When Beckham went to Spain should be required reading not just for Beckham obsessives, and football fans generally, but also a broader readership of those who are interested in Spain and its people. There is a lot in there, which I've written from personal experience, about Spanish culture and what makes it distinctive, about change in Spain during dramatic points in history-from the Spanish Civil War to the bombings in Madrid by Islamic terrorists. These themes run through the book sometimes in parallel, sometimes meeting and crossing paths, before drawing together in a chronicle of a year of hope, passion, and tragedy.