Michael Jacobs (art and travel writer)
Michael Jacobs (15 October 1952 – 11 January 2014) was a writer of Irish/Italian ancestry, born in Genoa, with particular interest in travel, the history of art, Spain, Latin America and gastronomy. His most successful popular work in both English and Spanish has been "The Factory of Light: Tales from my Andalucian Village" (2004), a true story but with a flavour of the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez. Writing. Jacobs' writing initially specialised in introducing Fine Art to the general reader. He continued with these works but latterly produced books which capture the  day-to-day life especially of Latin countries and relate that to an historical and political context. He wrote "The Factory of Light" which is close to the popular current genre of the English emigre setting up home in Southern Europe. His other books such as "Between Hopes and Memories" provide a snapshot of Spain in the post-transition economic boom of the 1990s. His classic travel writing include the semi-autobiographical "Ghost Train Through the Andes" and "The Andes".