The White Isle by Stephen Armstrong (Bantam Press UK)
This is a kind of history book. Much of the text interweaves episodes from the distant past – the Cathaginian, Moorish and pirate eras are all comprehensively covered – with the author's experiences and interviews in Ibiza (these include the Manumission team, tourism honcho Jorge Alfonso), mainly in the summer of 2003.
Bantam Press are part of Random House and with a print run of 7000 hardback and 25000 paperback (huge) it's going to get the biggest promotional push and distribution deal any book yet written about Ibiza has ever had. Should literally go all over the world. But will it be any good? I do have to declare a slight interest as the publishers bought some of my photos for the insert, and these are only initial impressions (I have yet to finish the book) but though I've found it enjoyable I do have some concerns.
Firstly the author really has leant very heavily on Paul Richardson's compulsive Not Part of the Package, even interviewing some of the same people like Tony Pike and Sandy Pratt. He also seems to have smashed and grabbed a good chunk of Emily Kauffman's book and column in Ibiza Now, some snippets from Martin Davies' books about the island even a few descriptions lifted from my own guide. Now all writers do this to a degree (I certainly do) but for anyone with an interest in Ibiza it's often all to easy to pinpoint where he's sourced most of his content. Also there are some very slack Castilian/Catalan cock-ups ("San Agnes" and "San Jordi") and a map that puts Privilege on the wrong side of San Raff. Most of these errors could have been easily cleared up by employing a local expert to proof the draft.
Still, on the positive side there are some interesting interviews with a Diario reporter about local politics and the Matutes family, he covers the Castilian/Catalan speaking divide well and he's expansive about the Cathaginians, importance and nature of the salt trade (and tin). I find his writing style and descriptive abilities quite enjoyable, though his coverage of Ibizan nightlife is not convincing…what's banging chillout house? An oxymoron.
Nevertheless, make your own mind up – it's out in June. It is an intelligent, ambitious look at Ibiza that eschews the salacious, and is, as the cover says, more "far more Jade Jagger than Jordan" – just like real Ibiza.
This is a kind of history book. Much of the text interweaves episodes from the distant past – the Cathaginian, Moorish and pirate eras are all comprehensively covered – with the author's experiences and interviews in Ibiza (these include the Manumission team, tourism honcho Jorge Alfonso), mainly in the summer of 2003.
Bantam Press are part of Random House and with a print run of 7000 hardback and 25000 paperback (huge) it's going to get the biggest promotional push and distribution deal any book yet written about Ibiza has ever had. Should literally go all over the world. But will it be any good? I do have to declare a slight interest as the publishers bought some of my photos for the insert, and these are only initial impressions (I have yet to finish the book) but though I've found it enjoyable I do have some concerns.
Firstly the author really has leant very heavily on Paul Richardson's compulsive Not Part of the Package, even interviewing some of the same people like Tony Pike and Sandy Pratt. He also seems to have smashed and grabbed a good chunk of Emily Kauffman's book and column in Ibiza Now, some snippets from Martin Davies' books about the island even a few descriptions lifted from my own guide. Now all writers do this to a degree (I certainly do) but for anyone with an interest in Ibiza it's often all to easy to pinpoint where he's sourced most of his content. Also there are some very slack Castilian/Catalan cock-ups ("San Agnes" and "San Jordi") and a map that puts Privilege on the wrong side of San Raff. Most of these errors could have been easily cleared up by employing a local expert to proof the draft.
Still, on the positive side there are some interesting interviews with a Diario reporter about local politics and the Matutes family, he covers the Castilian/Catalan speaking divide well and he's expansive about the Cathaginians, importance and nature of the salt trade (and tin). I find his writing style and descriptive abilities quite enjoyable, though his coverage of Ibizan nightlife is not convincing…what's banging chillout house? An oxymoron.
Nevertheless, make your own mind up – it's out in June. It is an intelligent, ambitious look at Ibiza that eschews the salacious, and is, as the cover says, more "far more Jade Jagger than Jordan" – just like real Ibiza.
