Italy Books

My introduction to Morton's travel writings was through this book, "A Traveller in Italy"; by now I've read at least a dozen. As in all his many travel books, Morton charmingly mixes a deep appreciation and knowledge of the art, culture and the history of a place with his own keen observations of the contemporary countryside and the people. Morton's stories and observations are as engaging as the landscape and people he writes about. Don't sentences such as "The rain descends with the enthusiasm of someone breaking bad news." make you feel that you are there?

Henry Vollam Morton was born on 26 July 1892 near Manchester. He began his career on the Birmingham Express at 17, and became assistant editor after only two years. A year later he came to London to edit a magazine. After World War I he found his vocation as a descriptive travel writer. His success in reporting the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb led to him being given the chance to write a series of vignettes about London life for the Daily Express. These later appeared in book form in the 1920s [as "The Heart of London" and "The Spell of London"]. He died in South Africa in 1979, aged 86. Many have called him the best travel writer ever, and I concur. Most of his books are titled "In Search of ...", "In the Steps of ..." or "A Stranger in ...", "A Traveller in ..."". But even the armchair traveler doesn't feel a stranger after delving into Morton's charm.

These are NOT guidebooks, with lists of things to cover with only 2 days in Rome, etc.; you will find no information on opening times, entrance fees, etc. But you will find a wealth of information and a sense of "being there". Morton's books are perfect for pre-trip planning and dreaming, to get a sense of the place; perfect for post-trip nostalgia, to relive the sights and sounds and aromas and people; perfect for the armchair traveler, who can't get there but would still like to experience a locale, not just read about it.

His books have recently been reprinted, in handsome paper editions, this one with an introduction by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison [author of "Italian Days"]. I highly recommend "A Traveller in Italy" - actually, I highly recommend any of Morton's books you can get your hands on.

Others to look for, to read, and to love: "A Traveller in Italy"; "A Traveller in Rome"; "A Traveller in Southern Italy"; "In Search of England"; "In Search of Ireland"; "In Search of Scotland"; "In Search of Wales"; "In Search of the Holy Land"; "A Stranger in Spain"; "In the Steps of St. Paul"; "In the Steps of the Master".

The book was just as described and arrived within the time it was expected. It's wonderful to have access to hard-to-find books through Amazon and its reliable sources.

In Italy, I have often cast a pitying eye on the uninspired faces of people in large tour groups. You have, no doubt, seen them yourself, as they mindlessly follow a leader who is holding some ridiculous object aloft on a stick and frequently supplying dubious anecdotal information selected to entertain rather than enlighten. Anyone in such a group with an earnest zeal to know more about the scenic, historical, architectural, and artistic miracle that the world calls Italy would do well to obtain a copy of one of Morton's books on Italy. But bring along a copy of a traditional guide as well, since Morton's books will not direct you to the best hotels, restaurants, and places to shop; rather, they tend to be journals of his travel experiences into which he incorporates his extensive research of the places he visits.

"A Traveller in Italy" is not about ALL of Italy. It covers Lombardy (Milan, the lake district, etc.), Emilia-Romagna (Bologna, Rimini, Ravenna, etc.), Veneto (Venice, Padua, Verona), and Tuscany (requires no introduction). (Morton also wrote "A Traveller in Southern Italy," but, alas, the two books together do not cover the entire country.) "A Traveller in Italy," like "A Traveller in Southern Italy" and "A Traveller in Rome" (but unlike his ethereal and out-of-print "Fountains of Rome") follows Morton's peregrinations and glows with his rich narrative of historical background, personal experiences, and musings. If you are an "off the beaten track" sort, you will particularly enjoy this book, since Morton is at his best when, say, locating the villa of Pliny the Elder, with its peculiar spring, in a remote corner of Lake Como, or discovering that an elixir, the recipe of which dates back to the time of Herodotus, is still being sold in Venice (at least in 1964, when the book was published).

What must be experienced first-hand in this book is that Morton was such an eminently likable fellow. This, along with his lively curiosity, his sense of humor, his well-researched and fascinating historical narratives, and his brilliant command of the English language make the book so highly readable. But there's no need to wait for a trip to northern Italy to read this book - I frequently pull it off the shelf and read it for pure pleasure.

