Italy Books

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.

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.

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

Vito Volterra, one of the finest scientists and mathematicians Italy ever produced, is best known for his theory of functionals, which led to his later contributions in integral and integro-differential equations; for his interest in solid state physics, astronomy and mathematical biology, whose importance he was among the first to stress. In Goodstein's words "Volterra's life exemplifies the post-unification rise of Italian mathematics, its prominence in the first quarter of the twentieth century, and its precipitous decline under Mussolini... The meteoric rise and tragic fall of Volterra and his circle thus constitutes a lens through which we may examine in intimate detail the fortunes of Italian science in an epic scientific age".
Born in Ancona, into a rather poor Jewish family in the year of the liberation of Italy's Jewish ghettos, Volterra showed very early promise in mathematics. He attended the University of Pisa, where he graduated in physics and where he became professor of rational mechanics in 1883. Ten years later he moved to Turin and in 1900 to Rome, where he taught mathematical physics at the University "La Sapienza". Volterra, an enthusiastic patriot, in 1905 was elected a senator of the Kingdom of Italy on grounds of high scientific standing. In his 1907 talk for the inauguration of the first congress of the Italian Society for the Progress of the Sciences, Volterra proudly drew a comparison between his era and the Renaissance: "In that time of the wonderful restoration of intellectual life, Italy became the very center of universal scientific thought. Today, I venture to wish that the destiny reserved for us not be a lesser one, as the pure and authentic Italian soul rises and takes shape, reviving our thought and restoring to us our ancient country". During World War I, already well into his 50s, he joined the Italian Army and worked on the development of airships. His hopes for Italian science were soon to be betrayed. When Benito Mussolini took power, Volterra joined the opposition to Fascism, and in 1931 he was one of the twelve university professors (over more than a thousand) who refused to take a mandatory oath of loyalty. He was compelled to resign his university post and membership of scientific academies in Italy (he belonged to quite a number of them all over the world), and, during the following years, he lived largely abroad.
This very elegant book, based in part on unpublished private letters and documents, interviews, and personal contacts of the author with members of the scientist's family during her frequent stays in Italy, tells the quite unique life of an extraordinary person in a country and in an age characterized by dramatic events. Judith Goodstein traces a full-size portrait of the man, both in his private and public life. All around him, she draws a vivid picture of the very strong and somewhat suffocating ties within the Volterra family; of the very high quality of the gifted group of mathematicians who interacted with Volterra; of the intriguing happenings in the Italian academic community; of the dramatic conditions of intellectuals in a country that was gradually sinking from a freshly built democracy into a coarse Fascist regime. There are also flavorful glimpses on the scientific communities abroad, in Europe as well as and in North and South America. When in the USA, Volterra lectured in French, though admitting "that at the present time the most indispensable language seems to be English".
It would be hard to provide highlights of the story, so many are the facts, the ideas, the emotions, the surprises the reader will meet along this beautifully depicted historical journey. The book will be of interest not only to scientists, but also to historians and to other learned people: it can be read like a novel, where attention paid to meaningful details and little known episodes conveys a realistic picture of the life of Italians in those years - and of the Jewish community in particular - better than many academic historical essays would.
Bravo Goodstein: elegance, style, thorough insight... the reader will feel that she herself was a witness on the scene.

Andrea Frova
(Professor of Physics, Università "La Sapienza", Roma)
and Mariapiera Marenzana
(Professor of History and Italian Literature)

A must-read for your special reading list this summer is The Volterra Chronicles by Judith Goodstein. This book gives a very well-written and detailed account of a renowned Jewish Italian mathematician, Vito Volterra, and his rise to fame during a very turbulent period in Italian history (1860-1940). For those not familiar with Vito Volterra and his scientific and mathematical work, Dr. Goodstein offers both an exciting and captivating biography of a great and noble mathematician.

This book was very enjoyable to read. I recommend it to anyone who would like to learn more about the academic life in Italy during these very interesting times. The portrait of the customs of an Italian Jewish family, to which Volterra belonged, is particularly well drawn.

The Volterra Chronicles: The Life and Times of an Extraordinary Mathematician 1860-1940

Vito Volterra, one of the great Italian scientists and mathematicians, lived during tumultuous times spanning the years of the Italian unification to the outbreak of the Second World War. He was born into a middle class Jewish family His early years were spent in the Jewish ghetto of Ancona under the eyes of his protective mother who tried to discourage him from a career in mathematics. At twenty-three he became a tenured professor at Pisa and by 1900 he was appointed professor at the University of Rome.

