Introduction Summary and Analysis

Iberia is a book about Spain as experienced by the writer James Michener. He recounts all of his memories, from the first time he set foot in the country, experiencing and unraveling Spanish stereotypes, and socially analyzing the way that Spaniards live their daily lives. Most every story that he tells has a purpose, though the meaning in some may seem obscure at first, he always ties everything back to the root of the it all: why Spain is the way it is.

The narrator begins his journey to Spain as a student from Glaskow. During the summer break worked on a fishing boat. The boat set sail to Valencia, Spain to pick up a shipment of oranges. The narrator had never been to Spain before and was really excited because he had only heard wonderful things about the country. After...