Words fail me, as indeed they do not fail Mr. Morton, in describing the immense beauty of this book. Morton portrays his experiences in Italy in a fashion which evokes the wonder that perhaps is lost in our generation which tends to overlook the beauty he feels viscerally and intellectually as he moves through this most beautiful country. The personal observations are excellent literature in their own right. I especially was awed by his remembrances of Umbria. His deeply felt observations on the life of St. Francis are simly beautiful. Going to Lombardy, his depiction of the fall of Mussolini is extraordinary drama. He never fails to give you his own feelings and emotions on a subject that moves him. In reading this most inspiring work, I am reminded of the adage "...the shudder of awe is man's greatest emotion." Read this book. You will not forget it.

I have read a lot of travel books as Editor-at-Large for Travelers' Tales but this is one of the very best. Morton's grasp of history is nothing short of extraordinary and his powers of description, as a traveler, are almost peerless.

I am thrilled to see that "A Traveller in Rome" is back in print! (I have spent the past decade combing used book stores for books in H.V. Morton's several wonderful series -"A Traveller in...", "In Search of ...", "In the Steps of..." and others - and never pass up an opportunity to buy one when I find it.) Although published in 1957, "A Traveller to Rome" is as fresh as the day it was written (H.V.Morton was at his best when writing about Italy). The book is not a travel guide per se, but rather a sort of memoir of walks all around Rome into which Morton seamlessly weaves charming tales of his own experiences, his personal observations, and fascinating historical background. And what makes it all so delicious is Morton's elegant but unpedantic use of the English language. I have read this book half a dozen times, and it never fails to delight. I wholeheartedly recommend "A Traveller in Rome" to anyone who is going to Rome, who ever went to Rome, who ever may go to Rome, who enjoys daydreaming about Rome, or who simply glories in elegantly-written non-fiction. I look forward to the day when Morton's splendid companion volume about Rome, "The Fountains of Rome," is back in print as well.

There is a small, independent bookshop in New York dedicated to the Art of Travel. It is there that I've spent many happy hours looking through new and used books and maps- some treasures and some highly disposable.

One of the favorite places I've ever visited is Rome, Italy. And this book by H. V. Morton which is shamefully out of print, is positively the finest I've read on this forever changing, "eternal" city.

I'd never heard of Morton, but soon learned that in 1957, when this volume was published, he was "the most widely read living travel author." And now, according to research I've done online, every single one of his books is out of print. And he wrote quite a few: "A Stranger In Spain," "In Search Of London," "In The Steps Of St. Paul," et. al. Morton's method is simple and works perfectly: first a short history of Rome, then a diary-like collection of his thoughts and impressions. There are also several, wonderful photographs including a charming, color one of The Vatican's Swiss Guard---one man "at attention;" the other looking as if he had better things to do. Everything in the book is well-researched and very interestingly written, yet his description of the politics and history of The Vatican is especially fascinating, as is his description of Julius Caesar's final days. But the book is not all history. Not at all. We also read about the author's trip to an open market, Hadrian's Villa, and I particularly liked the passage about Rome in the rain, since when I was there, it rained every single day for twenty days. This is a book of fact that reads like a fine novel.

It is an absolute crime that Morton's books cannot be more easily purchased both for travellers and for people whose hobby is reading about travel. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Spending several months in Rome, living in several different locations to get a feel for the neighborhoods, the very observant Morton sets out his commentary and observations and amazement about a wonderful city over 2,000 years old. He weaves history in with the modern, and for someone who has been to Rome, the observations are spot on, even though they were written in the 1950s (his comment about Roman drivers is still very true today, absolutely on the mark, and poetic in his analysis). I read some of the book while I was in Rome; very much enjoyed reading it after I returned, and reread the parts I had read when there. This would also make a great book for an armchair traveler. This is travel writing at its very best.

I really enjoyed the writing, the storyline and I was particularly impressed with the surprise twist at the end surrounding the death of Dominic's father. I'm not sure I would compare it directly with Indiana Jones ..., but that didn't make it any less entertaining to read. This is an intelligent work of fiction that wouldn't let me go to bed until I finished. A good read.

Kira Ellison takes a vacation looking for the Holy Grail as a diversion. Along the way she meets someone who sparks her imagination that the grail might actually exist, taking Kira to Southern Italy near the ruins of Pompeii. Kira finds herself battling against her attraction to the head of the excavation, working against time and nature to unearth the legendary artifact.

Dominic Fioretti is the dark Italian padrone, a man fighting to uncover the identity of his father's murderer hidden among the group of archeologists working in his excavation. When Kira arrives at the site, Dominic struggles against his emotions, trying to understand the prophecy his father passed on to him about who would uncover the lost grail.