Goodstein has constructed a detailed record of Volterra's personal life by gaining access to the Volterra family's letters and photographs. She provides rich insights into the Italian scientific and mathematical achievements and vividly records the Italian academic world and the response to the national political scene.

This biography is a powerful tribute to a man who dominated the field of mathematics. He developed the areas of integral and differential equations, worked in the field of elastic media and then branched into the area of theoretical ecology and began to apply his mathematical expertise to biological systems.

The ascendancy of Fascism brought the golden age of science and mathematics in Italy to an end. It is interesting that there was a disproportionately large number of Jews within Italian science and mathematics. Mussolini's regime was actively anti-Semitic and barred Jewish scientists and mathematicians from holding university posts and membership in scientific organizations.

In 1931 Vito Volterra was one of only twelve Italian university professors who refused to sign the oath of allegiance to the Fascist government required by all members of the faculty, which resulted in his expulsion from the scientific community. Volterra's life parallels the rise and decline of Italian mathematics and science and provides us with a lens to examine the fortunes of Italian science during this time period.

I used this map to navigate Venice for 5 days and I would have been lost without it (literally). It was better than any other map I looked at and any of the maps for sale in Venice. Even my friend living in Venice commented on how good a map it was. The map also includes info on the water bus route and opening days and times for churches, museums, etc., basically eliminating the need to carry a guide book around all day. It is durable and waterproof, but it feels like paper and you can still write on it.

I'm glad I didn't buy a map for Florence, because I got by just fine on a free map from a hotel. But a map was essential for Venice and this one was perfect.

I have lived in Venice for four years. My sister still lives there so I go every year. I still have some trouble finding restautant locations. I have used many maps of Venice, most of which I purchased there. Well, this was the best map I have ever seen. No one should go to Venice without it. There is absolutely no other map on which things are so clearly marked. Judy Potter, Esquire

Used the Rough Guide maps for Venice, Florence, and Rome and found them to be top notch. They have far more detail and accuracy than the maps handed out by hotels and local TI offices. The paper is coated so that it withstands serious abuse, fold, refold, stuff it in your pocket in a wad, it always comes out with all the print intact. The coating adds negligible bulk, more than worth it for the durability.

I went to Venice for the first time in May 2007 and found this map indispensable. It was better than many other maps I had researched and better than maps that I saw for sale in Venice! Would definitely recommend to anyone going to Venice, particularly if it is your first visit to this beautiful yet very easy to get lost in city.

This is not a historical book, although there is much of history here. Nor is it necessarily historically accurate. It is more personal devotion, where the author tries to imagine what it was like for Francis, and what he might have thought, based on some of Francis's writings, and the the writings of biographers. There is often more imagination here than strict fact- but imagination is often the path to true spirituality.

It's hard to get into the mind of a saint, especially one claimed to be the closest a human has ever come to being like Christ. I'd suggest it can't really be done- but Leclerc does an admirable job in the attempt. I was moved. In a time of some temporary sorrow, I found it uplifting. The thoughts expressed were rich and magnificent, and they gave ample opportunity for rumination. The book is short enough that you can get through in an hour, but then dwell on for days. Here is definitely the mind of Francis, and the mind of Christ- that there is only one thing that matters, and that dwelling on our Lord. All else is rather beside the point, and true happiness remains in that one thing.

I did find the language sparse as compared with the actual writings of Francis. This may be in large part due to it being a translation- perhaps in the original French it is much fuller. Heartedly recommended.

An imaginative retelling of the last years of Francis and the final stage in his spiritual growth. A timely parable about the loss of innocence we all experience as we see our youthful dreams and ideals compromised and twisted by the institutional dynamics of power, money, and bureacracy. Will Francis become bitter, cynical and disillusioned -- or will he break through to an even more profound understanding of what it means to be a witness to the nonviolent Christ?

Toward the end of his life, Francis of Assisi endured what can only be described as a time of great desolation and despair. His physical health was failing; the Order he had founded was moving away from his original ideals of simplicity and poverty; his mission to the Muslims had fizzled out; and several of his oldest and dearest companions had deserted him. It's not unreasonable to suppose that Francis also felt himself deserted by God. This sense of utter abandonment may not fit the hagiographies, but it sure makes psychological sense.

