Italy Books

Everything I eat comes almost exclusively from this book. Downie does an excellent job in presenting an unbiased, uncompromising view.

I would be very pleased to read a book on the raising, selection, and slaughtering of swine detailing the curing processes used in rural America for Italian-style deli meats.

I think David Downie is just the man for this task.

Many excellent recipes with a bit of history thrown in. The Tiramisu recipe is worth the cost of the book.

I bought this book before a planned trip to Rome for the stories of restaurants and food stalls and eating in Rome. Then I realized how wonderful the recipes are. This book was an indispensable addition for our trip to Rome - I took along a list of restaurants and dishes to try, which I would never have known about without this book. And one of my best purchases in Rome was an abundance of dried spices from the Campo de Fiori spice man, one of many colorful locals featured in "Cooking the Roman Way"! Back at home, it is a favorite choice for finding great recipes and I have given several copies as gifts to serious cooks and Italophiles alike.

Two books on Roman cooking have appeared within the last eighteen (18) months, which gives us a golden opportunity to proof one against the other to find the better book. The first published last year, the current subject, is `Cooking the Roman Way' by David Downie. The second is the more recently published book `In a Roman Kitchen: Timeless Recipes from the Eternal City' by Jo Bettoja.

In general, Downie's book appears to be based more on restaurante, trattoria, and osteria recipes while Bettoja seems to rely more on home cooking recipes. Still, there is a significant overlap of recipe names. I had no trouble at all finding five recipes with the same traditional Italian name, although the English translation of the name may have been a little different. I give high marks to both authors for giving the Italian names of all dishes in both the text and the index.

I compared the recipes for five dishes:

Gnocchi di Semolino alla Romana
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
Cipolline in Agrodolce alla Romana
Carciofi alla Giudia
Frittata con Zucchini

Although no pair of recipes was the same, I can find virtually nothing in these five recipes which would suggest that one author was presenting consistently superior recipes. I was slightly annoyed with Downie for specifying white coctail onions in the Cipolline recipe, especially since I have no trouble finding cipolline in my local Pennsylvania megamart. My conclusion that Downie relies on the Trattoria and Bettoja relies on the home is in the sources they cite for their recipes. Both appear to give equal time to the influence of the Jewish quarter on Roman cooking.

In Bettoja's case, the focus seems to be on a large number of recipes for each major type of Roman dish. She has, for example, more pasta, artichoke, and fava bean recipes than Downie, and also more dessert recipes. This is ironic since Downie controverts one of my hero Mario Batali's claims that Italians do not go in for sweets.

In contrast, Downie includes many seminally Roman recipes which Bettoja simply ignores. He has excellent recipes for making both Pizza Bianco, a certifiable Roman speciality, and fresh fettucini, including sound recommendations on making the fettucini completely by hand and with the assistance of power mixers and power pasta rolling machines. Most surprising of all is that Downie includes the recipe for Gnocchi di Patate while Bettoja does not. My understanding from Mario is that this is a Roman speciality and every trattoria in Rome serves it on Thursday. Alternately, Claudia Roden identifies it as a northern (Friuli) Italian speciality. Since Downie specifically cites potato gnocchi as the Roman canonical dish for Thursday and thereby agrees with Mario, I have to assume that while the dish may be promenant outside Rome, it is certainly a distinctively Roman dish as well.

Bettoja is a teacher who runs her own culinary school in Rome while Downie is a culinary journalist, so it surprises me that it is Downie who has the superior sidebars on some basic techniques such as how to clean an artichoke (sidebars with step by step photographs) and how to roast and skin sweet peppers.

Even though Bettoja's book is later and even though the books have identical list prices and almost identical page counts, Downie's book is much richer in the quality and quantity of it's photographs, almost all with useful captions. I generally do not count good photography to a cookbook's credit, but in the case of a book dedicated to so photogenic a location as Rome, I must make an exception here. For the identical price, Downie and his photographer and editors have simply done a much better job. Downie's book is also richer in sidebars on general Roman and Italian culinary matters. The sidebar on the sources of Pecorino Romano, which is made in greater quanities in Sardinia than it is in Lazio, was a great surprise. His headnotes for individual dishes are also richer in explaining the history of many dishes such as Fettucini Alfredo and Fettucini alla Papalina.