I couldn't put it down and the information packed into this story makes for a very satisfying read.

Author Karla Brandenburg presents a romance novel that strives to expand the genre and offer the reader suspense, mystery, mystic wonder and, of course, true romance. While the book ultimately remains a romance novel, it does sustain suspense and the love interest does not dominate the story.

The narrative follows Kira Ellison in her personal quest for the Holy Grail of Arthurian legend. Her journey begins in America. She decides a summer in Europe would give her some new life experiences to share with her High School students in the fall and at the same time avoid a marriage proposal. Fate leads her to England and then to an archeological site In Italy where Pompeii once thrived. The story blends a mix of interesting characters and subplots hinting at secret lives, lies and motives all focused on finding the Holy Grail: an uncertain love interest in America defined more by comfort than passion, the competing attentions of two Italian brothers and the building sense that she is destined to be the one to find the treasure.
For anyone who enjoys romance novels, this book will not be a disappointment. It is well written and allows the romance to grow as a natural part of the narrative. Much in the same way that Nora Roberts crafts a good story first and allows the love interest to support but not overwhelm the plot, The Treasure Of St. Paul delivers a well told tale that holds suspense until the very end. In the process, we learn a little archeology, develop a feel for contemporary life in Italy, come to understand the history of the Holy Grail and share the joy of a love at last realized.

While Nora Roberts' fans may take exception at the comparison, her reign is not yet threatened. Still, while waiting for the next addition to her treasury of romance novels, readers could find Karla Brandenburg's work worth considering. While this is her first published novel, she presents a very comfortable writing style. Whether as a natural gift or the result of patient review, Ms. Brandenburg has delivered an enjoyable reading experience.

A guest reviewer for the Chicago Daily Herald

I was asked by Ms. Brandenburg to review her book, "The Treasure Of St. Paul." I'm glad she asked. I enjoyed her story that much. The plot was intriguing, the characters fun and lively, and the dialogue moves right along. A very appealing combination. If you enjoyed "The Indiana Jones Saga" then "The Treasure Of St. Paul," is definately the book for you!

John Savoy
Savoy International
Motion Pictures Inc.

Matilda of Canossa was one of medieval Europe's most iconoclastic characters. Her life and events are not widely known in America, but she was as much responsible as anyone for the political environment that engendered the Italian Renaisance. Matilda not only was involved in most of the great conflicts of her day, and was allied with or against men like Pope Gregory VII, Duke Robert of Normandy, and Henry IV of Germany; she also, by reason of these conflicts and alliances, came to influence the institutions these men represented. Certainly unusual for a woman, this was unheard of for a woman without a strong power base, a legitimate inheritance, or even significant military influence.

Michele Spike's treatment of Matilda is scholarly, but not pedantic. An attorney on sabbatical, Ms. Spike brings a quite skillful sense of drama as well as verissimilitude in relating events from the various sources purporting to recount Matilda's struggles, and manages to retain the readers' interest without making amateurish attempts at historical reconstruction. Spike is especially skilled at conveying the events of Matilda's life within the larger tapestry of Northern Italian politics.

I've just finished reading this compelling book about a woman who has shaped history. A history I had known very little about, and now understand what it means to us in today's world. I read the book as though I were reading an adventure story. Matlida's world stayed with me in my daily life as I walk and live in places she has been. I highly reccomend this book

Victorious warrior, careful scholar, profound believer, linguist, devoted lover, ruthless ruler and gentle nurse of battlefield wounded, the Matilda Michele Spike presents to us is a complex person, whose internal contradictions are as it were writ large across the history of Italy. She and her man Hildebrand, the adulteress and the unchaste pope, enforced clerical celibacy. The reforms by a Jew's descendant brought about the persecution of that people. They who so ardently desired to enshrine the power and glory of Rome caused its devastation. Together Gregory VII and the Tuscan countess were a formidable team, yet undone. But in the end, one woman's love triumphed, and the world has never been the same since. No wonder that another, much later pope ordered her body stolen and enshrined in St. Peter's, Rome, in a gorgeous sarcophagus by Bernini surmounted by his vision of Matilda, Athena-like in her power and grace.

The bishops of Rome certainly owe Matilda. It took her very formidable biographer to uncover just how much.

