Aldous Huxley once remarked that For every traveller who has any taste of his own, the only useful guidebook will be the one he himself has written. All others are an exasperation - they make him travel long miles to see a mound of rubbish; they go into ecstasies over mere antiquity. While describing the history of Portugal from antiquity to the present, the author - without going into ecstasies - has attempted to bring into perspective those many aspects of Portugal's past most likely to interest the educated visitor. Portugal has been a country in her own right since early in the 12th century. Long referred to as being Britain's oldest ally, but often placed in the shade of Spain, she deserves equal attention. Whether it be her outstanding voyages of discovery, or the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, or her more recent bloodless revolution, Portugal has remained in the limelight of European history. This is a complete and concise history right up to contemporary events.