Italy Memoirs

Two intrepid curmudgeons. An SUV with red plates. Ten thousand miles of twisty roads. What could go wrong? Changing zip codes every day? But of course! Folding your mirrors to squeeze through narrow lanes? Sign us up. Eating unidentified animal parts? Why not? But sorting out the trash in Sardinia? You need a Ph.D. for that! Driving Italy is the irreverent memoir of our winter chasing the sun from Paris to Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, fighting Covid, the GPS, and each other, and falling in love with Italy. If you like a good chuckle, spunky non-heroes, and the road less traveled, you'll ...

During a 68-year career, conductor Arturo Toscanini (1867-1957) was famed for his fierce dedication, photographic memory, explosive temper, and impassioned performances. At various times he dominated La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, the NBC Symphony, and the Bayreuth, Salzburg, and Lucerne festivals. His reforms influenced generations of musicians, and his opposition to Nazism and fascism made him a model for artists of conscience.

È l'alba del XVI secolo. L'Italia è divisa in una miriade di regni litigiosi e incapaci di opporsi alle mire delle grandi potenze. Tra quelle corti soggette ai capricci della guerra si aggira un personaggio bizzarro e affascinante, che sembra uscito dalla penna di uno scrittore. È un pittore e scultore che come nessun altro riesce a catturare l'anima di ciò che raffigura. È un inventore in grado di concepire monumenti di prodigiosa bellezza, architetture così ardite da superare ogni immaginazione, macchine belliche che sembrano provenire da un futuro lontano.

SETTLING DOWN is the fourth and final instalment of THE RELUCTANT EXPAT, Alan Laycock’s light-hearted account of his life in Spain. ***The first part of Alan's sequel, THE CONTENTED EXPAT, is now available.***

Over the course of the 19th century, the people of Sicily found themselves at the center of a struggle for freedom, one that ended up being long and often very bloody. It was during these crucial years of struggle that the Sicilian mafia, La Cosa Nostra ("Our Thing"), started to take shape. Cosa Nostra: The Notorious History and Legacy of the Sicilian Mafia examines how the world’s most famous mob formed, its inner workings, and the events that made it feared around the world.

Galileo Galilei began his career as a mathematician. Yet as fate would have it, he became far more than a numbers whiz. Here was a true Renaissance man; one who was greatly educated and a genuine lover of the arts. He was a fan of poets and a fine lute player. When in 1609 Galileo created his first telescope and turned his attention to the skies, everything changed.

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.

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.

'The Complete Diaries' includes: Part One - Integration Part Two - Invasion Part Three - Consolidation Part Four - Conclusion Please see individual diary descriptions and reviews for more information.

Delicious staples of a great meal, bread, cheese, and wine develop their complex flavors through a process known as fermentation. Katie Quinn spent months as an apprentice with some of Europe’s most acclaimed experts to study the art and science of fermentation. Visiting grain fields, vineyards, and dairies, Katie brings the stories and science of these foods to the table, explains the process of each craft, and introduces the people behind them.

The Greatest Generation is dwindling to nothing at a rapid pace. Many of them are already gone. In many cases, all we have left of them are photographs, old letters, and the dim memories of what we were told by them when we were very young. Often they preferred not to talk about their difficult times and so we have nothing of those years when they came of age. Orville K. Fleetwood was one of those who said little to his family after he returned home from serving in World War II. What we do have are his letters home from Europe written at the end of the war. Three of his brothers also served...

THE RELUCTANT EXPAT is Alan Laycock’s light-hearted account of his transition to life in a new country. Alan has no desire to move to Spain, but his sister Cathy and brother-in-law Bernie are going regardless, so he decides to tag along. Despite his initial pessimism, he soon sees that life in their new home has more to offer than he first suspected, and by befriending a pair of local oldies he finds surprising new opportunities opening up to him. A coin dealer by trade and an idler by nature, his new, dynamic attitude surprises Cathy, Bernie and, most of all, himself, as he gets to grips...

"Author, Gary cements growing reputation...A collection of short stories that give a humorous account of life in a new country." (Salina Patel, The Hounslow Chronicle) "I liked the fact that some of the short stories in this collection were connected and followed on from each other, but at the same time they are stand alone. Great for people like me who are slow readers, I can read a whole story on the train to work and not have to wait all day for the ending." (Carol Wiggins) "I really enjoyed reading these short stories, they are easy to read. I would have liked it if there were more ...

Years after her grandfather's death, journalist Sarah Wildman stumbled upon a cache of his letters in a file labeled "Correspondence: Patients A-G". What she found inside weren't dry medical histories; instead what was written opened a path into the destroyed world that was her family's prewar Vienna. One woman's letters stood out: those from Valy-Valerie Scheftel, her grandfather's lover who remained behind when he fled Europe six months after the Nazis annexed Austria.

Thomas Aquinas is known as a great theologian, and his treatises and theories are studied by clergy all over the world. He is celebrated for his words of wisdom as well as the alleged miracles that he performed while he was still alive. Yet as large as his acclaim may be, Aquinas has also had his fair share of detractors both during his lifetime and long thereafter. Casting all accolades and critiques aside, in this book, you will find the raw, bare bones of the man who Thomas Aquinas came to be.

An execution by hanging for a man driven insane in his cell by delays, a sumptuous costume ball on Fifth Avenue attended by 1,250 guests, barbers arrested for opening their shops on Sunday mornings, opium dens on the Lower East Side – this is the New York of the late 19th century, seen first-hand and described in this book by Adolfo Rossi, a journalist for the Italian-American newspaper Il Progresso. He details the three years he spent living and working in New York, the fascinating, and oftentimes humorous events he witnessed, the people, both famous and ordinary, that he met, and the ...

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.

The Coach to Como After Gary announces that he will no longer fly, his wife, Poppo books a coach holiday to Lake Como. One week later, with the newly acquired kittens dropped off at the cattery, Gary and Poppo embark on a twenty-four hour coach journey to Italy. While the book itself is a narrative account of a journey to Lake Como, The Coach to Como is ultimately the story of survival, recovery and evolution. A colourful but incredibly honest account of the journey Gary has undertaken since he came to terms with his ego, his internal struggles with life, BDP, Bipolar, loneliness, ...

THE HOUSE THAT JACK BOUGHT is a light-hearted, informative account of a Scotsman’s relocation to the Spanish hinterland. When Jack Waldie and his wife Nicola buy a house in rural Spain they intend to start a new life there, away from the hustle and bustle of Glasgow, but when things go awry between them Jack chooses to keep the spacious old place and moves there to write his crime novels in peace. In the small village in an area known as Spanish Lapland, due to its ever decreasing population, Jack befriends key local people who refuse to allow their birthplace to die. When he’s ...

Acclaimed author Andrea di Robilant sweeps listeners back to 18th-century Venice for a spellbinding tale of forbidden love. Originally serialized in The New Yorker, this dazzling story is based on actual family letters. The letters describe a searing and illicit affair between the author’s ancestor, a great Venetian statesman, and a beautiful half-English girl. The couple pursued their passion with reckless abandon, offending nearly everyone, and even getting some help along the way from the infamous Casanova.