After reading this book, I had to ask myself, 'how is it that a woman who had such an impact on the church and western culture, has been unknown to me for all these years...and I consider myself a fairly bright and knowledgeable person. Where I've been?...Or more, WHERE HAS MATILDA BEEN???

A great read... I'd recommend to anyone (who wants to be "in the know")!

Jim Kauffman

The very idea of compiling an anthology of writings about Tuscany is brilliant. The place, whether you've been there or not, whether you plan to go or not, whether you live there or never leave your armchair set elsewhere, has fired the imagination for centuries. And this for a good reason, though that reason is very difficult to express. Fortunately, a variety of great writers have been moved to put down their experiences, and describe the enchantment of this loveliest of all places. And even more fortunately, Ms. Powers has assembled this fabulous and provocative collection. Beyond the land, the people, the art, the history, the food, the rhythm, there is something more ephemeral that is truly the Tuscan lure. Ms. Powers' wonderfully readable, fantastically varied set of accounts, somehow, like the place, amounts to more than the sum of it's considerable parts. I will read this book again a number of times, whenever the mysterious pull that is Tuscany beckons.

It's all here. Prose, poetry, expository writing, memoirs . . . all about one of the most beautiful regions on the planet. When I closed this book, I felt as if I'd just returned from six weeks in a Tuscan villa. The unforgiving EURO be damned; this is a terrific read.

A variety of book excerpts, poems and essays written by English and American authors about that magical place, Tuscany. They're introduced with little-known details about each author, general biographical data as well as personal reflections on Ms. Powers's own travels to Tuscany. I recommend this book to anyone planning a trip to Tuscany -- even if it's only via armchair.

Just like Ms. Leccese Powers other anthologies, this book is a dream. The best way to immerse yourself in your travels before during and after your trip. If you want to visit Tuscany through the eyes of many different literary luminaries, read this book. Highly recommended. A real gem.

Douglas E. Morris, author of "Italy Guide" and other books about Italy. www.TheItalyGuide.com

I have the mini version of this deck.

I ordered this deck by mistake thinking I was ordering the Universal Waite deck. When I received this deck, I was actually disappointed, but I kept it and it has grown on me. It is now one of my favorite deck to carry/travel with.

The comic-style artwork is very high quality, but the style is something I took some time for me to get used to. I actually don't care for the chiseled superhero look that some of the men have in this deck- but I actually adore the female depictions and find that they more than compensate for the lack of enthusiasm I have for the men.

Lo Scarabeo always produces top-notch decks in terms of print quality and card stock. The cards are a dream to shuffle, easy to spread like soft butter, and the printing is always spectacular. In that regard, this card is a joy to use.

Where this card shines is the usage of color. Reading tarot can be stressful on the eyes with some of the more vivid cards, especially if you do it for hours on end (I often end up reading for an entire night if I go to a party and I have a deck with me). This deck used subtle and muted colors and isn't jarring or garish. Hence, this deck is my preferred deck for doing readings for any extended amount of time.

This is a great beginners' deck and also a great deck for any level that enjoy Rider-Waite type decks. If you like the comic-book style artwork, then you'll really enjoy this one.

If you're not into the comic-book artwork in this deck, try the Universal-Waite or the original Rider-Waite.

I'm a beginner of tarot and I was wondering of which deck to choose before. I prefered to start from the classic deck of Raider Waite for a solid foundation. As many resources and books of tarot are based upon this deck. However, I found that no matter in the design, colours and brushstroke in the Raider or the Universal Waite are not as delicate as the Universal Tarot. Roberto de Angelis made a fantastic rendition in watercolour of the images. He kept most of the original features and essence in the Raider deck. When I look into the images I feel soft and calm. Moreover, the texture and size of this deck are just wonderful that when you play the card, it is so smooth as if you are touching silk. If you want to choose a deck which contains the traditional spirit in a graceful and elegant taste. The Universal Tarot would be a good choice.

Frankly, this is really superior to the standard Rider-Waite in every aspect. The art is good, and symbolism is abundant. Mr. De Angelis faithfully referred to the original instruction from Arthur E. Waite and did a better job than Pamela Coleman Smith. Simply perfect.

This is a good deck in various ways. The artist try to render the classical Raider Waite or Universal Waite in a more soft and delicate version by the wonder application of watercolour. It gives a peaceful and imtimate feeling. Moreover, the size and texture are just fantastic! When you play it you'll find it as smooth as silk! This deck kept most of the original design and features in the Raider Waite deck, if you are planning to learn tarot by the traditional classic system, this would be a very good choice other than the Raider one.