In the battle of the blurbs, Downie has Mario and Carol Field while Bettoja has Lidia Bastianich and Frances Mayes on her back cover. I think that's a tie.

I would buy both of these books, even with the rather substantial overlap in named dishes. The overlap is actually a plus for amateur foodie scholars, as it gives one the sense of exactly how different two sources can be with exactly the same dish. Bettoja is a great source for pasta recipes and Roman desserts, while Downie has much greater success at evoking the Roman ambiance and in covering deeper techniques. Downie also wins the points on domestic sources for flour and other Italian specialities. Bettoja rather quixotically gives us the telephone numbers of companies in Rome. Not very useful unless you plan to visit Rome in the near future.

Both books are recommended. If you need to choose one, I would pick Downie's book.

well, what can I say: having lived in Rome many many years, the title caught my attention. Yes, it is all true, those stories, those foods, those open-air markets, those wild greens sold as "misticanza". I am particularly grateful for the names of the individuals portrayed in the pictures. And something that other cookbooks don't mention, but this does, is the difference between american Globe artichokes and the Romanesco artichoke. My only regret, and unavoidable in my opinion, is that as italian society is evolving, those people portrayed in the book in bringing us the sources of these unique foods, as the old babuska-like produce market ladies that roamed the Appian way and Valley of the Caffarella for those wild greens to sell it like a sort of "spring-mix", are a species destined to extinction. The market Campo de Fiori is not anymore a market for the masses, but a market for the very wealthy, where peaches shipped in winter from Argentina are sold for two Euros each. In a way, the title given to this review reflects the fact that this book is really describing this almost extinct world. How the masses, now living in the suburbs and away from open markets of downtown rome, cope in continuing the culinary traditions of their parents and grandparents in a society that limits the traditional role of the home-maker that has plenty of free time to shop in morning-only markets, is the real question for the future. I say to the authors, see what the supermarkets in the suburbs are packing and selling in the produce section, and you'll see what nostalgic cookbooks will be written 30-40 years from now.

I collect cookbooks. I like this book because the recipes are original and the ingredients aren't too esoteric. I don't like the coffee table size, it's too hard to browse through. I recommend if you are an experienced cook and always searching for new, interesting recipes.

As an individual who is dedicated to eating local, healthy, and tasty food, Michael Chiarello once again creates supreme recipes with delicious flavor and divides the cookbook by season. Each of the recipes has a bit of flare and contain simple and fresh ingredients that should be easily found in any local grocery store, farmers market, or organic store such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, or Fresh Market. My cooking style is still developing, but all of these recipes are always winners even for the novice cook. The recipes are easy to make and always satisfy. This is a definite recommend for anyone looking for tasty, seasonal cooking.

I have had this book for over a year and have tried several of his recipes which all comes out great. It is one of the few cookboos that I have which I use often. The recipes are easy to follow, simple, and most important of all, delicious. I espcially like the stuffed pepper recipe. It is also a book one can sit down to read for leisure. Plus there are lots of tips, not just recipes.

I've had the Tra Vigne Cookbook for a few years now, and I use it regularly. It's an attractive book, with beautiful photos and intriguing introductions to the recipes. It's hard to stop browsing once you open the book, and an inspiration to actually do some cooking. The dishes are great. The Chicken with Roasted Lemon and Rosemary Sauce is a favorite, as is the Fusilli Michelangelo. My niece from Thailand, for whom I made this dish several years ago, still remembers and asks for it. (Read the intro to either of these dishes and you're likely to cook them.)

The book is arranged seasonally, with chapters on essential ingredients for each season. Spring ingredients include asparagus, garlic, peas, and potatoes. Summer ingredients include corn, tomatoes, and bell peppers. And so on. I shop at a grocery store, not a farmers market, and I've had a less-than-happy relationship with vegetables since infancy, so I was skeptical of the whole seasonal-cooking thing at first. But I enjoy browsing through the new season's recipes as the year changes, and I've tried dishes and ingredients that are not usually a part of my diet. It's hard to object to broccoli when it's served in a creamy Very Green Soup sprinkled with crunchy gremolata.

It would have been nice in book a subtitled "Seasons in the California Wine Country" to have more information about wine. Few recipes actually use wine and there is no advice on what wines to pair with the food.

