Italy Books - Page 3

The Ruin of the Roman Empire: A New History

James J. O'Donnell

Amazon Price: $23.10 List Price: $35.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Ecco Amazon Marketplace: 44 new & used starting at $20.83

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> Rome
Subjects -> History -> World -> General
Subjects -> History -> World -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The dream Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar shared of uniting Europe, the Medi­terranean, and the Middle East in a single community shuddered and then collapsed in the wars and disasters of the sixth century. It was a looking-glass world, where some Romans ideal­ized the Persian emperor while barbarian kings in Italy and France worked tirelessly to save the pieces of the Roman dream they had inherited. At the center of the old Roman Empire, in his vast and pompous Constantinople palace, the emperor Justinian, with too little education and too much religion, set out to restore his empire to its glories. Step by step, the things he did to bring back the past sealed the doom of his entire civilization.

Historian and classicist James J. O'Donnell—who last brought us his masterful, disturbing, and revelatory biography of Saint Augustine—revisits this old story in a fresh way, bringing home its sometimes painful relevance to issues of our own time.

With unexpected detail and in his hauntingly vivid style, O'Donnell begins at a time of apparent Roman revival and brings us to the moment of imminent collapse that just preceded the rise of Islam. Illegal migrations of peoples, religious wars, global pandemics, and the temptations of empire: Rome's end foreshadows our own crises and offers hints how to navigate them—if we will heed this story.

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love

Dava Sobel

Amazon Price: $10.88 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Penguin (Non-Classics) Amazon Marketplace: 601 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Historical -> General
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Historical -> General AAS
Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Leaders & Notable People -> Religious

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 243 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Galileo Galilei's telescopes allowed him to discover a new reality in the heavens. But for publicly declaring his astounding argument--that the earth revolves around the sun--he was accused of heresy and put under house arrest by the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Living a far different life, Galileo's daughter Virginia, a cloistered nun, proved to be her father's greatest source of strength through the difficult years of his trial and persecution.

Drawing upon the remarkable surviving letters that Virginia wrote to her father, Dava Sobel has written a fascinating history of Medici--era Italy, a mesmerizing account of Galileo's scientific discoveries and his trial by Church authorities, and a touching portrayal of a father--daughter relationship. Galileo's Daughter is a profoundly moving portrait of the man who forever changed the way we see the universe.

• Winner of the Christopher Award and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award

• Named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Esquire, and the American Library Association

Are We Rome?: The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America

Cullen Murphy

Amazon Price: $10.17 List Price: $14.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Mariner Books Amazon Marketplace: 58 new & used starting at $4.04

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> Early Civilization

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 40 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A meditation on the decline and fall 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book compares contemporary America to the Roman Empire. In asking whether we are Rome, Murphy is really asking whether we are doomed to decline and fall, as Rome did. When I began this book I was thinking of Rome at its peak. However, its focus is really on the decline of the empire. With the focus on the negative aspects of the (mostly late) Roman Empire and of America, it gradually becomes clear that the author does not much like either Rome or America. Two examples from the text will explain what I mean. The author takes exception to the plaque left by Neil Armstrong on the moon that says "We came in peace for all mankind," apparently on the grounds that Americans should not be speaking for all mankind. The second refers to the famous `line in the sand' episode from Roman history. In 168 BC, the Roman Consul Gaius Popillius Laenas drew a line in the sand around King Antiochus IV of the Seleucid Empire who was about to invade Egypt, saying, "Before you cross this line I want you to give me a reply for the Roman Senate". The implication was that Rome would declare war if the King stepped out of the circle without committing to leave Egypt immediately. Weighing his options, Antiochus wisely chose to withdraw. This would seem to be a triumph of diplomacy since armed conflict was averted without any loss of life or an arrow being fired. Murphy holds this up as an example of Roman arrogance. Arrogance or not, the responsibility that comes with power is such that great nations cannot be spectators and do have to show leadership.

