Italy Books

I lived in New Haven for many years and enjoyed going to Claire's Corner Copia at least once a week during luchtime. The food was delicious, inexpensive, and the restaurant was small and cozy, with great casual atmosphere, and a very friendly staff. I moved to the west coast in the mid-80's and really missed my weekly walk to Claire's. I was so excited to find this book! It brought back many good memories, and now I can recreate the great food I used to enjoy. The ingredients are easy to find, and the food is filling and satisfying. I also have her Claire's Corner Copia Cookbook, which I highly recommend getting as well.

This is such an easy cookbook to follow. I hate to cook and my friend let me borrow hers and I loved it so much I'm buying my own.

In "The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews II," Edda Servi Machlin provides vivid descriptions of the daily life of the once-flourishing Jewish community of Pitigliano in Italy's Tuscan hills. Accompanying the more than 250 recipes is a rich treasury of the history, lore, and cultural and religious traditions of this thousand-year-old village, where Ms. Machlin lived as a girl and as a young woman. Included are recipes for Italian dishes adapted to fit Jewish dietary laws as well as dishes that combine ancient Sephardic preparations with Italian cooking. This volume is more than a cookbook; it is a valuable cultural document.

Even better than the first volume, with more discussions and examples. The recipes, as with Volume I, are as classic as ever, and well balanced. Strongly recommend.

Very well written account of the 2003 state of the union infamous `sixteen words' from an Italian reporter's perspective. Nice to know that our intelligence agencies aren't the only bozos in the world

This is a book written by a couple of Italian investigative reporters and deals with the 'intelligence' operations related to the Iraq war. Even after reading the book (and some others) I'm not so sure that we really know what was going on. This book starts with a discussion with Hans Blix. Dr. Blix is reported to be very bitter and angry and has accused the U.S. and British governments of over dramatizing the threat of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.



On the other hand Kenneth Pollack, a member of Clinton's administration says in the Atlantic Monthly: 'Israel, Russia, Britain, China, and even France held positions similar to that of the United States' Dr. Particia Lewis, a Ph.D. physicist working for the UN says: 'It was not just the intelligence agencies of the UK and US that had misjudged the extent of the WMD programmes in Iraq in 2002-2003. Independent analysts all over the world had similar assumptions, including those in the United Nations.'



Maybe we will find out what really happened in ten or twenty years, on the other hand it's been 40+ years and we still argue about the Kennedy assassination.



There are a lot of things about the CIA and Italian intelligence agencies that make them look like something out of a Pink Panther movie. I hope they are better than that.



The book says that there have been secret meetings between Iran and the US taking place in Milan. If so, I think that's good. Talking is certainly better than fighting.



All in all, a fascinating book that brings up a lot of new points. I just don't know if I believe it or not.

This book provides a convincing review of the history of Italian colonialism in the Horn of Africa in general and in Somalia in particular. Specific attention is then paid to the Fiduciary Administration of the 50s, the prelude to an independent Somalia. It provides an interesting insight of the challenges and difficulties that Italy shared in recent international operations and a cold look at recent responsibilities in the collapse of a state.Well written, informative, well documented. A pleasure to read.

As asomali living in Europe this book bringing the real history of world invaision to my country