Despite the elegant presentations shown in the photos, none of the recipes are too difficult to try. They're just challenging enough for the amateur cook who likes to do a little more than the usual home cooking. The Tra Vigne Cookbook is a lot of fun, and the food is delicious.

This is a wonderful culinary book. It's more than a cookbook, as it focuses on various vegetables, etc. of the season, then uses those featured ingredients in several great recipes. If you've ever eaten at Tra Vigne in the Napa Valley town of St. Helena, you can even picture in your mind Michael in the kitchen, and almost taste the restaurant's just-pressed olive oil. If you know anyone who likes to read culinary books (like my mom, who literally reads cookbooks cover to cover, then goes back to earmark certain recipes), you should give them this book for the holidays. It is a beautiful, coffee table-quality, glossy work.

Always celebrated for its beautiful evocative setting in Portofino, THE ENCHANTED APRIL has also to some extent been dismissed as a sentimental trifle. It is not: for all its surface charm, it is also one of the most searching fictional works ever written on the nature of goodness, and its effects upon selfishness and acquisitiveness. Two Hampstead housewives, Rose Arbuthnot and Lottie Hawkins, advertise for two other women to share in the costs so that they may rent an Italian castle for the month of April and escape their loveless lives; when they and the other two women (the dazzling Lady Caroline Dester and the rigid bluestocking Mrs. Fisher) arrive at the spectacularly lovely castle, they begin to discover that not only have their spirits been refreshed but also that their value systems have changed through what amounts to the dispensation of the castle of a kind of secularized grace. Elizabeth von Arnim accomplishes this very probing study of modern British mores through the very subtle and unobtrusive psychological realist use of extended interior monologues. The result is a novel that is not only completely beguiling but actually quite thoughtful. A greatly underappreciated little gem.

In the spirit of the Bronte sisters, this novel delights and entrances. An enjoyable read.

Wonderful! I could read the book and watch the movie over and over! Treat yourself to a vacation in an Italian paradise with real characters and a physical beauty you could reach out and touch. Von Arnim makes this simple plot so magical and warm it makes you want to visit San Salvatore too!

Just got through watching the wonderful movie; not as wonderful as the book, but very good. Have now read this book at least three or four times, and still adore it every time. Has to rank as one of my all-time favorite books. Must rent an Italian castle on the western Mediterranean coast some day. The writing is so witty, and warm, the story so imaginative, the moral so wise. Love is all; just to love, not expecting anything in return. It opens people up. Lotty, Rose, Lady Caroline, and Mrs. Fisher all live in these pages. And the gardens, the flowers, the utter beauty of San Salvatore. The author quite obviously loves flowers. Even the servants are clearly drawn, Francesca and Domenico. Lotty becomes a truly original character. Love, love, love this book!

Well, you've already heard about the story. Just wanted to add that the characters were so real, it was as if I were really there with them. A wonderful turn of events at the end. Caught me off guard. Very enjoyable. Beautiful writing. Now I've got to rent the movie.

perfect, easy, real Italian. Recipes are no fail. When I lived in the North end in the 90's (pre nouveau) everything tasted this good. But be careful, the Pignoli cookie recipe calls for 1 pound of pine nuts, (thats like $25!) You only really need 5 oz or so. Must be a misprint.

I have tried numerous recipes since buying this book and every one of them was well received. I am my worse critic but I too know a good dish when I taste one. Olga's fishcakes were delicious.

I love this cookbook. The recipes are excellent--the book is worth the value for the gnocchi recipe alone--just like mama's.

I know that Italian American cooking is out of style, but it still puts a smile on my families face. My brothers, our wives and children rave when I cook Ma's food. But I have a secret, I don't cook Ma's food. She was unfortunately, gone before I got her recipes. I cook Marguerite's food. I bought this book in the late 80's and it fell apart from love. This book will bring back memories or make them, five stars.

These recipes are simple and concise. I am from Italian background on east coast. and many are just like the one's from Mom's . This is a go to book for me !

I took this book, along with a plethora of touristy guidebooks, and this one got read the most! We spent hours and hours in the Forum and the Palatine, and really delighted in uncovering the mysteries of so many building foundations. I left Rome wishing I had an archaeologist as a personal tour guide, but this book was an excellent substitution! It can be read at home, but I found infinitely more meaning when I sat at the site and read about where I was. Take this to Rome if you are interested in the ancients!

