Italy Biography

THE HERMIT AND THE HITCHHIKER: A SPANISH ENCOUNTER is the tale of two men whose fortuitous meeting in the hills of South-East Spain leads to an unlikely friendship which changes their lives forever. After overcoming the initial reticence caused by their disparate ages and backgrounds, their improbable alliance leads both men to learn from each other and reassess their respective goals, not least when Roy’s old flame, Alicia, returns to the area with her daughter Sara. Touching, humorous and informative, the story of Roy and Ryan’s relationship with each other and their female friends is...

THREE FUN STORIES FROM SPAIN is a handy anthology of three amusing, informative tales about the lives of different British people in contemporary Spain. All three titles are also available separately.

Benito Mussolini was a figure that was both revered and dreaded. He climbed the ladder of power rapidly in Italian politics, and he was brought down just as fast. Mussolini wished to stir up a united front of nationalism within his people. But, in the end, the only thing he united was their hatred and contempt for him as a despotic leader. There were several twists and turns in the life of Benito Mussolini, and this book will take you through them all. Follow his astonishing rise and his dramatic fall.

Benito Mussolini: The Life and Legacy of Italy’s Fascist Prime Minister profiles one of the 20th century’s most notorious leaders. You will learn about Mussolini like never before.

From a political and military point of view, the Partisan Diary provides firsthand knowledge of how the partisans in Piedmont fought, what obstacles they encountered, and who joined the struggle against the Nazis and the Fascists. The mountainous terrain and long winters of the Alpine regions (the site of many of their battles) and the ever-present threat of reprisals by German occupiers and their fascist partners exacerbated problems of organization among the various partisan groups.

THREE MORE FUN STORIES FROM SPAIN is a second anthology of three entertaining, informative tales about the lives of diverse British people in Spain. All three titles are also available separately.

Los Medici o Médicis fueron una poderosa e influyente familia del Renacimiento en Florencia entre cuyos miembros se destacaron tres papas - León X, Clemente VII y León XI - , numerosos dirigentes florentinos, miembros de las casas reales de Francia e Inglaterra y que sobresalieron por ser mecenas, patrocinando desinteresadamente a los artistas y científicos de su época.

THREE MEN IN SPAIN is an omnibus edition of: THREE MEN IN A VAN by Jeremy Hastings ONE MAN IN A VAN by Geoff Corless IT’S NOT ABOUT THE VAN by Harry Storrar Please see individual book descriptions and reviews for more information.

A CURIOUS AFFAIR is the funny, heart-warming account of an unlikely liaison between a restless Englishwoman and an enigmatic Andalusian man. Thoroughly fed up of commuting to her high-flying job in London, 44-year-old Claire Hadland decides to ditch both her unfaithful husband and her marketing career and spend some time abroad. On her arrival in Guardo, a small northern town, she sets about brushing up her Spanish and making friends, but during a visit to a tiny mountain hamlet she meets Daniel, a rather peculiar man from the south who has as little reason to be in rural Palencia as ...

Annette Joseph's years in Italy revealed this truth: Italy, in all its multifaceted, glorious history and culture has to be experienced in full. Over almost three decades, Italy has fed, entertained, confused, excited, lured, promised, lied, satisfied, occasionally disappointed, and utterly enchanted her. She's left, but can't stay away - she'll always return. Always. Just like a beloved partner....

The 'Ndrangheta is the world's most powerful Mafia and it's behind a litany of violence, organised crime and corruption around the world. Bound together by blood ties, silent but deadly, and steeped in religious ritual, they are a Mafia unlike any other, and vastly more dangerous. In Mafiopoli, the first comprehensive book to be published in English about the 'Ndrangheta, Sanne De Boer takes us deep inside this extraordinary criminal organisation.

The Sicilian mafia, or Cosa Nostra, is far from being Italy's only dangerous criminal fraternity. The south of the country hosts two other major mafias: the camorra, from Naples and its hinterland and the 'ndrangheta, the mafia from the poor and isolated region of Calabria that has now risen to become the most powerful mob of all. Each of these brotherhoods has its own methods, its own dark rituals, its own style of ferocity and corruption. Their early history is little known, indeed some of it has been entirely shrouded in myth and silence until now.

A few years ago, lifestyle celebrity and TV pioneer Debbie Travis realized that she was no longer challenged by her wildly successful TV career, and she was so busy she was missing out on the people and things that made her happy. She dared to dream about a whole new direction in life - a plan to turn a 13th-century farmhouse in Tuscany into a unique hotel and retreat for people who need a change as much as she did. And now, after a crazy amount of work, she is not only living that dream but sharing it with others....

Discover the hidden enigmas that lie beneath the surface of Italy’s rich and storied past. Unsolved Mysteries of Italy: Murders, Mysteries, and the Paranormal by Theodore F. Johnboro takes you on a captivating journey through the eerie and unexplained events that have mystified investigators, stirred local legends, and gripped the imagination of generations.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was recognized in his lifetime as the greatest living artist, creator of a succession of masterpieces in sculpture, fresco painting, and architecture. In all his work, Michelangelo impressed his contemporaries as a forceful personality, a divine genius endowed with terribilita, or intense emotional power.

this exciting story illuminates the captivating world of the late Renaissance - in this case its plagues, remedies, and alchemy - through the life of Leonardo Fioravanti, a brilliant, remarkably forward-thinking, and utterly unconventional doctor. Fioravanti's marvelous cures and talent for self-aggrandizement earned him the adoration of the people, the scorn of the medical establishment, and a reputation as one of the age's most colorful, combative figures.

Galileo Galilei’s contributions to modern science were so fundamental to a variety of fields that even though he died almost 400 years ago, his name retains international acclaim. This 17th-century natural philosopher is often credited with the invention of the telescope, thanks to his many discoveries using that specific instrument, and though he was not, in fact, its inventor, the myth still persists.

*All three books in the series are now available in an omnibus edition under the title THREE MEN IN SPAIN* THREE MEN IN A VAN is a humorous and informative account which explores both Spain and the ups and downs of our middle-aged trio’s singular road trip. When the fifty-something friends from Lancashire decide to take some time out together, little do they know that they will end up traversing Spain from north to south in an old and somewhat unsightly mini-campervan. Garrulous Geoff, hefty Harry and the relatively rational Jeremy, unused to spending longer than an evening in each ...

I traveled more than 6,000 miles by plane, train, and bus to walk in unfamiliar country, but I left behind no process server, no posse, no bounty hunter. No one was looking for me, and no one, other than my wife, knew I had left home. I wanted to see an Italy I hadn't seen before. I wanted to get away from the cares of quotidian life. I wanted sustained, healthy exercise. And I looked for the novelty of the unknown and the unexpected. I found some of each and too much of some.

The City of Falling Angels opens on the evening of January 29, 1996, when a dramatic fire destroys the historic Fenice opera house. The loss of the Fenice, where five of Verdi's operas premiered, is a catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving in Venice three days after the fire, Berendt becomes a kind of detective - inquiring into the nature of life in this remarkable museum-city - while gradually revealing the truth about the fire.