A yank in Franco Madrid (1959-1975)

Besas, Peter

It was a time when the ubiquitous Seat 600 cars and streetcars still plied the streets of Madrid, when Franco’s rule had notably softened and the first hordes of tourists started swarming into Spain.
For some expatriates the country proved to be a land of opportunity, where struggling talents could blossom forth and those Anglos with literary and journalistic ambitions achieve success.
Here is the story of one young Yank whose initial repugnance to life in a dictatorship gradually mellowed into one of appreciation of the country’s cultural offerings and lifestyle. Through interviews with other Anglo expats, friends, journalists, photographers, publishers and witnesses of that era and by dipping generously into his own experiences and reminiscences, the author resuscitates life in that Madrid of long ago.