Italy Books

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!

This is the best review of government corruption that I've read. It is at times overly academic, but the scope and detail are excellent. No simple solutions are offered. In fact, there are few suggestions of any kind. The authors try to evaluate the Italian corruption prosecutions of the 90s and leave it at that.

There is a wide range of governmental graft described, but most involves government construction contracts and job placements. In the last quarter of the book, mafia violence is considered.

The book doesn't assume any 'political' agenda. Communist, socialist and free-marketeer seem equally interested in taking bribes in return for the government favors they might happen to control. Mechanics of specific transactions are described in detail, and little effort is made to look into the motivations.

In their conclusion, the authors make the point that the Italian corruption trials of the 90s made little difference in the way government operated. The authors suggest Italian corruption reflects a lack of collaboration among Italian entrepreneurs. If the entrepreneurs had higher levels of cooperation, they could police their own members and stop efforts for individual gain through bribery and the threat of violence.

This is the best study i have ever read on corruption. As the authors systematicly examine the corruption in Italy, they provide very useful insights for the causes and consequences of corruption in general.(Social, political and economic). It is full of striking empirical examples and stories from the Italian businesses and govermental agencies. this book is both for the academist and normal reader. if you are working on a project on corruption, or just want to learn more about the resons of heavy corruption in developing and underdeveloped countries, this book is a must.

A well written and valuable book. Despite many fine and evocotive photographs, a future edition would be much enriched by some floor plans and more drawings.

Cortona is an ancient hilltown whose winding stone streets mount up and up until you can see out over the valley. A world apart, this medieval town enclosed by its original walls has changed little in several centuries: a church built by St. Francis's good friend Brother Elias still stands with Francis's own tunic preserved under glass and you can wander through the very piazzas walked by great men from long ago. The present day charm of Cortona which is intimate enough to see in a day has been praised by the writer Frances Mayes who lives within walking distance outside the walls, but historian Philancy Holder tells us how it got that way in a tour of the very streets and structures: the gates, the convents, the churches and their saints, the rows of medieval houses and crests of long gone, noble Italian families embedded in a civic wall. Illustrated with many evocative pictures from the stone arching city gates to the palazzos, it is a book to carry around with you as you walk back in history. A must have for anyone who wants to understand Tuscany history, and how one intimate town grew over the centuries.

From a review by Anthony Grafton in The New York Review of Books, March 4, 1999 (Vol. XLVI, No. 4), pp. 34-38. "Like Burckhardt, Ingrid Rowland sees the Renaissance as the birth of a new culture and society. Like Burckhardt, too, she brings this lost world back to three-dimensional life and vivid color, for, like him, she too is a splendid writer whose words evoke unforgettable images of Renaissance society. Rowland deftly describes the young artists and warriors we know from Benvenuto Cellini's autobiography, every ready to fight or fornicate. . . . More remarkably, Rowland does as much for the city's old scholars." "Though Rowland peoples her story with memorable characters, she also re-creates the institutions in which they had to make their way." "Especially effective-and particularly fascinating-are Rowland's recreations of particular Roman circles and their ways of making scholarship into art." "Rowland's remarkable enterprise in cultural history synthesizes earlier scholarship of many kinds: that of urban historian like David Coffin, Christopher Frömmel, and Charles Burroughs; of intellectual historians like John D'Amico and Charles Stinger; of historians of the classical revival in art and architecture like Otto Kurz, Elisabeth MacDougall, and Phyllis Pray Bober; of passionate delvers into Vatican manuscripts like Vittorio Fanelli and Massimo Miglio. But this book really rests more on primary than on secondary sources. . . . Her view of Roman intellectual life, her sense of personal interactions and intellectual collisions, derive directly form the cornucopia of documents she has discovered, evaluated, and edited." "Painters and writers, life as art, style as mediations, banquet years: Ingrid Rowland, like a contemporary Burckhardt, brings a lost world to life. She has given us a genuinely metropolitan High Renaissance, not only passionate and learned, but also sexy, urbane, and fascinating."