I had the fortune or misfortune of buying this book prior to my first visit to Rome. It is such a well-organized, well-written, and concise guide to ancient Rome that you could make the mistake that I made upon completing it and my first visits there. You might search a long, long time and spend a lot of money trying to find something better. Based upon my experience, a university-level seminar or a three semester hour course is the only thing that could surpass this guide.

Don't be put off by simplified plans shown in the pages. You need clear, simple ideas of what the stuff once was to understand what you're looking at. When you're in the ruins, you will be surrounded by other tourists, any changing weather conditions, and you will be viewing the architectural remains of a previous civilization from many different standpoints. You can't do that successfully without a clear, simple concept already in your mind.

Fodor's Holy Rome, 1st Edition: A Millennium Guide to Christian Sights (Fodor's Holy Rome)

You can't really understand Rome without this companion. It looks deeply into the very heart of the city, into its foundations and the stories they tell. This is practical archaelology at its best, presenting us with the lessons that history can teach us.

I used this book for my second trip to Rome and it was absolutely invaluable. I wish that I had it for my first trip. I am a person who only cares about the Ancient Roman artifacts and this book literally has ever one listed by region that you have access to. If you decide to use this book bring along a highlighter and check off the sections that you complete, by the end of the day you will be amazed at how much you have seen. I cannot recommend this book enough.

I just returned from Rome, using this book as my primary guide. We were able to identify almost every random bit of ancient archaelogy sticking out of the ground as we walked about the city, and if you've been to Rome, you'll understand how impressive that is.

A major shortcoming that I noticed is that the book treats the ancient-era churches very lightly: while the myths of gods such as Pollux and Castor are frequently referenced in relation to the ancient sites, the C1 AD story of Saint Clement is inexplicably left out of the section on the church of San Clemente constructed by Constantine. Also, as the author states in the beginning, the intent of this guide is to detail ancient Rome only. If you are interested in medieval, Renaissance, or ecclessiastic history, you will certainly need a supplemental guide.

Now, for the advantages... The guide systematically presents every ancient structure in Rome (we were never disappointed), providing a very good map at the beginning of each chapter for a major area (e.g. the Palatine, Field of Mars) to help you identify what you are looking at. The site is laid out in a sort of walking tour format and if you begin at the point suggested, you can follow the chapter page by page as it logically guides you through the region. We did find that writing in page references for each location on the map at the beginning made the book much easier to use. For more complicated buildings, additional diagrams are provided in the appropriate subsection where it is further detailed. The Baths of Caracalla are a superb example of this.

While Claridge delves a bit too thoroughly into the exact type of marble used in the facing and floors of each building, you find yourself recognizing the materials and envisioning the baths, basillicas, and forums as they might have looked clad in Phyrgian red and Numidian yellow marbles. With frequent referencing, we soon became familiar with Caracella, Domitian, and Nerva as we viewed the great construction projects they enacted. The author presents quite clearly the historical origin and significance of each site as well as its original appearance (if known) and the many refurbishments it went through with the frequent fires of Rome.

For our trip, we opted out of taking any tours, and we didn't feel we missed anything. We were often surrounded by tours and gained more information from our book than the guide was sharing with his group. You never know how reliable a guide really is, and with this book, you can be assured of Amanda Claridge's credentials. The trip became a bit of a mystery adventure for us as we excitedly reconstructed the ruins around us into the elegant structures they once were.

Even if you do decide to go with a more mainstream guide book for your trip to Rome, you will find this one to be an invaluable supplement for all those tidbits that the major guides just don't have time to cover.

Beautiful book that I have shared with friends. Sender was prompt and the book delivered in new condition.

This is a large hardcover book, and it is overwhelmingly beautiful. It is beautifully illustrated, and beautifully written. Robert Kennedy Jr. is a person I feel I know now, and I would say he is a remarkable soul. His father must be very proud of him for writing this holy book...it will touch many souls and lead them closer to heaven...where his father is now.
This book may be for children, but I am an adult. I will treasure it always and pass it down. It sits on my coffee table, and I framed the piece of art of Saint Francis attached in the book. It hangs on the wall above my couch. Needless to say, this book is a holy treasure from an honorable man.