Franciscan Eloi Leclerc takes this time of abandonment as his starting place for this elegant and insightful meditation. The book is an imaginative reconstruction, but one that's based on contemporary texts, of the struggles that Francis went through during his years of doubt and despair. Leclerc doesn't offer ready-made solutions or sweetly pious recipes. One of the great merits of this book is that he takes Francis' despair seriously. Ultimately, however, he also takes Francis' breakthrough moment seriously: the moment when Francis has the revelatory realization that, bad as life can get, "Deus est."

I've thought about this simple claim--"God is"--many times since reading this little book. On the surface, it may seem anti-climactic. But as Leclerc presents it, there's a great deal of wisdom in being able to make and live the assertion. It may be that there's more theology embedded in the simple affirmation "Deus est" than in all the world's books.

LeClerc describes St. Francis' struggle with challenges to the original simplicity and poverty of his Order, in a series of deeply moving dialogues and lyric descriptions. This is a beautiful and challenging book, full of the spirit of Francis -- deeply joyful, deeply sorrowful, deeply loving and trusting God.

I have read this book a number of times during the past year, and am still finding new insights and matters for meditation each time I pick it up. It's truly excellent -- a masterwork.

The author of this book is Brian Boru Dunne (1878-1962). The editors of this remarkable memoir want to point out that it is unlike anything we might expect from one writer memorializing another. Brian Dunne was a very young man from an Irish-American family, who had recently studied in a Belgian college with princes of the aristocratic de Croy family, met Gissing by accident in Siena, and then spent several months with him in Rome. The Roman period was an unusually happy one for Gissing, who entertained H.G. Wells and socialized with many important people there, including such other writers as Arthur Conan Doyle and Ernest Hornung. As Gissing's frequent companion, Dunne wrote it all down in his diary, preserving a record of their daily escapades and quotidian conversations in the fresh, unguarded manner of a young man whose mind was uncluttered by any adult protocol, social philosophy, or professional agenda. He went on to become the city editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican, met and interviewed most of the leading figures of the day, and wrote several memoirs which will be published in due time. In Gissing's case, he remained faithful to his diary and produced a lively, vivid, and patently authentic account aof a man who was regarded as one of the leading novelists of the time. Paul F. Mattheisen

As a long-time student of George Gissing's work and one of his first biographers, I was delighted to read this vivid and perceptive first-hand account of his activities and opinions. Few people who knew Gissing personally have left memoirs of him, and Dunne's is certainly the fullest up-close portrait that we have. He describes Gissing's writing and eating habits, his attention to clothes, his reactions to Italy and his people, and his opinions of other writers, and all this helps to clarify the novelist's character. I especially appreciated the excellent informative notes, which provided much needed background, and brought Dunne himself forward as an interesting and significant figure.

I stumbled onto George Gissing two years ago through his travel classic "By The Ionian Sea: Notes on a Ramble Through Southern Italy." I had not read much late-Victorian writing, except for brief forays into Thomas Hardy. Now I have found a new champion -- George Gissing -- and am discovering that post-industrial era through his works. In this process, I discovered Dunne's delightful memoir and was drawn to it because it recalled a time in Gissing's life when he seem most happiest: his 1897-1898 tour of Southern Italy, the setting for "By the Ionian Sea." Dunne's memoir -- wonderfully edited to fully explain all references, from obvious to obscure -- can be read on more than one level. First, it gives a vivid recounting, through an innocent young journalist's eyes that miss little, of a golden three or four months or so in Rome, hobnobbing with Gissing and two other Victorian writers, H.G. Wells and Arthur Conan Doyle. It also can be seen as "a work in progress" where the reader can examine how Dunne, by now in middle age and an accomplished writer in his own right, moved from diary through drafts of memoirs. And particularly important for the Gissing enthusiast is the introduction, which puts the era in perspective and paints a vivid picture of the players in Dunne's Roman holiday.