In general the book consists of a series of musings about the similarities between American and Roman governments, militaries, industry, etc. The chapter on privatization of government services is more polemic than scholarly discussion. Unfortunately there seems to be no strong underlying thesis. That there are many similarities between Rome and America should come as no surprise because the imperatives of governing a large nation state are as universal as gravity. In keeping with this idea, most of the similarities between America and Rome would as well apply to the British Empire. Early on, the author tells us that the school history class cliché about those who forget history being doomed to repeat it is not particularly true. This is disconcerting, because what then is the point of this book?

The question posed in the title is of course rhetorical. All empires rise and fall. Murphy reminds us that in some sense Rome never went away completely. Many of our institutions today, not to mention our language, are direct descendents of their Roman counterparts. That America faces many of the same challenges as Rome did is a given. Certainly there are many similarities between the body politic of both Rome and America, but no more than with other large nations. There are also some of the same failings. Yet there are differences as well. America has many strengths, and Murphy does mention some of them at the very end, though only in passing. The entrepreneurial spirit that beginning in the late nineteenth century would power America to global prominence is not mentioned. Obviously Murphy is not happy with the America he sees around him. He makes a strong case for America being Rome at its worst and suggests some ideas to turn things around. Unfortunately, he makes a much poorer case for America NOT being Rome.

Editorial Review:

The rise and fall of ancient Rome has been on American minds from the beginning of our republic.Today we focus less on the Roman Republic than on the empire that took its place. Depending on who's doing the talking, the history of Rome serves as either a triumphal call to action or a dire warning of imminent collapse. In Are We Rome? the esteemed editor and author Cullen Murphy reveals a wide array of similarities between the two empires: the blinkered, insular culture of our capitals; the debilitating effect of bribery in public life; the paradoxical issue of borders; and the weakening of the body politic through various forms of privatization. Murphy persuasively argues that we most resemble Rome in the burgeoning corruption of our government and in our arrogant ignorance of the world outside -- two things that must be changed if we are to avoid Rome's fate.

Italianissimo: The Quintessential Guide to What Italians Do Best

Louise Fili, Lise Apatoff

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little Bookroom Amazon Marketplace: 39 new & used starting at $11.28

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> General
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> General AAS
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Social Sciences -> Anthropology -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What is it about Italy that inspires passion, fascination, and utter devotion? This quirky guide to the Italian way of life, with its fifty witty mini-essays on iconic Italian subjects, will answer that question as well as entertain and delight both real and armchair travelers. Topics range from expressive hand gestures to patron saints, pasta, parmesan, shoes, opera, the Vespa, the Fiat 500, gelato, gondolas, and more. History, folklore, superstitions, traditions, and customs are tossed in a delicious sauce that also includes a wealth of factual information for the sophisticated traveler:• why lines, as we know them, are nonexistent in Italy• why a string of coral beads is often seen around a baby’s wrist• what the unlucky number of Italy is (it’s not thirteen, unless seating guests at a table, when it IS thirteen–taking into account the outcome of the Last Supper)• why red underwear begins to appear in shops as the New Year approaches In addition to the lyrical and poetic, Italianissimo provides useful and indispensable information for the traveler: deciphering the quirks of the language (while English has only one word for “you,” in Italy there are three), the best place to find balsamic vinegar (in Modena, of course), the best gelato (in Sicily, where they first invented it using the snow from Mount Etna). There are also recommendations for little-known museums and destinations (the Bodoni museum, the Pinocchio park, legendary coffee bars).This is a new kind of guidebook overflowing with enlightening and hilarious miscellaneous information, filled with luscious graphics and unforgettable photographs that will decode and enrich all trips to Italy–both real and imaginary.

The Fires of Vesuvius: Pompeii Lost and Found

Mary Beard

Amazon Price: $17.79 List Price: $26.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Belknap Press Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $17.79

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Ancient -> Rome
Subjects -> History -> World -> General
Subjects -> History -> World -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Pompeii is the most famous archaeological site in the world, visited by more than two million people each year. Yet it is also one of the most puzzling, with an intriguing and sometimes violent history, from the sixth century BCE to the present day.