My children (ages 5 & 7)and I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Well written, captivating with lovely pictures. Held our interest and really brought Saint Francis of Assisi alive for us.

I ordered two copies of this story, one for my nephew who loves animals and one for myself. Saint Francis was one of my mom's favorite saints to pray to and she also loved animals. So, I was curious as to her quite devotion to this saint, now that she has passed. This story brought much understanding and peace to me. It is so well written and illustrated, I could read it over and over. I also like the way the author begins the story and explains his devotion to Saint Francis and the impact he had on his life. The author is also the son of a man who had a great impact on my life, Robert F. Kennedy. His father would be proud of this book and the work he does for the environment. I plan on purchasing more copies of this book for my other nephews and nieces. Great way to spark their interest in one of God's many great inspirations.

My children and I absolutely love this book. The life of Saint Francis is simply and beautifully told, and the pictures beautifully rendered. My daughter sat with this book for hours, reading and rereading it, copying the pictures, saying the prayers to herself, and finally asking if I had more books about saints. I pulled out the various Catholic saint anthology books I had, and they held no appeal to her - a page can hardly bring a saint alive for a child, let alone do justice to a life.

So I started browsing Amazon and found a few books, but not many. I sincerely hope Kennedy/Nolan will write more books together, because there is a serious dearth of books about saints, let alone books about saints that are as beautiful, accessible, and relevant to children today as this one is.

In my book, "Astronomical Symbols on Ancient and Medieval Coins", I devote an entire chapter to the eighth Crusade. The political events of the time, the celestial omens that were seen in the heavens and depicted on coinage of Louis IX and that of his brother Charles of Anjou, combined with the influence of Charles of Anjou on Louis IX, all came together as the basis for the decision by Louis IX to land at the Bay of Tunis for his final crusade.

As part of my research, I read numerous books on the history of the period, and I found that Runciman's book, "The Sicilian Vespers," was especially useful. There were many items of interest in his book that added to my understanding of the history of that time.

Marshall Faintich

Sir Runciman once again delivers informative historical narrative that is thorough and equally entertaining. The political intrigue of the 13th century, involving virtually all of the Mediterranean powers, provide just the detail needed to grasp the causes and affects of the Vespers revolution. Sir Runciman deftly weaves the varied characters and their roles together into the story that pulls the reader in and keeps their attention. There are a confusing array of political players in the drama but Sir Runciman's story-telling style helps avoid confusion and makes the intricate connections required to better understand the period. Very well done and a wonderful addition to any library.

Herein, outstanding British historian Runciman explains in considerable and fascinating detail the story of the Sicilian Vespers, and its profound impact on the history of Christendom. What comes across most dramatically to this reader in Runciman's wonderful account is the love of intrigue and political striving of the 13th century Papacy. Here, we see the several Popes of the period acting as petty Italian Princes in their attemtps to further their own secular power. And the upshot of these attempts came to be a profound weakening of the unity of Western Christendom that ultimately fructified into the Reformation of the 16th century.

Another amazing aspect of the story Runciman herein records is the stunning skill and subtlety of Byzantine diplomacy. At the time, the Byzantine, or Later Roman, Empire was yet reeling from the devastation of the hideous Fourth Crusade. And, yet with little remaining military power at their hands, the Byzantines managed to avert what would have been another disasterous Western "crusade" from destroying Constantinople. Here we see also a natural alliance forming between Aragon, later Spain, and the Orthodox East. One could make a good case that this was also the natural alliance that so frustrated Napoleon's design, when he was harried by guerrila warfare in Spain, and by Holy Russia's Biblically courageous defense of Mother Russia.

We strongly recommend Sir Steven Runciman's excellent work to all who would understand this very important, but little discussed, background to modern European history. God bless.

What an excellent history. It's a careful, economical but thorough recounting of events among a huge array of far-flung characters. It's not difficult to read, but rereading helps fix the cast in the mind. (The index is excellent, but a list of characters would have been helpful, although that sort of user-friendliness would definitely have been at odds with the book's Cambridge gestalt.) Sir Steven is very sparing of analysis and conjecture, so that when he does essay a mild synthesizing comment, it is all the more powerful and organic, having grown from the "objective" account and selections of incident. His final thesis -- that the medieval papacy foundered during this period due to its cautious, conscious decision to eschew centralized surrogate command (through the Hohestaufen empire) in favor of decentralized partitioning (the original balkanization) that fed and inculcated a nationalism that was ultimately much more debilitating to papal power -- is both startling and inevitable. Besides the masterful overarching view of European history, the book also is fascinating and illuminating about Sicily in particular, and its polyglot zealotry.