Out of left field, from the editors of The Collected Letters of George Gissing, comes a refeshing new view of Gissing--plus some charming turn-of-century Americana. The oddly successful combinaton comes about in this way. When the English novelist, desperate to escape for a time from his miserable marriage, visited Italy in 1897-98, he met there a 20-year old American traveller named Brian Boru Dunne. The precocious young man, who would later become a journalist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, kept a diary of their conversations over several months, recording Gissing's opinions on literature, modern and ancient Rome, and everything else that interested them. Years later, he wrote p some of his notes. The diary is lost, but the editors have used Dunne's surviving materials to create a fascinating portrait that shows us a more unbuttoned and humorous Gissing than we knew. Because Dunne is worthy of interest in himself, they have seen fit to include some other pieces: William Jennings Bryan's unconsciously hilarious rules for oratory; Cardinal Gibons' recipe for longevity; and an interview with Mark Twain written by Twain himself. Their 40-page introduction to Dunne and Gissing is unexpectedly fascinating. The voluminous footnotes explain so much, and in such style, that they are an integral part of the reading experience. This beautifully produced, amusing, and illuminating miscellany should attract all Gissing readers, and they will be rewarded by more than they bargained for.

I listened to the story through my library...wow what a wonderful book. It makes you want to visit New York (second book) and Venice. I hope the other writes other Zoe adventure stories.

Excellent for children in the 7 to 10 age group. Makes you want to visit Venice too. Both the story and illustrations are first class.

If I were a children's writer/illustrator, "Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook: An Adventure in Venice" is the book I would write. But I'm not and I haven't, so I will sing its praises.

Verse 1: What does a child do if she is clever, open-minded, and eccentric? She has a best pal, Mickey, her black dachshund, and her buddy, the doorman, Victor Gonzales. But best of all she has her great-aunt Dorothy Pomander, who lives in Venice and is a famous writer. Thus sets the premise for the book: a trip to Venice. Zoe Sophia, not so surprisingly, holds her aunt in highest esteem: each seems to be the reflection of the other. So, verse 1--a matched pair of eccentric characters.

Verse 2: The artwork is simply incredible. Claudia Mauner uses watercolor and india ink. Watercolor produces soft, glowing colors with a sponged look; the india ink outlines and highlights what is needed, especially those eyebrows.

Verse 3: The paintings within the artwork of the story, Chagall and Tiepolo, and the architecture rendered in watercolor, San Marco Basilica, the Ca'd'Oro (House of Gold), the Piazzetta, and, of course, the Grand Canal on the cover.. Even the gondola repair shop outside DP's apartment window looks like a Durain painting, and a portrait of DP looks like a creation by Andy Warhol.

Verse 4: It is quite clever of Claudia and Elisa Smalley to create a story that includes so many tidbits of Venice: language, key famous places and what happens there, food, customs, famous jobs, architecture, paintings, opera. It all fits in the framework of the story without seeming intentionally educational. Children will learn happenstance.

Verse 5: A tender minor plotline of losing Mickey, the dachshund, presents a less self-assured Zoe Sophia. I love the illustration of Zoe in bed, wide-eyed with worry, hair frazzled, with her glasses and hair twists on the bedside table. Never fear. Mickey is returned, all is well and a large group of new friends attend the opera, including dogs and cats. Another sweet aspect of the book is that Mickey and Pip, DP's marmalade cat, go everywhere with the two adventurers.

Chorus: I love Zoe Sophia. If my calculations are correct, Claudia and Elisa wrote only two Zoe Sophia books. Her first adventure took place in New York with her beloved DP. I want more, nay, I demand more Zoe Sophia books!! This book is so entertaining and charming, as well as educational. More! More! More!....please...

This sweet book captures the adventure of travel and the beauty of Venice through the eyes of a nine-year old girl. The novel scrapbook format of the story simply illustrates the importance and value of documenting our experiences and travels. Zoe Sophia inspired my daughter!

In a country that is very over populated, the Garfagnana Valley of Northern Tuscany remains pleasantly remote and untraveled. Ms. Biachi does a fine job in catching the real food and the people of this region. The soups featured are treasures of Italian peasant food. The recipes are tasty, healthy and easy to make. My personal favorites are Ceci, Mele, Salisiccia e Patate alla Garfagnana and the Sausage and Savoy Cabbage Soup. The only thing better in the Garfagnana Valley than the food is the hiking.

