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After the Fall: Crisis, Recovery and the Making of a New Spain
Tobias Buck arrived in Madrid in December 2012, in time to celebrate the bleakest Christmas the city had seen in a generation. Capital and country were reeling from a series of economic shocks that had brought Spain to the brink of ruin. The housing boom had dramatically turned to bust, a large chunk of the nation's banking system was in state hands, businesses were closing across the country, debt was spiralling out of control and unemployment levels had reached a record high.
AFTER THE FALL presents a rich and vivid portrait of contemporary Spain at a critical moment in the country's history. The book tells the story of Spain's long boom and sudden bust, the brutal economic crisis that followed, and the political and social aftershocks that reverberate to this day. It explores the origins of the separatist movement in Catalonia, and its bitter clash with the Spanish government that culminated in a failed secession referendum and a divisive declaration of independence. It looks at the legacy of the Civil War and Franco dictatorship, and the continuing struggle over historical memory in Spain today.
Based on five years of reporting and hundreds of interviews, AFTER THE FALL takes the reader from the offices of power in Madrid and Barcelona to the villages of the Basque country, still haunted by the memory of political violence, and to the towns of Andalusia, where an entire generation has seen its economic hopes shattered. It describes how the country has been changed by the experience of migration, and why - after decades at the margins - the far-right eventually made a return to Spanish politics. For all the problems and challenges facing Spain today, we see that amid the ruins of the crisis, the search for a new Spanish model is already underway.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 25, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 5, 2025
Another great book about Spain. A particular focus on the economy but plenty about the culture, conflicts and history up until about 2018/2019. The reasoning behind his affection with Spain is identical to my own
April 13, 2022
Fantastisk indblik i Spaniens politiske klima i det 21. århundrede. Nu kan jeg kloge mig over for min far og bror, når vi skal til Madrid næste måned
October 14, 2019
Tobias Buck was Madrid correspondent for the Financial Times for many years. He's also married to a Spanish journalist, so his love and knowledge of Spanish politics and culture are considerable. This is a very good book for those wanting an up-to-date, informed view of Spain today. My only quibble with it was that I was hoping for a bit more about society; not surprisingly given his background, it is focused primarily on politics and economics. Still, the chapters on Catalonia and the Basque country were good, the Valencia model of massive corruption well explained, and I really liked the chapter on the rise of far-right anti-immigrant party Vox.
He rightly says that contrary to most other European countries, Spaniards have a relatively benign attitude to immigrants and have never blamed them for economic woes -- instead they point the finger at bankers, bureaucrats, and corrupt politicians. In fact, immigrants were more likely to suffer during the crisis than Spaniards. While the health service and education are accessible to everyone, the benefits system is pretty limited. Locals get help from family networks; immigrants by and large don't, but are not ostracised by locals either. "Spain is a social country," he writes. "It is not for people who want to be left alone. [... it] will always offer a respite from the illness that so many in the West have come to fear: loneliness."
He also interestingly says that nationalism is not a thing in Spain, by and large -- people are very attached to their relatively autonomous regions and their specific culture more than to "being Spanish". But that has seemed to visibly change thanks to the Catalan crisis -- witness the Spanish flags you now see flying from balconies all over Andalucia and probably other non-Catalan parts of Spain too. Vox have taken advantage of this to boost their support. Buck doesn't see any quick solution to the Catalan crisis, and nor do I (writing on the day heavy prison sentences are handed down to Catalan leaders).
He rightly says that contrary to most other European countries, Spaniards have a relatively benign attitude to immigrants and have never blamed them for economic woes -- instead they point the finger at bankers, bureaucrats, and corrupt politicians. In fact, immigrants were more likely to suffer during the crisis than Spaniards. While the health service and education are accessible to everyone, the benefits system is pretty limited. Locals get help from family networks; immigrants by and large don't, but are not ostracised by locals either. "Spain is a social country," he writes. "It is not for people who want to be left alone. [... it] will always offer a respite from the illness that so many in the West have come to fear: loneliness."
