One thing is assured, the Basques are some of the oldest ethnic groups in the world. Because of their isolation (in the Pyrenees Mountains), their ethnic makeup changed little until more recent times.

The issue of Basque nationalism is certainly a mixed bag. Because the Basques are spread over areas in Spain and France, they have different climates, attitudes, and histories. It almost seems that they have as many differences as likenesses. Charles Rivers shows just how difficult it will be to unite these alike-yet-different groups of Basques.

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