I bought this book for inspiration and new ideas for warm, nourishing and comforting soups. I got that and much more. There are over 130 inspiring recipes for soups, each described in the context of how it fits into the lives of the people who make it. The chapters are organized by the major types of soups--broths; vegetables; bread, puree and cream soups; rice, pasta, polenta and chestnuts; farro; lentils and chickpeas; beans, fish; meats. Each chapter is introduced with an insightful overview of some aspect of the character of natives of the Garfagnana, a little known area of Northern Tuscany where all these soups originate. I've loved the soups I've made--a rich vegetable broth, wonderful by itself with Gorgonzola cheese crumbled in, even better as the base of a thick hearty soup with potatoes, butternut squash and Savoy cabbage; a rich chicken broth which served as the base for a spinach/butternut squash soup and a mushroom broth with watercress. Among the soups on my to-do list is a shrimp and baby artichoke soup served over focaccia, and Garmugia--a meat-rich soup with asparagus and artichokes used in the 1600's to cure depression. This is a cookbook to read cover to cover, soups to fall in love with, and a wonderful-sounding region in the Tuscan Alps to dream about visiting.

A friend who owns a bookstore saw me looking at this book in his store and said, "Oh, you must have this book. My wife and I have tried several recipes from this book, and we love it." For some reason, I'd never thought of a whole cookbook just for soups, but that's because (I've discovered) my imagination was lacking. I love to cook, and I love to have good stuff in the refrigerator during the week to warm up, and I like to able to throw things together. The soups here, and the theory that accompanies the text, makes all this very easy and very delicious. I've recommended it to several other friends, and they have all enjoyed it very much.

My grandmother raised her family during the depression and has always relied on inexpensive and plentiful meals to serve to her family. Soup or "Zuppa" has always been a staple in her freezer and often shows up on her table. When she received this a a birthday gift form me she was delighted. It breaks each region of Italy into it's distinctive cooking styles. There are dozens of soup recipes that are sure to keep the palate pleased and my grandmother busy experimenting with the recipes. An excellent cookbook for those who love soups!

Every year I purchase a 365 Days in Italy calendar for my office. I've spent over three years in total living in Italy, and I love the pictures and how they evoke my memories of the places. It's actually hard to discard them at the end of the year!

Love this calendar! Hangs in my kitchen to organize my retirement days. After the year is over, I cut out my favorite pictures to make my own note cards to keep in touch with my more active friends abroad.

The calendar is so beautiful and it is filled with pictures of Italy and anything associated with Italy. It should be wonderful to look at all throughout the year-

This is an exquisite book. Such cosiness and wonderful living spaces, truly exhilirating. I don't have much time to write this review but I read through the book this Saturday morning and it's impact is priceless - I briefly and partially read person's view from Canada below and they say it perfectly.

This book takes you inside some of the most interesting and memorable homes in the Alpine region. Fully trilingual - everything in the book is presented in German and French, along with English - this book also has stunning color and black and white photographs on almost every page. Makes an excellent coffee table book. If you love interior design, and are curious about the Alpine way of living, this book is for you. What a shame that it is currently out of print.

As well as ALL the other books from TASCHEN's "Interiors" series, this book is simply magical. It offers a great trip in the Alpes and simply gives you the opportunity to visit the most beautiful houses -- from simple chalets to deluxe houses -- of the mountains. The printing is fabulous and the pictures are of pure quality. Beautiful!

An awesome book. Let's just say that our tour guide in Greece use this book as a reference. As an educator I found this book to be extrememly useful. How many of us actually knew that all these marble ruins were fully painted in their prime? The overlays and information are wonderful. Highly recommended.

This beautiful book has full page color photos of the ruins of ancient Greek temples and theaters, with transparent overlays filling in how these magnificent buildings would have looked when first built. It includes photos of statues and architectural details, with a general overview of ancient Greek history and explanations of the buildings' purposes and histories. Most of the buildings shown are on mainland Greece, but the Palace at Knossos and the sanctuary of Apollo on Delos are also included. These buildings are spectacular!

I first saw this book while on vacation in Greece...Naturally, I looked up the places my husband and I had visited and the book portrays them beautifully! There's great historical detail in the text as well as outstandingly accurate illustrations of prominent Greek sites and monuments. The 'see-through' pages give an incredible glimpse of what ancient Greece looked like over 2000 years ago. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has been to Greece, wants to go to Greece or is studying Greece. It is written for all ages! For any educator teaching Greek history this would be a highly useful 'textbook'.Enjoy!