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.The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici
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by: Christopher Hibbert

September 27, 1979
This book focuses on a fascinating period, but the camera (i.e. Historian Christopher Hibbert) is a polaroid camera, so the image is not particularly sharp and enchanting.
As I read this book I realised that it could have been written by almost anyone in a university history department. It didn't have a disntinctive style or anything particular to say. It just ran through the gamut of the subject in an entirely predicatable way -- the rise of the city state, trade more important than before, new ways of thinking but respect for the ways of the Church, the rise of the 'new man' and the threat this posed to the putative democracy of the city state, the fate of the Medici tied to the varying abilities of different members, an interest in ... Read More:
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.AA Road Atlas Italy (AA Atlases)
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from: Automobile Association

February 19, 2007
Lots of roads and the scale is good, but we were disappointed that the numbering of roads in the atlas was very patchy and had to be really concentrated on - not always easy when you're driving. Admittedly road numbers on Italian roads are themselves patchy which makes it even more important that an atlas gives as much info to help as possible. It was difficult to look ahead and be reasonably sure we were taking the right turning - and indeed on a number of occasions we weren't! Just not in the same league as the AA atlas of France.
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.Italian Lakes Berlitz Pocket Guide
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by: Berlitz

April 30, 2007
Lots of roads and the scale is good, but we were disappointed that the numbering of roads in the atlas was very patchy and had to be really concentrated on - not always easy when you're driving. Admittedly road numbers on Italian roads are themselves patchy which makes it even more important that an atlas gives as much info to help as possible. It was difficult to look ahead and be reasonably sure we were taking the right turning - and indeed on a number of occasions we weren't! Just not in the same league as the AA atlas of France.
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.1635: Cannon Law (The Ring of Fire): Cannon Law (The Ring of Fire)
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by: Eric Flint

April 01, 2008
Lots of roads and the scale is good, but we were disappointed that the numbering of roads in the atlas was very patchy and had to be really concentrated on - not always easy when you're driving. Admittedly road numbers on Italian roads are themselves patchy which makes it even more important that an atlas gives as much info to help as possible. It was difficult to look ahead and be reasonably sure we were taking the right turning - and indeed on a number of occasions we weren't! Just not in the same league as the AA atlas of France.
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.Corsica (Lonely Planet Country and Regional Guides)
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by: Jean-Bernard Carillet, Miles Roddis

April 01, 2007
The group I was in went to Corsica with the main intention of walking the famous GR20. The section of the book about the walk was excellent with detailed information about each days walk, and useful advice about what gear to bring. We found most timings, and suggestions about what gear neccesary to err on the 'safe side'. So someone following the advice here should be ok. Where we did enter civilisation, the info about (budget) restaurants and places to say was fine in our experience. This guide contributed to a great holiday!
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.The Travels of Marco Polo (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)
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by: Marco Polo

August 01, 1997
Every fantastic location and creature and event described and experienced by the Polo family really existed. And yet the world still doubts the authenticity of this 13th century trader's experiences.
I have seen many of these locations and cultures for myself, some of which have hardly changed, and I continue to be amazed by the detail of his descriptions.
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."The Sopranos" Family Cookbook
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by: Allen Rucker

October 03, 2002
Someone bought me this as a present, as I am very fond of 'The Sopranos'. The formula is to present a series of recipes allegedly edited by Artie Bucco with interjections from various Sopranos regulars (Janice remembering mealtimes at home as a child, Carmela on entertaining for a large number of guests, Tony giving his views on the conduct of a sucessful barbecue, Bobby defending food for the big guy, and so on). Compared to the series it's unsubtle, but fun too, and well illustrated with pictures of the cast and some of the dishes. Certainly one to recommend to afficianados. Oh, and the recipes do work ; I've tried some of them.
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.Reasonable Doubts
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by: Gianrico Carofiglio

July 02, 2007
This is the third book I've read by Carofiglio, and what you need to know is that, although not a lot 'happens' - we are defnitely not in plot-driven thriller territory here - the characters are so convincingly drawn that we get deeply involved, and care about them. For my money, Carofiglio is the outstanding 'crime' writer of today - and astonishingly, his subtleties have survived in the excellent translations.

If you like excellent writing, moral ambiguity and character led stories, go out and buy the whole series!
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.Involuntary Witness
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by: Gianrico Carofiglio

July 21, 2005
I'm having a good run on Mediterranean crime fiction - having read everything by the excellent Massimo Carlotto, and hearing that Carofiglio is one of Carlotto's favourites I came to this.

Guido Guierri is a lawyer who finds himself representing a Senegalese beach trader accused of killing a 9-year old boy. And that's about it. To describe this as a thriller is a misnomer, as there are no thrills, no surprises, no switchbacks etc. It's also incorrect to describe it as a courtroom drama, as there is no drama! It's a simple linear description of a court case, with two sides, prosecution and defence. End of story.

I actually enjoyed the sub-plots much more than the main thrust. Guierri is recovering from a broken heart, and his ... Read More:
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.Michelangelo: Complete Works (XL Series)
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by: Frank Zollner, Christof Thoenes, Thomas Popper

March 01, 2008
This extra large format book represents the perfect companion volume to Leonardo Da Vinci also published by Taschen and similarly authored by Frank Zollner. The outstanding quality of both books pays a proper homage to these two titans of Renaissance.

In particular the book on Michelangelo, the subject of the review is a sumptuous edition, with stunning photographs of both whole works and their details and a comprehensive text.

With respect to structure, the first part concerns the life and work of Michelangelo in text and images while the main body of the book presents his complete paintings, sculpture, drawings, and architecrural designs.

This gem of a book will undoubtedly be the definitive volume on Michelangelo for years ... Read More:
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