This book in similar vein to the published historys of the 503rd and 507th Tiger tank battalions, follows the formation, combat and eventual surrender of the 508th Tiger battalion.
Written by former members of the battalion, who no doubt contributed to the wonderful photos from their personal albums,makes this a very interesting study of one of the two "Italian Tiger Units".
The book published as usual by JJ Fedorowicz is printed on fine glossy paper for excellent photo reproduction and has 10 pages of colour artwork from renowned artist Jean Restayn.
At a little over 188 pages the book is packed with over 199 photographs and unit organisational charts, and makes for a very easy read.
As usual the thing about these books I find fascinating is the recollections from the veterans who manned these tanks. They give us a rare glimpse into the daily life both at rest and in combat of a Tiger Tanker.
As with any JJF book the photo selection is superb and features many full page photos with the rest half page.
The 508th was formed in September 1943 and fought exclusively on the Italian front with the Tiger 1 in what was not ideal Tiger country.
The windy and narrow roads caused many a breakdown and large numbers of Tigers lost by this battalion were not through enemy action, but as a result of crews destroying their tanks to avoid them being left to the Allies.
First seeing action at the Anzio landing where it took part in a ferocious counterattack,the 508th fought its way back up Italy where it gave a good account of itself.
It was effectively disbanded in February 1945 when it handed over its remaing Tigers to the 504th Tiger Battalion.
Sent to Germany to train on the King Tiger, the unit never received this tank and fought out its last days as infantrymen.
This is another great Tiger history and is an excellent addition to any library or personal bookcase. It is highly recommended

If you are a student of the heavy Tiger Battalions or simply armored warfare during WWII, this is a "must-have" book. Like all of the books in this series, there are detailed action accounts, personal recollections, charts, and best-of-all, outstanding photos gathered by veterans of the batallion that have never been published before. An outstanding addition to any WWII library and a suberbly high quality book. I highly recommend acquiring all of the hardbound books in this series before they're gone. If you're a Tiger tank history buff, don't think twice, the book is definitely worth the expense.

As described in the other reviews, and the accompanying comments within the book itself, this is DHL as non-fiction travel writer. Note that it was written after the completion of his major works, and what it says about his views, his relationships, and the immediate post-WWI period in portions of Italy. Particularly fascinating are the local/regional/national and continental attitudes. The more things change, the more they . . .

In 1921, D.H. Lawrence joined the British literary tradition of writing a travelogue. He and wife Frieda, "the Queen Bee," were weary of Sicily where they were staying and selected Sardinia for its promise of unspoiled primitiveness and lack of "tourist-parasites." Though SEA AND SARDINIA follows many of the conventions of the travelogue genre of the time, playing to the market for a foreign experience, moments of wonder mixed with irony and nationalistic-centric sentiments, it is also a self-revealing journal in which Lawrence's passions, rages and perspectives get a frequent work-out.

As travelogues go, SEA AND SARDINIA may be found somewhat lacking in the description of landmarks. Lawrence focuses on encounters with the people, who presented a multi-layered lesson in the collision of the ancient with the 20th century and the recent war. In speaking to the audience back home, Lawrence often expresses himself in literary and historical allusion and his musings ring with a psychological resonance that is both intentional and unintentional. The result is an entertaining and informative experience that imparts much about post-war Europe and this particular traveler.

This is a fine critical edition. The annotations are discretely listed at the back of the book, with no disruptive footnotes blotting the page. There are also a good map, a glossary of Italian words and phrases and a brief bibliography following the text. A chronology of Lawrence's career precedes it, as does a critical introduction. Despite the quality of the introduction, I heartily recommend reading it AFTER you've enjoyed the text on your own terms, because it gives away some of the surprises (as critical introductions are wont to do).

very excited to recieve this book as i gave it as a gift to a persoanl freind

This book is like awesome! Home to me is Vicenza, Italy (I lived there for eight years because my father was in the military-- they still live there!), and I get homesick for Italy and all that it offered because I'm here in Orlando now at college. So whenever I can get my hands on something Italian or to cook me some good food, this book comes in handy!

While clearly not exhaustive, this one-volume encyclopedia is a goldmine of key facts about significant individuals, movements, and styles, as well as such subjects as crime, family, mathematics, mirrors, nature, patronage, population, rhetoric, science, and wars. You will find here a convenient explanation of the term "Renaissance," a French word applied to an Italian movement. If you thought Mannerism was simply a reaction to the High Renaissance style, its entry will enlighten you. However, if you want to know the difference between, say, the High Renaissance style in Rome and in Venice, you will have to read the entries for individual artists and draw your own conclusions -- or go farther afield than this book. It's not quite that comprehensive. The descriptions of particular cities focus on political history rather than artistic history, a puzzling lapse considering that Siena, Florence, Rome, and Venice, to name a few, had such identifiably different styles. Some gaps notwithstanding, this is a very useful book. My calling it "affordable" may be a misnomer if it's unavailable. Keep it on your wish list and hope the publishers reprint it.

