Italy Books

I really appreciated having this book along on my recent trip to Umbria & Lazio. One can get the typical "must-see" destinations from any travel book; Ms. Podesta's emphasizes the finer experiences to be had by deviating from well-travelled paths.
If you are a foodie, or looking for singular dining & lodging experiences, this is the book for you.

This book is a wonderful addition to your Italy travel library. It is not your usual list of high spots to see in well-known tourist locales. It has a wealth of unique and truly lovely places to visit with a special person or on your own. We just returned from a trip to Umbria, and found the book invaluable in locating outings, activities, eating, vistas, and wine-tasting that we may not have found otherwise. In addition, the villa where we stayed was found through resources in the book and it was exquisite! We felt that because of the book and the activities and places discussed, we enjoyed our trip at a deeper level and got a true sense of Italian sensibility and what Italians appreciate about their terrain, sunsets, and foods. Bravo, Ms Podesta!

We just came back from Rome with Facaros and Pauls in hand and can't wait to go back. I never read such a compelling, well thought out, and beautifully written guide in my life. All the other guides to Rome we saw were basic and boring and humdrum compared to this one--it makes the eternal city eternally fascinating. Sometimes we just burst out laughing aloud, and got some very strange looks from the Romans. Get it or regret it!

This guidebook is not sanitized like the Fodors books. While there may not be a pages of color photographs, you will certainly come back with the flavor of Rome.

The book is laid out in a series of walks through the city with insightful/caustic commentary. The walks can be daunting and the recommended time for each walk if about right. However, the walks take you off the main throughfares of Rome and into the city.

I liked this book so much, I'm buying another by the same authors for a trip to Paris

In the labyrinth of streets called Rome, walking without a map like this is like walking with a blindfold - You can walk, but your end-up where you didn't plan and have to rely on the locals, which are not very english-literate.
A laminated map is a must since you'll be puting it in and out of your bag doxens of times. A paper map will wear out very quickly.

I love this map! It's laminated, durable, easy-to-read, and so full of information that you almost don't need a guide book to accompany it. Love it.

Excellent layout. Very informative. Maps are very helpful - not as helpful as free local maps. Very good recomendations for places to see and eat, and also avoid. Time alloted to certain sights is nowhere near enough, particularly the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.

This is a great Rome book. It's organized by neighborhood (i.e. Ancient Rome, Heart of Rome, and Vatican) and spends a great deal of text/photos on what it considers must see attractions in each area as well as ancillary attractions in the same area. Call me elementary but I also like the many color photos. If you are planning your own tour, this can help you quickly rule in (or rule out) things that strike your fancy. Furthermore, this book has great insider tips. Any book can tell you how to get from the the airport to Termini. This one tells you the best time to visit places and notes things that you might overlook when you are there.

The only real negative in the book has to be the maps. While there are good maps for each individual area profiled in the book, there isn't a good comprehensive map. Nor is every street mentioned in the book included in its map index. Something else I would like to see in future editions is a map of the metro (subway) lines laid over the city map. This allows you to tell what exactly where you are getting on/off the metro.

Overall, a good book. Comes in a nice handy travel size. Could fit in a decent sized pocket. Highly recommended.

This is an excellent book about the history of writing and books not just in the Vatican but in General. It has wonderful prints and photographs of ancient texts and very in depth histories. I was most pleased with its treatment of classical mathematics and extant Greek writings. In general this book is an interesting read, though may be a bit academic for the average reader.

Anthony Grafton's "Rome Reborn" is not just a simple and well done 'exhibition catalogue' intended to be a luxurious appendix to the famous exhibition of 1993 held in the Library of Congress. On the contrary, his 'magnum opus' not only exceeds by far the boundaries of this genre, but also laid the new foundations of modern scholarship in the field of Renaissance studies focusing on Rome and its cultural rebirth in the Renaissance. In combining several methodologies which have been used separately in various disciplines before, Grafton showed himself once more the absolute master of contemporary Renaissance Studies in its broadest sense. His "Rome Reborn" should therefore be on the desk of everyone occupied (professionaly or in another way) with the cultural history of the Renaissance.

We have family in Rome, so don't often eat in restaurants, but this book captures the essence of Roman cooking and style. Even if you never make one recipe, the book sings a love-song about the Eternal City.
I also gave it as a gift to friends who have spent several months living in Rome--someday, I hope we will be able to spend even more time there.
Delicioso!