Readers can read and enjoy this beautiful book with confidence that they are hearing from a true source of knowledge. Sheldon Barr is a widely recognized expert in this and several other fields of fine art, and his opinions are sought by the world's great museums. Fortunately for readers, he combines this knowledge with a felicitous pen, so that the beauty of this art can be even better appreciated. This is a bargain.

Venetian Glass: The Magnificent Mosaics 1860-1917

Anyone who is interested in antique Venetian glass needs this book. Sheldon Barr has researched the subject thoroughly and provides information in a concise, direct manner. It has taken years of work to put together this reference book, and it could only be accomplished by someone who truly loves and appreciates the subject matter, and it shows. I look forward to Mr. Barr's next book.

Sheldon Barr is increasingly skilled in both writing and visual presentation in this addition to his impressive shelf of books and articles. He expands from his previous book on Venetian blown glass to the glass mosaic productions emanating from that city. He has told his story in parallel tracks of the technique and artistry of the medium, and the maneuvering and machinations of the people involved. The combination is lively, entertaining, and informative. As a relative newcomer to this field, I now feel significantly better educated for having read this book.

This is a lovely book. The pictures are superb and it covers very clearly the history of glass-making in Venice during the late 19th and early 20th century. Major names and companies (Salviati, Seguso, Barovier, Toso, but not Venini) and the main styles of glass are discussed. A must for anyone wanting to know more about the Italian glass of this period. I would have liked to see in index, though. It has the feel of a much more expensive book.

This is an easy read, and a surprisingly thoughtful, careful, and broadly informative book. It dives deeply into the endless, diverse difficulties of modern life in Venice, but with excellent historical context. Its history of Carnival, and its revival, for example, is the best I've read. It's blemished by two or three uninteresting pages of symbolic/semiotic analysis, but these minor problems are vastly overwhelmed by impressive reporting, review and research on important issues of the day.

A must for the regular visitor of Venice. Davis and Marvin show clearly how the historical center and the outskirts (!) are sacrifized to the needs of mass-tourism. They describe how the the city is transformed sytematically into a historical theme-park in which the remaining locals have only a stage-role. And 'resistance is useless': the inhabitants are able to slow, not to stop the process.
The book predicts an ominous future of this cultural heritage site. Food for thought.

As an inveterate traveler, I usually find that books about places I have visited leave me sorry I read them - travel guides are often so filled with tourist hype or stereotypical portrayals or out-dated analysis. But, this is not a travel guide: it is a thoughful and well-researched critique of Venice as both a tourist city and a (struggling to remain) actual city.

Over the years I have related to Venice in three ways: a member of the day-trip brigade (with two children in tow); a more serious tourist making a five day stay of it; a long-term (six month) resident in one of its working class neighborhoods. From all of those perspectives, this book speaks to my experiences.

But, more than a souvenir of my times there (see the excellent discussion of the role of souvenirs in a tourist city), this work has opened my mind to other ways to see my beloved city. I now see the city and its people with new eyes, for the authors' critical eyes and ideas challenged me to experience Venice once again anew.

If, as I would claim, I love Venezia, then I would also want to engage my heart and soul in the challenge they pose for the future of the city: not the worries about "sinking into the sea" but the worries about becoming "lost in the tourists."

And did you know that tourists have been coming here for over 500 years (yes, fellow Americans, that is before any tourists invaded North America), and that tacky souvenirs have been available for at least 300 years? Lots more to know as well as ponder in this work.

If the City of Venice (Italy) ever decides to build a model of Las Vegas, will the model include a little replica of Las Vegas' Venetian Hotel, itself a model of Venice? It's the kind of question I might address to the authors of Venice: The Tourist Maze, this entertaining and rewarding account of what may be the most touristed city in the history of the planet.

You might suppose there is nothing new in a critique of Venetian tourism. Venice first licensed tour guides in 1219 (and right there is a factoid I did not know until I read this book). Any number of others have left accounts of tourism in Venice, and quite a few have left accounts of accounts.

Davis and Marvin do a creditable job of trying not to replow old ground. There's almost no mention of Mary McCarthy, Jan Morris, Viscount Norwich, and other visitors who have done so much to inform and entertain. There's only a bit of Henry James; almost none of Proust and only a glancing reference to that most famous of all sex tourists, Thomas Mann's Gustav von Aschenbach. Instead, they give their primary attention to tourism as an activity, from the standpoint alike of the provider and the consumer. You might almost call it an account of "the enterprise of tourism," except this makes it sound, misleadingly, like yet one more business book.