I bought my copy of this book some years ago when studying for my Bed degree. It must be on it's upteenth reprint by now, but still remains the most informative, clearly laid out and interesting reference/guide to the Italian Renassance that I have encountered. This book is a constant source of 'factual' information, dates, names, places and people and though my issue runs to three hundred and sixty pages and two hundred and thirty seven illustrations it is still a handy portable size. John Hale has edited a long list of Ren. scholars contributions into an easy, succinct style of writing with each entry in the Encyclopaedia having references to source material and further reading. The only, slight, drawback to this book is that their are no colour pictures - but this probably keeps the price down and that has to be good! I would recommend this excellent introduction to the Italian Renaissance to anyone interested in the subject, particularly those studying a course.

Starting in the 14th Century, the petty warring states of Italy began to recruit mercenaries from all over western and central Europe to fight their wars for them. These men were the condottiere, and after several generations of living off the wealth of Italy, they came to be the most well armed, and also some of the most dangerous, of the many mercenary bands of late medieval-Renaissance era Europe. Such was their reputation for their violence, lust, and decadence that whenever they prepared to take up residence in or near a city, the inhabitants sent all their young women as far away as they could.

In many ways, the condottiere represented a high point of late medieval warfare, wearing the finest gothic armor and fighting with swords and lances. They also employed footmen to wield staff weapons, longbows, and various primitive firearms. The finer details of their appearance and armament, as well as their daily life, experience of battle, medical treatment (or more often, lack thereof), and their straightforward battle tactics are all expertly examined by the author David Murphy.

The color plates are by the experienced Osprey artist Graham Turner, and are nicely done indeed. They expertly portray the condottiere at various stages of his career, including recruitment and battle. The appearance of individual condottiere at the beginning and end of this period are also illustrated, along with battle tactics, medical treatment, English condottiere on the march, a mercenary suiting up before a battle, and Niccolo de Tolentino, a famous Florentine condottiere leader, goading his men on at the Battle of San Romano in 1432.

Other useful details of the book include the black-and-white illustrations and photographs throughout, a short chronology, and a handy glossary at the back. Overall, this book serves as a fine source on the men who were indeed the most 'Infamous Medieval Mercenaries'.

David Murphy's CONDOTTIERE 1300-1500: INFAMOUS MEDIEVAL MERCENARIES is for any specialty early history library, and focuses on Medieval military organization, recruitment, and strategy. Social, political and military history blend in a recommendation for specialty holdings.

This book should be scattered throughout the entire bookstore. It belongs in the travel, photography, history and cookbook sections. Every single page drips with sensuous photographs of gorgeous places and beautiful food. The recipes are accessible and easy to prepare. The way Ms Simon describes the food, preparation and suggestions for serving it are mouth watering. My partner made the vegetable tart the other night and it was fantastic. He wasn't crazy about peeling the asparagus, but admitted that it was certainly worth it. Coming up with inventive, delicious side dishes is always a challenge. Finally, that challenge has been met. I can't wait to try everything in the book, even the eggplant.

Sometimes a main dish can be very intimidating, especially when using ingrediants and techniques you aren't used to. This book is perfect for an introduction to authentic Italian cuisine.

The dishes are divided by season (the author states that vegetables are best when in season). Each offers a few different recipes with each vegetable, ranging from bell peppers to leeks. All of them look amazing, can't wait to try them all. The best is that they are vesatile enough to work for everyday dinners or special occasions.

Another thing worth mentioning: the photography in this book is worth the purchase price alone (as of now, the purchase price is around $6, you can't beat that with a stick). Beautiful rustic dishes, sprawling landscapes. Absolutely beautiful.

Worth every penny and then some!