Italy Memoirs

Alessandro Barbero segue Dante nella sua adolescenza di figlio d'un usuraio che sogna di appartenere al mondo dei nobili e dei letterati; nei corridoi oscuri della politica, dove gli ideali si infrangono davanti alla realtà meschina degli odi di partito e della corruzione dilagante; nei vagabondaggi dell'esiliato che scopre l'incredibile varietà dell'Italia del Trecento, fra metropoli commerciali e corti cavalleresche.

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 ...

AMAZED BY SPAIN is a light-hearted account of two couples’ unexpected relocation to inland Alicante. Before sisters Sue and Linda inherit a village house in the hills they have little interest in Spain, but on travelling out to see their new possession they begin to warm to the idea of spending time there with their husbands Paul and Bill. After an enjoyable summer holiday the prospect of living in the village becomes irresistible and this book describes their transition from visitors to residents and the diverse selection of people they meet along the way. This amusing and informative ...

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.

FINDING MY FEET is the second instalment of THE RELUCTANT EXPAT, Alan Laycock’s light-hearted account of his life in Spain. Part Three of Alan’s story is now also available.

When Nigel Hamson arrives at the quiet village in Extremadura, no-one knows who he is or what he is doing there. Over the following weeks his eccentric behaviour intrigues the villagers, but little by little his intentions become clear, first to himself, and then to the people he befriends. In Ways of Escape – An Outsider in Spain, we follow Nigel’s first stumbling steps to carve out a new life for himself in the Spanish hinterland, as he adjusts his own needs and aspirations to those of the close-knit community. Both light-hearted and informative, this unusual account of a man striving...

HEADING SOUTH is a light-hearted account of an English brother and sister’s reconnection with the Spanish side of their family. When the author was just four years old their father, Francisco, left the family home in Preston, Lancashire and disappeared from their lives. One day Adam, now twenty-eight, receives a letter from his errant dad and decides to take a break from supply teaching and accept an invitation to visit him in rural Malaga. Later joined by his sister Kate, a series of events begins to unfold which promises to change both their lives forever. Please ‘look inside’ ...

NORTHWARD BOUND is the entertaining and enlightening account of one English couple’s relocation from the overdeveloped south of Spain to the lush green hills of Asturias. In PART TWO of Alison’s story the valiant couple go on living with Remedios while their new house is being refurbished by a singular builder and his motley crew. Hoping to move in by the end of the year, a stirring series of events – one of them a huge surprise – means that the process goes less smoothly than they’d anticipated.

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.

Mussolini has rarely been taken seriously as a totalitarian dictator; Hitler and Stalin have always cast too long a shadow. But what was a negative judgement on the Duce, considered innocuous and ineffective, has begun to work to his advantage. As has occurred with many other European dictators, present-day popular memory of Mussolini is increasingly indulgent; in Italy and elsewhere he is remembered as a strong, decisive leader. Mussolini in Myth and Memory argues against this rehabilitation.

‘Making Friends – A Spanish Memoir’ is a book of reminiscences based on real people and events, commencing in the late summer of the year 2000. A humorous, informative and sometimes poignant account of a young Englishman’s discovery of a whole new world beyond the boundaries of the expat teaching community, his friendships with Antonio, Dominic, Pedrín and others at first complicate then enrich his life in the Spanish city of Murcia. In an account that takes us from seedy bars, through rock group rehearsals, to valiant attempts to help the eccentric and rather unstable Antonio sell...

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.

'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.

STEADY ON, GEORGE! is the stirring and humorous account of the adventures of two mature men in Spain. Five months after his friend George becomes a widower, 76-year-old Mel Taylor finally gets his new knee into gear and flies out to visit him in Denia. Intending to stay for a couple of weeks, George soon whisks him off on a trip whose consequences threaten to turn his quiet life by the English seaside upside down. Despite the misgivings of his protective daughter Beth, Mel soon finds George’s desire for change and renewal so contagious that previously unthinkable ideas begin to seem quite...

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.

Three Books in One 'Behind the Scenes – Life Before Lake Como Happened' A Captivating Memoir of an Artist as a Young Man“An artist to the stars: An insightful and entertaining read about stuff you won’t have heard about but you’ll be glad you have.” “A memoir with a difference.” “What I liked most about this memoir was it’s for real.” I compiled this memoir to let anyone know what it was like ‘Behind the Scenes’ when I was a beat-club painter in Liverpool during the Beatle era. A scene painter and stage set designer in theatre, films and for BBC TV. A trompe l’oeil...

An Italian memoir. Laine gave up her job as a nurse, sold her home and gave away most of her belongings. She has three desires bubbling at the heart of her choice: to write a book, paint a picture and climb a mountain before she died. A man with a van took most of her remaining belongings, along with her basset hound Basil, down to the heel of Italy over 1,500 miles away, where she would spend the next four years. If it all seemed like a folly, then she was willing to take the risk. She moved to a house that she had only spent a week in the year before. She knew no one and yet she had ...

Eroe, mercenario, sognatore, corsaro, liberatore, scrittore, marinaio, playboy, generale, contadino, rivoluzionario...

Non-fiction auto-biographical book originally written and illustrated by Nena Stowell with additional drawings by Kip Stowell and Walton Stowell, while on a trip to Italy in 1983 - Transcribed by Walton Stowell in 2018. Note: the digital ebook does not contain images, but the more expensive paperback book will have pictures.

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.