Runciman's writing is absolutely amazing in this volume which treats of Europe in the mid-to-late thirteenth century. I devoured this book in a matter of days, fascinated as I am with Sicilian history and culture. Runciman gives a fantastic view of the Kingdom of Sicily after the fall of "The Kingdom in the Sun", or the Norman Kingdom based in Palermo. From the benevolent king William the Good to the villanous Charles of Anjou, Runciman presents all of those occurances which led up to the Sicilian Vespers, or the systematic destruction of French power over the Sicilians on Easter Monday, 1282. A must-read for all those interested in the history of Europe in this era.

This was a really "DaVinci Code" esque page turner! A terrific read and a spell binder. The characters were great as well. I couldn't put it down.

I really enjoyed this one! I travel a lot and read a lot. This is one of the better reads. I compared it to The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.

This was a fantastic book. I enjoy books that have both excitement and character development and this book supplied both. The beginning was what got me hooked; it was a book similar in some respects to the DaVinci Code. The mystery of what it was all about was revealed bit by bit and this was the compelling part.
The book was also well written and descriptive of the events, people and the mystery.
Thank you Mr. Nagle

A thrill ride and a page turner, this book reads like the ultimate action/whodunit movie. Nagle effortlessly hooks his reader then leads him/her through clever plot twists, across continents, and into the dark corners of the criminal mind. In Libra he has created a heroine worthy of our respect and our interest. She alone deserves an encore, though her supporting cast in this novel (Sam, Mario, Figlio) are also richly textured and expertly crafted. The only thing I wanted was a map to help me follow Sam & Libra's adventures--but hey, an atlas works, too. Bravo, Mr. Nagle, I eagerly await your next literary gem!

Knowing I am an avid reader, my assistant put this book into my hand as I left the office for a cross-country flight, armed with my laptop and a pile of spreadsheets. Having never heard of Nagle or his work, I shoved the book under my arm to be polite and forgot about it.... until my battery fizzled. Frustrated as only a non-technical type-A professional could be, I fished the Augustus Conspiracy out of my briefcase and started reading. Here's where the reivew starts:

HOT DAMN! What a pleasant surprise to find an unknown author who hits the mark--again and again--on his first try. Within minutes I was so engrossed in the lives of Mario, Figlio, Sam and Libra, their journeys, their perilous predicaments & etc. that I was actually DISAPPOINTED when my flight landed and I hadn't finished the book. After checking into my hotel I put down my bags, sat on the edge of the bed and didn't move until I wrapped up the last pages. A great, great, read. Engaging and intelligent, alternately nail-biting and a crack-up. It will be a shame if Nagle has to wait until his later novels to get the recognition he deserves (like Grisham, Dan Brown, etc.), but it will be well-placed when it comes. Get this book. You won't be disappionted.

I have been a mafia buff for almost 30 years, ever since I read The Godfather in January 1979. Back then I was 14 and living with my parents, and due to lack of space elsewhere in our house, I believe, they had left several of their books on a shelf in my bedroom, and one them was The Godfather. One fine morning while I was actually quite bored (it was summertime here), I picked it up and the inevitable happened...I couldn't put the book down until I finished it, the following day.

Over these past 30 years, I have watched many movies, and have read a ton of books on the mafia as well, including some which I consider true classics, such as The Valachi Papers and The Testament of Lucky Luciano. I believe Excellent Cadavers easily ranks among the top 3 or top 5 books I have read on the subject.

In spite of being a book on the history of the antimafia prosecution in Italy over a certain timeframe, and thus being obviously filled with names, dates, etc., it really reads like a novel. In fact, for this very reason (being a "history" book) I bought it with some reluctance, anticipating that it could be a slow and "interrupted" read, so to speak. Quite the opposite; I did not finish it in two days like Puzo's TG, but I read it in less than 8 days, quite an accomplishment for me since English is not my native tongue.