He also interestingly says that nationalism is not a thing in Spain, by and large -- people are very attached to their relatively autonomous regions and their specific culture more than to "being Spanish". But that has seemed to visibly change thanks to the Catalan crisis -- witness the Spanish flags you now see flying from balconies all over Andalucia and probably other non-Catalan parts of Spain too. Vox have taken advantage of this to boost their support. Buck doesn't see any quick solution to the Catalan crisis, and nor do I (writing on the day heavy prison sentences are handed down to Catalan leaders).
March 23, 2021
Excellent primer for anyone wishing to understand the trajectory of politics and economics in Spain over the last 20 years. Should be recommended reading for anyone set on making Spain their home.
On a more personal note, the author’s affection for the country, the culture and the people reminds me how lucky I am to call Spain my home.
On a more personal note, the author’s affection for the country, the culture and the people reminds me how lucky I am to call Spain my home.
March 21, 2022
Insightful and thought provoking
Fascinating insight into recent events in Spain, easy to read. As a Spanish to English translator the book helped me get up to date with recent events and fill in the gaps in my understanding of this wonderful country.
Fascinating insight into recent events in Spain, easy to read. As a Spanish to English translator the book helped me get up to date with recent events and fill in the gaps in my understanding of this wonderful country.
October 29, 2022
Excellent book on recent economics and politics of Spain. Has given me a context to listen to the news and start to understand it.
July 20, 2023
My Spanish mini-phase continues with this shelf-lurker from 2019.
Comes with lots of good portraits (awful ETA and its legacy, ghastly fascists, plucky Podemos founders, Chinese 'El Chino' entrepreneurs, annoying Catalan separatists...). I'm a complete sucker for any generalisation that tells you how a country sees itself ('When you meet a Galician on the stairs, you'll never know if he's going upstairs or downstairs'...that sort of thing).
I've been so out of touch with what's happened in Spain since the GFC that it's borderline gripping finding out about what became of assorted parties and leaders. And I'd never come across the idea that Spain 'didn't do far right' (now no longer true).
I'm divided on the Catalonia front: my head says that self-determination should be respected (from the Falklands to Ulster to Flanders to Israel), but my heart says, I dunno, that there's something kind of grating about Catalan nationalism - as if the place is especially hard done by and it's not pretty well off. It all feels a bit Brexity to me. It all probably calls for some sort of asymmetric federal answer.
Enjoyable, intimate work - and less dated than I thought it would be.
Comes with lots of good portraits (awful ETA and its legacy, ghastly fascists, plucky Podemos founders, Chinese 'El Chino' entrepreneurs, annoying Catalan separatists...). I'm a complete sucker for any generalisation that tells you how a country sees itself ('When you meet a Galician on the stairs, you'll never know if he's going upstairs or downstairs'...that sort of thing).
I've been so out of touch with what's happened in Spain since the GFC that it's borderline gripping finding out about what became of assorted parties and leaders. And I'd never come across the idea that Spain 'didn't do far right' (now no longer true).
I'm divided on the Catalonia front: my head says that self-determination should be respected (from the Falklands to Ulster to Flanders to Israel), but my heart says, I dunno, that there's something kind of grating about Catalan nationalism - as if the place is especially hard done by and it's not pretty well off. It all feels a bit Brexity to me. It all probably calls for some sort of asymmetric federal answer.
Enjoyable, intimate work - and less dated than I thought it would be.
August 18, 2022
I wanted to learn about the economic aspects of contemporary Spain, so I bought this journalistic book by the Madrid correspondent for The Financial Times. It has pretty much educated me on this subject.
The first couple chapters are heavily steeped in the Catalonian Independence movement, and I feel like I received a full treatment of the subject. After reading those chapters, I realized that the movement is pretty much doomed to fail, and was able to dismiss it. Its popularity has never even topped 50% in any polls, after all. Add to that the fact that independence (read: secession) is against the constitution, as well as the fact that it's far more popular in the countryside than it is in Barcelona, not to mention that other European countries would never recognize Catalonia as an independent country, and you realize that it ain't never gonna happen.
The chapter about Prime Minister Rajoy is an excellent one, with many insights and a deep analysis of his personality that has the whiff of genuineness. The author goes into great detail about this powerful man, an unlikely leader during a major crisis who made a difference, a man who will go down in history as something, we’re not sure what, but not something insignificant, that’s for sure, only someone whom everyone thought would be insignificant.