Destroyed by Vesuvius in 79 CE, the ruins of Pompeii offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman Empire. But the eruptions are only part of the story. In The Fires of Vesuvius, acclaimed historian Mary Beard makes sense of the remains. She explores what kind of town it was—more like Calcutta or the Costa del Sol?—and what it can tell us about “ordinary” life there. From sex to politics, food to religion, slavery to literacy, Beard offers us the big picture even as she takes us close enough to the past to smell the bad breath and see the intestinal tapeworms of the inhabitants of the lost city. She resurrects the Temple of Isis as a testament to ancient multiculturalism. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica.

Recently, Pompeii has been a focus of pleasure and loss: from Pink Floyd’s memorable rock concert to Primo Levi’s elegy on the victims. But Pompeii still does not give up its secrets quite as easily as it may seem. This book shows us how much more and less there is to Pompeii than a city frozen in time as it went about its business on 24 August 79.

(20081006)

The Most Beautiful Villages of Tuscany (Most Beautiful Villages)

James Bentley

Amazon Price: $26.40 List Price: $40.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Thames & Hudson Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $9.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Travel -> Europe
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Oh no, not another Tuscan picture book! 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Yes, the photos are nice, but how many coffee table books with pretty Tuscan villages, cypress trees, and silvery olive leaves shimmering in the wind do we need?

Someone who reviewed this book suggested bringing it along on a Tuscan trip; if you put this large and heavy book in your luggage, you will have to leave the toothpaste, underwear, and a number of other things at home, particularly now that some airlines are apparently toying with the notion of lowering weight allowances and charging for the excess.

The text in most instances is not particularly helpful. There are quite a few books on Tuscany that do a much better job. And I was truly surprised to see the town of San Quirico d'Orcia included in the list of "most beautiful villages". I happen to know San Quirico and because it is off the usual beaten tourist path, it retains an "Italianness" that has been lost by, for example, Greve in Chianti, where one would be hard-pressed to find an Italian in that town's lovely main square on a Saturday afternoon. But San Quirico could never be called "beautiful", by any stretch of the imagination.

Despite my reservations about this book, it would probably be a welcome present for a friend who has recently returned from the grand tour of Tuscany and it will, at least for a while, have a prominent place on this friend's coffee table.

Editorial Review:

Bentley highlights 37 villages and towns, both for their intrinsic beauty and for the part they have played in Tuscan history and culture. Page after page of Palmer's magnificent color photos evoke the beauty of the land. Specially compiled listings of hotels, restaurants, and festivals complete the tribute to Tuscany and its villages.

Inside the Vatican (National Geographic)

Bart Mcdowell

Amazon Price: $12.24 List Price: $18.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: National Geographic Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $7.44

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> How-to -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> How-to -> General AAS
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> Photography -> Photojournalism

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This lavishly illustrated guide through the Vatican captures the people, the treasures, and the inner workings of the center of the Roman Catholic Church. Bart McDowell takes readers through centuries of Vatican history, describing the days of the Roman Empire, the glorious years of the Renaissance, the power struggle between Church and State that endured from the late 7th century until 1929, and much more. Since the center of the Roman Catholic Church is also the world's smallest nation, McDowell explains religious matters, such as the process of canonization, and governmental operations of the Vatican-highlighted by a visit with Pope John Paul II as he attends to his many daily duties. Photographer James L. Stanfield spent nearly a year inside the Vatican with unprecedented access to its museums, ceremonies, and people. His full-color photographs show art that few visitors to the Vatican have the chance to see-works of such masters as Michelangelo and Raphael-and provide private viewings of Pope John Paul II's quarters, the necropolis beneath St. Peter's Basilica, and world-renowned libraries. Through these beautiful and exclusive photographs and the revealing text that accompanies them, Inside the Vatican celebrates a small, dynamic community unique in the world.

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

Ross King

Amazon Price: $10.88 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Penguin (Non-Classics) Amazon Marketplace: 257 new & used starting at $0.16

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> Regional -> European
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General
Subjects -> Arts & Photography -> History & Criticism -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 85 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel. With little experience as a painter (though famed for his sculpture David), Michelangelo was reluctant to begin the massive project.