In summary, I believe this book deserves each and every one of the 5 stars that the other 12 reviewers, and myself, have so far given this book.

The story of the fight against the Cosa Nostra in Siciliy. The story gravitates around two investigating magistrates, Falcone and Borsellino, who were at the forefront of this seemingly never-ending fight. It' a useful narrative device, given that most people aren't familiar with the many names involved in the story (mafiosi and politicians alike). The story gives a brief history of the mafia, but it focuses on the 1980s and early 1990s; it tells of the greatest campaigns against the Mafia, and the way in which the Mafia, with the help of its political allies (Socialists, Christian Democrats, etc.) fought back.
I had a difficult time remembering all the names but the author made sure a spectacular memory was not necessary in order to follow and get involved in the story. For anyone who wishes to read something about Italy that sort of complements it, I recommend The Dark Heart of Italy.
In the end, this book left a sense of foreboding in me. It seems that Italy, a country that I like, a beautiful place, is so corrupt, so enmeshed in organized crime, that it looks un-redeemable. That is a sad feeling, given those who, like Falcone and Borsellino, have paid the highest price.

"...is simply to apply the law and punish the guilty." Giovanni Falcone

Sicily's anti-Mafia campaign is described in such masterful detail by Alexander Stille, it's no surprise ALL of Excellent Cadavers' reviews are an unmitigated five-stars. The research (reflected in the interviews, bibliography and end-notes) is simply awe-inspiring, and Stille uses the facts to weave a story that is both sweeping and nearly unbelievable.

Where should I start? Maybe with the Mafia-affiliated priest who administered the last rites to the very people he murdered. Perhaps I should mention Palermo's official city department of "Edilizia Pericolante" (collapsing housing). By condemning buildings, it institutionalized the corruption which insured that the Mafia could feast on contracts for both demolition and construction.

There are sections of this book that should be required reading for anyone who has seen any Scorcese film, The Godfather, or the surprisingly related Sopranos. Here is crime lord Tommaso Buscetta giving the police a definition of terms: "The word 'mafia' is a literary creation, while the real 'mafiosi' call themselves simply 'men of honor'... and the organization as a whole is called the Cosa Nostra... every man of honor belongs to a family.... at the head of each family is a 'capo' elected directly by the men of honor. He, in turn, selects a 'sotto-capo' (underboss) and one or two 'consiglieri' (counselors)..." And so on.

There are many heartbreaking moments here. For example, this is an excerpt from the testimony of Nicola Atria, one of the "mafia women":
"My life can be told in just a few words: at 14 I was engaged, at 18, a wife, at 21, a mother, at 23, a widow. I was born [early], I have been premature at everything from birth let's hope I won't be in dying."

See also its documentary DVD Excellent Cadavers and the very personal look at Naples crime scene, Gomorrah.

This is a hard book ot read if you're of Sicilian or South Italian descent as I am. Unlike in America where organized crime is something of a sideshow in Sicily, Calabria, and Naples it continues to dominate and distort the society as a whole. It is quite at home at home in modern society and of course it's not exclusively Italian. Russian, and Latin American versions are if anything even more dangerous. But if you wishe to see what happens when a cancer metastasizes throughout a society take a look at Toto Riina a minature Stalin who took is upon himself to dominate an entire region through assassination and extortion and see what happens to dedicated and heroic individuals like Falcone and Borsalino who finally bring him down at the cost of their own lives. A sobering and extremely well written acount

"Excellent Cadavers" is probably the best mob story you've never heard.

Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, two heroic Italian prosecutors, mounted an extraordinary legal campaign against the Sicilian mafia during the 1980s. They ultimately paid for their efforts with their lives. But their untimely murders shook Italy so hard they toppled its government. Theirs is a compelling story, full of unforgettable characters, and all of it is tragic and true. And chances are high that you don't know much about it.

Why? Probably because it is about prosecutors. Prosecutors are not sexy. Prosecutors are, almost by definition, uncool. And popular culture is all about cool. Pop culture loves Henry Hill in "Goodfellas," Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" and Tony Montana in "Scarface." Popular culture loves bad guys.