This is the third "la cucina Romana" cookbook I will have reviewed in the last six (6) months. The first two were `Cooking the Roman Way' by David Downie and `In a Roman Kitchen: Timeless Recipes from the Eternal City' by Jo Bettoja. Both have been published within the last two years. A Roman cookbook certainly seems to be a growth industry.

The most important thing to know about this book is that it is more different from the other two titles than these earlier volumes are from one another. `Rome, at Home' by Suzanne Dunaway is a chronicle of the dishes the author cooks in her home in either Rome or Los Angeles. Being only the `Spirit of la cucina Romana' and not the letter of the cuisine, the recipes have a habit of wandering all over the map of Italy. The intent and the content of the two earlier books is to more carefully document Roman dishes as offered by specific restaurante and trattoria in Rome itself.

This book includes almost every classic Roman recipe I know, including

Cipolline in Agrodolce (Little onions in sweet and sour sauce)
Carciofi alla Giudia (Artichokes fried in the Jewish Manner)
Spaghetti alla Carbonara (Spaghetti with Pancetta and Eggs)
Pizza Bianca (White Pizza)
Gnocchi alla Romana (Semolina Dumplings)
Trippa alla Romana (Tripe in Tomato Sauce)

What is surprising is that the book does not include the very Roman dish `Saltimbocca alla Romana'. In its place are several dishes with origins in other parts of Italy such as Ragu Bolognese, Pizza Napoletana, and Ossobuco in Bianco (Milanese).

As this is a book on how the author cooks at home, the recipes follow the well-known Italian culinary practice of buying the very best, freshest ingredients, and doing as little as possible to them to bring them to the table. This is not to say the recipes are overly simple. The author quotes Einstein on this point when he said that the object is to make things as simple as possible, but no simpler. To this end, the author does not skimp on any steps that may surprise conventional wisdom. In a recipe for Caponata (Sweet and Sour Braised Vegetables) for example, she takes the time to salt cut eggplant to draw out some moisture and bitterness. I do sense, however, a few assumptions being made about the cook's knowledge of cooking, as I find no warning against burning the garlic when sautéing, as in the recipe for Spaghetti alla Puttanesca.

The book's contents are organized in the same manner as almost every other traditional Italian cookbook with chapters on:

Antipasti
Primi, with Minestre, Pasta, and Risotto
Secondi, with Pesce (Fish), Pollame (Poultry), Carne (Meat), and Cacciagione (Game)
Contorni (Side Dishes)
Pane, Focaccia, e Pizza (Bread, Flatbread, and Pizza)
Dolci (Sweets)

Note that the author's primary vocation is bread baking, so the chapter on breads is not simply filler.

The glue which holds the book together is the story of how the author originally fell in love with the city of Rome, how she met her husband in Rome, the tempo of her life when in Rome, and her approximation of the world of Roman cuisine based on materials available in southern California. Like many other travelogue cookbooks such as Patricia Wells new `The Provence Cookbook', this volume includes a list of the addresses, telephone numbers, and précis of local Roman eateries and food shops. These bits of lore can put you in the clever little Food Network promo that has a NY foodie ordering food to go from a restaurant in China. The author breathes some Roman air into the anecdotes by giving proverbs, phrases, and words not only in Italian, but also in the local Roman dialect. Thankfully, all local linguistic color is translated into English.

One symptom of how this book is less academically inclined is the fact that the index is definitely not bilingual, unlike the two earlier books. This means that when I tried to find Dunaway's recipe for `Cipolline in Agrodolce', I had to do a little mental translation, as Dunaway's index only had an entry for `Cipolline in sweet and sour sauce'. This probably means absolutely nothing to the American home cook who is not trying to compare three cookbooks. In spite of the liberal seasoning with both the Italian and Roman language, this book is organized entirely in English. All recipes are titled in Italian, but consistently subtitled and indexed in English. Another small lapse may be the absence of eggs, celery, and mint from the author's otherwise very good list of Roman ingredients. Eggs pervade the recipes in many unusual ways and celery and mint are famously abundant Roman ingredients.

This book successfully evokes the sights and smells and sounds of the Roman market in words, with a friendly assist from watercolors of simple Roman scenes and food painted by the author herself. I am no fan of photographs of food in cookbooks. Rampant food styling tricks and fuzzy photography give no guarantee that you are seeing anything close to what you may actually make at home. I would much rather have my saltimbocca recipe back.

