Julián Casanova Franco 528pp. Crítica. €22.90. Giles Tremlett El Generalísimo Franco: Power, violence and the quest for greatness 528pp. Bloomsbury. £30. Juan Carlos I, with Laurence Debray Reconcilia

The history of Mexico is epic. There are the Maya and the Aztecs; the meeting of two continents, with Moctezuma and Cortés; a cry for independence led by a priest-turned-general; the loss of more than

CARMEN felt that the time had finally come to find out if her dear brother still lived. It had been a long and terrible second half decade in a 10-year war. Mexico had been traumatised, the factions o

ENGINEERING THE END OF MEDIEVAL WARFARE

OLD FUSS & FEATHERS

Samurai rose to be global emblems of honour and courage, but their story doesn’t always match the myths they told about themselves, as a British Museum exhibition shows