Guernica, by Dave Boling

Hiking in the Basque country is one of the hiking vacations that I want to do, so I was eager to read this book. However, it took me awhile to get into it, but I couldn't put it down when Boling started telling the devastating German bombing of Guernica, the heart of Basque country, on the eve of World War II.

In "Guernica", Boling skillfully weaves the histories of Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the creation of a mural Guernica by Picasso with the lives of fictitious characters from two families, the Ansotegui and the Navarro. He makes learning history less boring, at least for me.