There is a whiff of the lamp about the presentation, although it never gets overpowering: the chapter on the gondola is called "the floating signifier," which is, I guess, the kind of joke you are bound to get when academics try to have fun. They say they "take advantage" of a notion of one "Appadurai" (who?), although he never makes it to the bibliography. A more obvious progenitor is Dean MacCannell, whose "The Tourist" is one of those rare books to make fancy theory both interesting and plausible. A still better source, though surely unintended, would be the trdition o;f the mystery novel, where the hard-boiled detective sees the great city from the underside (indeed I am a little surprised that they don't say a word about Donna Leon, the Arthur Conan Doyle of the Venetian murder mystery).

But forget about the theory: some of their best stuff is the nuts-and-boats practical. There is an admirable sketch-history of the gondola and its monster offspring, the vaporetto. And I particularly liked their discussion of the economics of the "artisan." They explain that Murano glass "works" because the craft is showy and dramatic, but that Burano lace-making does not "work," because the craft is not showy, and because real Burano lace is prohibitively expensive. Papier-mache masks work especially well, because the price is right, and the technology is accessible to any schoolchild. By the way it appears that those fancy designer masks (confession: I have one on the living room wall) are no part of the tradition of Venice: masks at the /carnevale/ were for the most part mass-produced.

The climax comes, inevitably in a discussion of the other Venice, the Venetian Hotel at Las Vegas (but why can't I find it in the index?). They provide an entertaining account, appropriately fascinated and appalled, of the Venetian as the private obsession of Steve Adleson who has lavished on it (so they say) the sum of $1.5 billion. They seem not to have noticed that from a business standpoint, the Venetian seems to have been a rousing success. If tourists still flock to the real Venice, they seem to descend at a comparable rate on our little Venice in the desert.

Today the city of Venice is associated with love, song, harmless frivolity and the Italian joy of life. Such things are not to be scorned within their proper place-this world's life is not so rich in joy that we can afford to scorn such things. But that Venice is a glimpse of what it was-a fairy princess retaining her beauty but shorn of her power, majesty and menace. There was once another Venice. A city where merchants were kings(as some Victorian poet puts it). A city of furious energy. A city of Empire-builders, Adventurers, mighty in war and magnificient in peace. A city of every virtue except humility and every vice except sloth.
Alvise Zorzi gives a splendid portrait of that city. He writes in an engaging manner expressing a gentle but unashamed local patriotism toward his beloved city. He tells anecdotes of various kinds, and describes various aspects of the life of Venice. Combined with the beautiful photos and paintings, which are given, this book is a marvelous thing.

This book is a wondrous thing. It is a coffee table volume in which the author expresses his immense love of his native city. An earlier review called it "unobjective". Quite true. I would regard someone who was not biased toward his homeland at about the same level as someone who is not biased toward his wife.
The author makes no attempt to be objective. On the contrary it is a refreshingly unabashed display of regional patriotism. But it is more. The author writes in a pleasant and amiable manner, and has a great amount of both knowledge and taste. Combined with beautiful photographs and pictures, the writer gives a worthy attempt to describe Venice in all it's splendour.
This is not primarily a book about the new Venice of lovers and tourists. It is about the old Venice, of beautiful women and brave men. Of Traders, Warriors, Statesmen, Adventurers, and Empire-builders. The city of enterprise and initiative. The city of every vice except sloth and every virtue except humility. This is the city from which Marco Polo ventured on his quest to Fair Cathay, and from which the galleys rode forth under the banner of St Mark, to fight for Christiandom and revenge against the Ottoman armada in the bloodstained Gulf of Lepanto. While in many places merchants were sneered at by aristocrats, these same men cringed in terror at the banner of St Mark, a place where merchants were princes. It was cities like this that kept the flame of liberty smouldering through the Middle Ages and if their claims in this matter were often shadowed by injustice, of whom can this not be said?
Zorzi, a descendant of a Venetian Noble family, gives a splendid overview of Venice. He shows it's governmental forms, and it's policies in war and peace. He also shows it's trade by land and by sea. There are also descriptions of such subjects as Venetian cooking and architecture and interesting personalities.
This work is a work of love and communicates the author's love to the reader. It is an old friend of mine, and it can be so for you too.