It is nearly impossible to overpraise Ingrid Rowland's book. Strikingly original, _The Culture of the High Renaissance_ is a dazzling display of scholarship and one of the finest examples of historical writing in recent memory. There is exceptional erudition here--her work is a feast of information, rare insight, and compelling interpretation--and it is presented by Rowland from beginning to end with enthusiasm and considerable grace. Refreshingly, she always gives the sense of inviting the reader along to share in the discovery of a world she knows so well, and so clearly loves. The writing itself is something extraordinary. Here the fascinating world of sixteenth century Rome is presented with passion, affection, and humor--a more than welcome antidote to the bloodless prose of much current academic writing. This should come as no surprise to readers familiar with Rowland's pieces in _The New York Review of Books_ (her current article, "Titian: The Sacred and Profane" is characteristically dazzling and not to be missed). It is easy to see why Rowland was recently recognized for her outstanding teaching at the University of Chicago. Lucky students...lucky readers. Prof. George Lechner, Italian Renaissance (Honors), University of Hartford

Why would you want to buy another cookbook from an Italian restaurant, especially from one without a famous chef's name like Batali or Colicchio or Bartoli? I opened this book expecting to find reasons to dismiss this book as unworthy of our interest. I found no such reasons, and several reasons to give this book a reasonable amount of attention.

First, this is genuine Venetian cuisine, not Venetian cuisine interpreted by an American or English writer. The cuisine of the da foiore lives and breaths by the pulse of the Venetian fish markets and the seasons of fishing in the Adriatic. Recipes are also true to the region in focusing on rice and corn meal (polenta), and soft pasta dishes most common in the north, especially those close to the prime rice growing area in Europe. There is also an appropriate mix of Middle Eastern influences harking back to the days when Venice was THE spice merchant of Europe.

Second, the recipes are delightful, with a bright mix of the fish and an accompanying vegetable, changing slightly the Italian pairing of separate secondo and contorno dishes. I concur with the author's contention that these are indeed simple recipes. They may not be easy, but they should take less time than usual to master. Virtually all protein is seafood from the northern Adriatic, `right off the boat'. There is a high concentration of bivalve, cephalopod (squid, cuddlefish, and octopus), shrimp, and finfish recipes. There are few lobster or crab dishes and beef, chicken, and veal are not even listed in the index.

Third, this may be an Italian cuisine which may be most familiar to Americans after the southern Italian tomato drenched cuisine of tomatoes, hard pasta, and pizza. I was never a great fan of Tuscan dishes, but this cuisine backed by the wines of the Veneto, Bardolino, Valpolicella, Soave, and Prosecco is much more attractive to me than the Chianti of Tuscony or the hundreds of newer wines from Italy on the market. Then there is also grappa to make life just a little more interesting.

My most delightful discovery in this book is to find the word, `cicheti' for the Italian counterpart of the Greek and Turkish meze which has become a very popular subject of cookbook authors of late, who make a point of saying that Greek meze is not the same as antipasti. Another interesting discovery is that unlike much of the rest of Italy, Venetians are not horrified at the thought of putting cheese on fish, although they do not do it commonly with the very strong dried cheeses such as parmesan or pecorino romano.

Even though the book is written by a man, the true author of the recipes is the author's mother, true to the great Mediterranean tradition of cuisine being the woman's provence.

If you already have 20 or more Italian cookbooks, then you have to wrestle with your own obsessions to determine if this is worth the investment. At $35 without the celebrity byline, this may be a bit much, but I recommend it none the less, especially if you are a great fan of seafood.

I've not bought or read this book, however, what I can say is that this restaurant is unquestionably one of the top 5 restaurants I've yet had the pleasure of eating at. Finding it requires nerves of steel, especially if you are walking from San Marco, as it is to be found as an oasis of culinary excellence in a labrynth of time etched architecture. The service can be described with one word : class. The food, with a menu that changes daily depending on the ingredients available, was true art. This is not food of the nouvelle cuisine variety but rather food that is a direction indicator ~ this must be one of the leading edge restaurants in Italy, which is fusing old ideas with modern presentation. The after taste of the food was of unquestionably traditional tastes and flavours.