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling recounts the four extraordinary years Michelangelo spent laboring over the vast ceiling while the power politics and personal rivalries that abounded in Rome swirled around him. Battling against ill health, financial difficulties, domestic problems, the pope's impatience, and a bitter rivalry with the brilliant young painter Raphael, Michelangelo created scenes so beautiful that they are considered one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. A panorama of illustrious figures converged around the creation of this great work-from the great Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus to the young Martin Luther-and Ross King skillfully weaves them through his compelling historical narrative, offering uncommon insight into the intersection of art and history.

The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall

Christopher Hibbert

Amazon Price: $11.68 List Price: $16.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Harper Perennial Amazon Marketplace: 110 new & used starting at $2.30

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General
Subjects -> History -> Americas -> United States -> General AAS
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> Renaissance

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Good intro to a very famous family 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Normally i dont buy books authored by Christopher Hibbert because i dont like his style.I think he's style is dry,stale and not at all enjoyable.But when i found this book in a book fair for just a dollar, i jumped at the chance.But the fact is that the book is a typical Hibbert book.Very dry and reads like a legal document of 5000 pages.But at least you get to find who the Medicis were and their contributions to Florence.The book gets more interesting in thre last 150 pages.I think its because the last Medicis were so bad and rotten that at least you get to enjoy their problems and how that lead to their fall.I think the book can also help you understand some of the sights, monuments and churches in Florence since they put so much money into them.But, again, Mr Hibbert does a lousy job with the story and i found myself reading faster so i would finish the book.

Editorial Review:

It was a dynasty with more wealth, passion, and power than the houses of Windsor, Kennedy, and Rockefeller combined. It shaped all of Europe and controlled politics, scientists, artists, and even popes, for three hundred years. It was the house of Medici, patrons of Botticelli, Michelangelo and Galileo, benefactors who turned Florence into a global power center, and then lost it all.

The House of Medici picks up where Barbara Tuchman's Hibbert delves into the lives of the Medici family, whose legacy of increasing self-indulgence and sexual dalliance eventually led to its self-destruction. With twenty-four pages of black-and-white illustrations, this timeless saga is one of Quill's strongest-selling paperbacks.

The Ancient Shore: Dispatches from Naples

Shirley Hazzard, Francis Steegmuller

Amazon Price: $12.24 List Price: $18.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: University Of Chicago Press Amazon Marketplace: 48 new & used starting at $9.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> General
Subjects -> History -> Europe -> Italy -> General AAS
Subjects -> Literature & Fiction -> History & Criticism -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Born in Australia, Shirley Hazzard first moved to Naples as a young woman in the 1950s to take up a job with the United Nations. It was the beginning of a long love affair with the city. Battered by World War II, Naples would remain for decades one of the most violent and impoverished places in Italy, but in its passion, vivacity, and beauty, the city still justified the loving words written about it by Goethe, Byron, and other literary travelers over the centuries.
            The Ancient Shore collects the best of Hazzard’s writings on Naples, along with a classic New Yorker essay by her late husband, Francis Steegmuller. For the pair, both insatiable readers, the Naples of Pliny, Gibbon, and Auden is constantly alive to them in the present: “The ghosts of this region are too many, and too vital, to sadden us,” Hazzard writes. “Rather, they create a company, ironic and benign, to which we ourselves may ultimately hope to belong.” With Hazzard as our guide, we encounter Henry James, Oscar Wilde, and of course Goethe, but Hazzard’s concern is primarily with the Naples of our own time—often violently unforgiving to innocent tourists, but able to transport the visitor who attends patiently to its rhythms and history. A town shadowed by both the symbol and the reality of Vesuvius can never fail to acknowledge the essential precariousness of life—nor, as the lover of Naples discovers, the human compassion, generosity, and friendship that are necessary to sustain it.
            Beautifully illustrated by photographs from such masters as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Herbert List, The Ancient Shore is a lyrical letter to a lifelong love: honest and clear-eyed, yet still fervently, endlessly enchanted.