With a list price under $30, this is an excellent first book on Italian cookery. The recipes are authentically Italian, based on ingredients available to almost all Americans, wrapped up in a successful evocation of the Roman culinary environment. As such, it is as good as or better than Mario Batali's `Simple Italian Food', a much more appropriate paradigm than the two scholarly treatment of Roman cuisine cited above.

Highly recommended for simple ethnic cooking.

I don't particularly care for shakespeare, having been forced to read so much of it in college. But I needed something for the wall of my office, something politically neutral and unoffensive. Something that projected a certain sense of class and style. Well, this artprint certainly fit the bill. I was enamored with the attention to detail and vivid colors. Many of my clients have commented on it as well. When I get a bigger office, I would like add additional titles from this series.

I don't particularly care for shakespeare, having been forced to read so much of it in college. But I needed something for the wall of my office, something politically neutral and unoffensive. Something that projected a certain sense of class and style. Well, this artprint certainly fit the bill. I was enamored with the attention to detail and vivid colors. Many of my clients have commented on it as well. When I get a bigger office, I would like add additional titles from this series.

Wonderful introduction to the real language of Shakespeare made accessible to even elementary age children.

I have read Romeo and Juliet in 6 different versions, but this one I really enjoyed. It's underdstandable and easy to read. Good for all ages !!!!

This pocket sized 400 page guide to Malta & surrounding islands is full of facts, details, and helpful hints. This is a British made publication, which means: 1) you have great detail on after hour clubs, bars, and entertainment; 2), there will be practically no attempt to help you with the local language (which for the most part the natives can understand & speak English, even if they are heavily accented); 3) there will be no hesitation to give opinions along with the facts; 4) there will be good information on bus routes and transportation options.
There are only 4 pages of photographs out of the 400, so it helps to team this book up with one like the AAA Spiral Guide which is chock full of photos, but this Rough guide is the one to stick in your pocket when you head out into the street.

Having lived in Malta for about five months, I can vouch for the quality of this book. It definitely beats all the other guides out there.

The author had the advantage of writing about a small country, which might explain why this book is so good. Alas, smallness is often next to greatness, as anybody who knows anything about Malta will tell you. Situated smack dab in the middle of the Mediterranean, it has been a cultural crossroads for thousands of years, from the time of the Phoenecians right down to British colonial days (Malta became an independent country only in 1964 and the British influence is still strong). Its famous siege by the Turks in 1565 was only a part of its rich and exciting history. This book includes a thorough section on Maltese history and culture, plus a list of other books if you want to learn more.

As for the travel sections, it's replete with useful information, including details about admission costs, opening hours, bus routes, places to stay and eat, how to get there (not always easy), and where to go have fun in the sun. The maps are great, and it's also got a lot of useful information about Gozo and Comino, the beautiful neighboring islands 30 minutes by boat from Malta itself.

This book was written with budget travelers in mind, but anybody will find it useful. And don't be turned away by the title: the only thing "rough" about Malta is the bus network, which is absolutely prehistoric and will beat even the most hard-core travelers down to an ichthyous, jelly-like pulp. Watch out. --- Five stars.

I can safely say that this is one of the best guidebooks I have ever carried with me. It's complete, accurate and well-written. I was amazed by the amount of research that must have gone in to making this book: there is a lot of interesting history (including excellent boxes with 'small history' and interesting stuff on all the peculiarities of the towns you might pass by), a lot of information (maps, accomodation, general atmosphere) on even the smallest towns, great descriptions of regions and highlights. I was never disappointed with the recommended things, ranging from restaurants to sites and museums. There is not only info about art, but also about food, trendy cafe's, quiet and less touristy villages etc. It really seemed to me that the people who made this book, known the area very well and spend a lot of time making a perfect guidebook that suits everybody. It's also the most recently published guidebook on the region, which means even the prices are correct. Highly recommended!

This book was our savior while in Tuscanny & Umbria! After an exhausting day of exploring we'd come back to our Tuscan farm house, take a hot bath, drink wine, play Scrabble & then look through this great book, deciding how we'd spend our next day. We would map out our day & plug the addresses of the places we wanted to visit into our GPS. The next morning we were out the door until dark! We had a blast "planning as we went" & using this book to do it. We spent 14 wonderful days in Italy, 7 of them in Tuscanny/Umbria. This book allowed us to make the most of every day!