Alhambra - Michael Jacobs

The Alhambra palace complex is imposingly situated above the town of Granada, on the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada, southern Spain. It is the most important surviving medieval Islamic palace in the world. Michael Jacobs takes a fresh look at this magical palace-fortress, built by the Muslim Nasrid rulers and the potent mythology that has grown up around it. The heart of the book is a tour of the palace and the adjoining gardens of the Generalife. The final chapter assesses the literature, art and architecture inspired by this legendary place.

Michael Jacobs is a prolific writer on art history and travel, and a translator of Spanish and Latin American drama. He was born in Italy and took his degree in Art History at the Courtauld Institute, where he received a Ph.D. in 1982 for his researches into 18th-century Italian art. He is currently Senior Honorary Research Fellow in the Hispanics Department of Glasgow University.

Michael Jacobs is perfectly placed to write an informed, approachable book on what one writer has called 'the most perfectly beautiful place in the world'. Add to this the many beautiful photographs of Francisco Fernandez and you have a book that works well as both source book and souvenir.
Sunday Times

The Alhambra's extraordinary appeal is based on an unrivalled combination of architectural brilliance, a seductive setting, and a long and romantic history - all captured gloriously in this book.
Traveller