Review A delectable portrait of an uncanny, indomitable nation. --NewsdayA lively, anecdotal, all-encompassing history of Basque ingenuity and achievement. --Atlantic MonthlyEntertaining and instructive, [Kurlansky's] approach is unorthodox, mixing history with anecdotes, poems with recipes. --The New York Times Book Review --Reviews Product Description They are a mythical people, almost an imagined people, writes Kurlansky. Signs of their civilization exist well before the arrival of the Romans in 218 BC. Their forbidden tongue is equally mysterious, as it is related to no other, but today the Basques are enjoying what may be the most important cultural renaissance in their long existence. About the Author Mark Kurlansky is the author of "The Basque History of the World;" the "New York Times" bestseller "Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World; A Chosen Few: The Resurrection of European Jewry;" and "A Continent of Islands: Searching for the Caribbean Destiny." During the past twenty years he has spent a great deal of time in the Caribbean, including seven years as the "Chicago Tribune's" Caribbean correspondent, and has written numerous works of short fiction and journalism about the region. He lives in New York City.George Guidall has recorded over 800 unabridged novels and is the recipient of two Audie Awards for excellence in audiobook narration. His 40 year acting career includes starring roles on Broadway, an Obie award for best performance Off-Broadway, and frequent television appearances. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The BasqueHistory of the WorldBy Mark KurlanskyPhoenix BooksCopyright © 2006 Mark KurlanskyAll right reserved.ISBN: 9781597771269Chapter OneThe Basque Myth The Basques share with the Celts the privilege of indulging in unrivaled extravagance on the subject of themselves. —Miguel de Unamuno quoting Ampère, HISTORY OF FRENCH LITERATURE BEFORE THE TWELFTH CENTURY, 1884The Basques seem to be a mythical people, almost an imagined people. Theirancient culture is filled with undated legends and customs. Their land itself, aworld of red-roofed, whitewashed towns, tough green mountains, rocky crests, acobalt sea that turns charcoal in stormy weather, a strange language, and bigberets, exists on no maps except their own.Basqueland begins at the Adour River with its mouth at Bayonne?the river thatseparates the Basques from the French pine forest swampland of Landes?and endsat the Ebro River, whose rich valley separates the dry red Spanish earth ofRioja from Basqueland. Basqueland looks too green to be Spain and too rugged tobe France. The entire area is only 8,218 square miles, which is slightly smallerthan New Hampshire.Within this small space are seven Basque provinces. Four provinces are in Spainand have Basque and Spanish names: Nafaroa or Navarra, Gipuzkoa orGuipúzcoa, Bizkaia or Vizcaya, and Araba or Alava. Three are in France andhave Basque and French names: Lapurdi or Labourd, Benafaroa or Basse Navarre,and Zuberoa or Soule. An old form of Basque nationalist graffiti is "4 + 3= 1."As with most everything pertaining to Basques, the provinces are defined bylanguage. There are seven dialects of the Basque language, though there aresub-dialects within some of the provinces.In the Basque language, which is called Euskera, there is no word for Basque.The only word to identify a member of their group is Eushaldun?Euskera speaker.Their land is called Euskal Herria?the land of Euskera speakers. It is languagethat defines a Basque.The Central Mystery Is: Who are the Basques? The early Basques left no writtenrecords, and the first accounts of them, two centuries after the Romans arrivedin 218 B.C., give the impression that they were already an ancient?or at leastnot a new?people. Artifacts predating this time that have been found in thearea?a few tools, drawings in caves, and the rudiments of ruins?cannot be provedto have been made by Basques, th