Flamenco!

Nice intro to flamenco with a few interesting photos.

This coffee-table sized, lavishly illustrated book presents a gorgeous panorama of flamenco in Spain, from its origins with the Gypsies of Andalucia to the modern Nuevo Flamenco movement. The text is thorough, comprehensive, and supremely interesting. Edwards' style flows nicely among the many photographs, never failing to follow this engaging detail or that, and always presenting the art of Flamenco in its truest light: from artists to its impact upon Spanish culture. Words cannot adequately express the beauty of Haas's photographs; the man deserves at least an extra hundred pages. Dancers whirl in blurs of light and fabric; ancient cantadores sing with all the passion of their soul; a pair of Gypsies laugh and play guitar in the light of a barrel-fire. Haas effectively - and gorgeously - captures the very heart of Flamenco in his photos. The book is further enhanced by a number of smaller, black-and-white, historic photos and illustrations, bringing the masters of the past to life. Enough good things cannot be said about this book - order a copy today!

I am new to flamenco. I have read Emma Martinez's book "Flamenco" which flooded me with information! Great book! This book is a good source too and gave me some information that Martinez's lack. One example, that Hindu dancers where entertaining in Spanish courts around 500 B.C.! The author highlights the similarities of flamenco, bullfighting, and the Mass as the "Holy Trinity" of Spanish culture with good points. And another parallel with Greek tragedyl. The reading is interesting and the photographs are great! One Amazon critic is disappointed that Juan Serrano is not mentioned but the book is not solely based on flamenco guitar and hence many great players are not mentioned. But it does cover a lot of ground regarding flamenco dance, song, guitar, history and tradition. I would recommend it. The only reason why I don't give it a 5 star rating is because I am biased and wanted to know a lot more about the guitar players too! But there are plenty of other sources for that.

I am both a flamenco dancer and photographer. I am luke warm about this book. The layout was poor--the text was too wordy and the pictures seemed more like calendar art than fine art photographs. I owned this book for a month before selling it to a local book store. My advice is keep searching there must be better books out there.

I just cannot believe that the Maestro Juan Serrano from Spain hailed as "The King of Flamenco Guitar" was nowhere to be found in this book. Whoever did the research really missed out. I have had the pleasure of seeing Juan Serrano perform on two continents. He is a master who has played Carnegie Hall, Washington, D.C. and received numerous accolades from many countries, including Spain. Maestro Serrano has even brought Flamenco guitar and teaching to the university level in the U.S.A. and writes teaching books through MelBay, Inc. About the best I can say about this book is that they had a good idea with some nice photos, but did an incomplete job. I am a true fan of many guitarists including Paco de Lucia and Paco Pena, but this omission is almost unbelievable.

The Haas/Edwards Flamenco is worth more than its price for the photographs alone. They are lush, seductive, and captivating, even if one has no particular interest in flamenco as an art. Miraculously, the prose comes very close to living up to the photographs it accompanies. It's a careful, accurate account of the development of flamenco. If your flamenco shelf has room for only two books, they should be Donn Pohren's Art of Flamenco, for the encyclopedia and the "insider's" view, and this one for the overall story and the pictures that capture the art so well.

I'm thrilled to find a book published so recently (2000) that does such a tremendous job of covering the topic both factually and aesthetically. Reviewer Jennifer Guerra has said it all, so I'll not repeat. For you art lovers, just take a look at the first few photographs. The rest do not disappoint. For you who want to learn more about flamenco, start at the beginning with the most comprehensive discussion of the origin of the word "flamenco" that I've ever seen. The rest is as satisfying. All that's missing is the guitar in your own hands, the song in your own throat, the dance shoes on your own feet. Not ready to do that? Enjoy this book instead!

If you like latin dance and Spanish culture, you will adore Flamenco! The photos and text blend together to provide a sensitive and in-depth look at this centuries-old art form. A marvelous book on the topic, professionally done in every way. I am delighted with it.

Very good overview of the history and art of flamenco. Excellent pictures too. It was what I expected to be.