Jason Taylor(son of John Taylor)

There are many books available on the history of Venice, but there is probably no book as beautifully illustrated as this one. It contains many beautiful prints of paintings, sculptures, etc. as well as excellent photographs of the city. The book also provides a very good general overview of the history of Venice. The author is somewhat biased, by his own admission, about the "glory" of Venice and its history, and, thus, some degree of objectivity may have been lost in the telling of the history. Nevertheless, for anyone who is interested in Venice and its history, this book will provide many rewards.

VENICE 697 - 1797: A City, A Republic, An Empire is as satisfying an overview of the supreme city of Venice, Italy as is available. Other books may be more academically researched, written and presented and other books on the various aspects of this ageless city - its art, architecture, Carnivale expositions, idiosyncratic glass, music - are definitely more complete. But the primary reason for the success of this book is in the writing by Alvise Zorzi, a resident of Venice who treats us to a personal tour of what makes Venice so magical. Richly illustrated, wisely paced with interesting sidebars during the history portions, Zorzi relates the treasures of Venice with an endearing love that makes both known and new facts a joy to visit. At the end of this book he has created glossaries of terms, of the lineage of Doges, a fine chronology, and (with a tender bit of pride) a list of the Venetian Patriciate that of course lists existing families of noble birth as of 1999! Quite frankly Zorzi has the gift to crystallize the stages in Venice's development as a capital of Europe more meaningfully than other writers' compendia. We can only hope that he elects to present us with "Venice 1797 to 2004" and help us understand this enigmatic, slowly sinking jewel that has attracted lovers, poets, painters, musicians and writers for centuries from his present day stance. A beautiful book for any collection!

With the death of Nabb, her great Marshall is going to be missed. Florence has never been done so well. You could see the streets and hear the echoes of day to day life.
This is a series to be read and reread.

A studious single mother is well on the way to setting her life straight when the unspeakable occurs. "Vita Nuova: A Marshal Guarnaccia" follows the Marshal as she tries to solve a baffling crime where no one has a clear motive, though there has been plenty of opportunity; the only thing that sticks out is the strange behavior of prosecutor. An exciting story for mystery readers to sink their teeth into, "Vita Nuova: A Marshal Guarnaccia Investigation" is a top pick for community library collections.

I confess, I have not read this one yet, but will as soon as the paperback comes out. Nabb's Marshall Guarnaccia is the most underrated series I know of. The 'hero' is convinced he is not particularly good at his job, he walks and thinks slowly and he absorbs the huge atmosphere that Nabb infuses into her stories. The Marshall is completely Italian but completely understated. He has sympathy without bathos and a feel for people that he fails to articulate. He remembers everything. He is kind but not kindly. The bright sun makes the Marshall's eyes water, so he wear heavy sunglasses. He is completely comfortable in the dark and confused places of the heart and soul. Nabb writes by indirection. Nabb's Italy is not the one tourists see, but the Florentine offices of the police, the small and not always charming villages and the slightly seedy aged villas, steep low hills and poor roads. Her writing is lovely, controlled and understated. Her details stay with you, evoking both a mental image and a understanding of the scene. The dust of the Marshall's path sticks to your shoes. She manages to convey more in easy sentences than many writers do in chapters. Do not miss this woman and her Marshall. This is an amazing, deserving series.

Just above Florence in her bedroom someone shoots and kills twenty-five years Daniela Paoletti. The victim is connected as the oldest daughter of an affluent Florentine nightclub owner. Marshal Guarnaccia puts aside his personal concern of life after the military to investigate the shooting homicide of the single mom PH.D candidate.

Guarnaccia quickly realizes there is no apparent motive for someone to shoot the woman six times in her tower bedroom and not target anyone else, but also concludes that Daniela's family has issues. Her father remains in the hospital recovering from a stroke and his wife appears in a state of perpetual intoxication. However, most unsettling to Marshal is talk of female trafficking from Eastern Europe into Italy.

This is a strong Italian police procedural that plays out on two levels. First there is the homicide investigation that leads the hero to an even bigger case haunting the world; the abduction and sale of females into sexual slavery. Additionally a second subplot has Guarnaccia concerned with personal difficult decisions as he ponders if life is passing him by starting with his deep thinking about early retirement. The late Magdalen Nabb affirms why she has been consistently one of the best mystery writers of the past decade.

Harriet Klausner