Bad guys may be bad, but they are also cool. They get drunk and do mountains of coke and pull guns on one another and get into situations that are crazy and compelling; they're not likable, but they're always watchable. Good guys, by contrast, seem boring--they're the ones busting up the party the bad guys invited us to. We sometimes admire the good guys from a distance, but it is easier to feel dingy in the light of their halos. Still, we don't necessarily want to be them--they work hard and go home to their wives and live boring lives.

Except for Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

These men were hard workers, yes, but they worked in a truly topsy-turvy world where good was bad and bad was good, where government was riddled with corruption and graft, where outlaws clung to strange codes of behavior whereby killing someone was fine but swearing in front of a woman was unacceptable. In southern Italy in the 1980s, an estimated 10,000 people died in mob-related violence, but fathers sometimes didn't report the murders of their sons to the local police, for fear of retribution.

Amidst such lawlessness, Falcone and Borsellino put together the Palermo maxi-trial, a titanic anti-mafia case that required the construction of an elaborate concrete bunker courtroom and ultimately led to an incredible 344 convictions. Stille recounts the events leading up to this trial with an eye for detail but also the ability to step back and encapsulate the detail; he never fails to see the forest for the trees. Writing about the eve of the maxi-trial, he describes how the prosecutors and their families were confined for their own safety on an island known as "the Alcatraz of Italy." It was, Stille writes, "a telling indication of the upside-down nature of life in Sicily on the eve of the maxi-trial: mafia fugitives moved freely about Palermo while government prosecutors had to live in prison for their own protection."

Fighting the good fight put both men in a bad spot with both the lawbreakers and the lawmakers. Falcone was maneuvered out of his position in Palermo and ultimately assassinated; Borsellino was killed six months later. But their death lead to their greatest triumphs, for their murders awakened a nation to the corruption of the ruling Christian Democrats and caused the downfall of Italy's First Republic.

Ultimately, Stille's book is great not because he tells this story, but because he makes us care. Falcone and Borsellino come off as principled but pragmatic, saintly but shrewd; Stille makes their goodness real and compelling. If you're anything like me, you'll read this and hope someone makes it into a miniseries; you will find yourself rooting for the good guys, and realizing that good guys still exist; you will weep at their deaths, and their ultimate victory.

The reviews in this book were perfectly on point. We found ourselves trying to schedule in more time to eat so we could continue to try the recommended restaurants. This book is a keeper for our next trip.

A very helpful, organized tour of Florence for foodies. As many times as I've visited Florence, the abundance of great places to eat is overwhelming. This book lays out great places to eat in the various neighborhoods and their nearby tourist attractions. It also helps define where the locals like to eat. Very helpful.

I found this wonderful guide while preparing for my return to Florence this past Fall for more research on the sequel to my novel, The Giuliana Legacy The author's helpful and concise reviews were amazingly accurate in every case. Moreover, she helped us to find wonderful restaurants, cafe bars and wine bars that will be much-loved favorites for years to come. There are fabulous tips on restaurants in every price range, but we especially enjoyed the small inexpensive local spots we might never have found on our own, like the charming and delicious Casalinga in the Santo Spirito. We returned there again and again, and once home, wished we'd gone there every single day of our all too short stay in Florence.

Ms. Wise Miller, the words "Thank You" cannot begin to convey our gratitude for your splendid little book. I have already bought several as gifts and will continue to buy them for all Florence-bound friends and family. Brava!

This book was the only book we needed in Florence. Emily's reviews were spot on and we never had a bad meal. We were often the only "tourists" in the eating establishment and garnered some looks from locals as in "how did you find this place!" We walked 2 miles outside the city to have the best pizza we've ever tasted and then 4 miles to spend Sunday lunch with Italian families eating "Spaghetti della Casa." I am extremely picky about food (being Italian and a chef for 15 years) so I cannot rave about this book enough...it made our trip!

You cannot go to Florence without this book! I was in Florence for five days and I wore this book out; I ate exclusively at places from this book and have never had a better culinary experience in Florence! Emily Wise-Miller takes you to the hidden gems and out-of-the-way places that tourists dream about! Writing this review is making my mouth water and my heart beg to go back, just so I can eat more delicious Florentine steak, pasta, gelato and drink the wine!

If you are planning a trip to Florence/Tuscany or simply want to learn about the culture and history of of Tuscany's culinary roots, BUY THIS BOOK! You will not be disappointed!!