Other chapters launch into other fascinating aspects of the economy and culture. The financial situation in Valencia is appalling, with government incompetence and corruption. They build multi-billion-dollar stadiums that are used for a few months and then abandoned! Another chapter traces the rapid rise of the new left-of-center party Podemos, which got a bit too much into the weeds for my taste. Another chapter covers the Basque problem, which may not be as up-to-the-minute as Catalonian independence, but is important, nonetheless. Another chapter covers the far right, and to do that, delves a bit into the Franco era. That was quite a chapter, I must say. The author shows some of the lasting effects of Franco's repression, such as the thousands of books that had to be censored in that era, and even after Franco's death, remained censored. It talked about the Franco holocaust, which took 200,000 lives during and after the Spanish Civil War. It also talked about how Spain made a Pact of Forgetting after Franco died, meaning that everyone was expected to forget every evil thing that Franco and his henchmen committed. Spain may be a country of deep family ties and hospitality, and a quaint destination of couples in search of romance, but substantial ugliness lies beneath.
One of the most extraordinary things about this book is its readability. More than other books, reading this book is like skating on ice--smooth and fast. I have looked forward to every foray I make into it, which is unlike another book that's on my list, which is such an academic snooze that I won't wade through it to get to the ideas. It's just a waste of time. But this book is written by a journalist, and a fine journalist, at that. You can tell just by reading one sentence--any sentence.
The first couple chapters are heavily steeped in the Catalonian Independence movement, and I feel like I received a full treatment of the subject. After reading those chapters, I realized that the movement is pretty much doomed to fail, and was able to dismiss it. Its popularity has never even topped 50% in any polls, after all. Add to that the fact that independence (read: secession) is against the constitution, as well as the fact that it's far more popular in the countryside than it is in Barcelona, not to mention that other European countries would never recognize Catalonia as an independent country, and you realize that it ain't never gonna happen.
The chapter about Prime Minister Rajoy is an excellent one, with many insights and a deep analysis of his personality that has the whiff of genuineness. The author goes into great detail about this powerful man, an unlikely leader during a major crisis who made a difference, a man who will go down in history as something, we’re not sure what, but not something insignificant, that’s for sure, only someone whom everyone thought would be insignificant.
Other chapters launch into other fascinating aspects of the economy and culture. The financial situation in Valencia is appalling, with government incompetence and corruption. They build multi-billion-dollar stadiums that are used for a few months and then abandoned! Another chapter traces the rapid rise of the new left-of-center party Podemos, which got a bit too much into the weeds for my taste. Another chapter covers the Basque problem, which may not be as up-to-the-minute as Catalonian independence, but is important, nonetheless. Another chapter covers the far right, and to do that, delves a bit into the Franco era. That was quite a chapter, I must say. The author shows some of the lasting effects of Franco's repression, such as the thousands of books that had to be censored in that era, and even after Franco's death, remained censored. It talked about the Franco holocaust, which took 200,000 lives during and after the Spanish Civil War. It also talked about how Spain made a Pact of Forgetting after Franco died, meaning that everyone was expected to forget every evil thing that Franco and his henchmen committed. Spain may be a country of deep family ties and hospitality, and a quaint destination of couples in search of romance, but substantial ugliness lies beneath.
One of the most extraordinary things about this book is its readability. More than other books, reading this book is like skating on ice--smooth and fast. I have looked forward to every foray I make into it, which is unlike another book that's on my list, which is such an academic snooze that I won't wade through it to get to the ideas. It's just a waste of time. But this book is written by a journalist, and a fine journalist, at that. You can tell just by reading one sentence--any sentence.
February 17, 2022
Very well written account of Spain after the economic crash of 2008. Interesting insight in to the minds of the Spanish of today with chapters on the rise of the right wing Vox party and the other newcomers Podemos and their new political parties.
August 12, 2023
Really coherent and accessible political history of Spain. Made me appreciate the nuances in Spanish politics and the many ways in which it is an 'exception' to the rest of Europe in terms of its far right views.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews