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VOYAGE FROM VENICE TO THE DALMATIAN COAST
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Acqua Alta • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2009 • PAPER • 416 PAGES Number five in the series, this is another in Donna Leon's satisfying, wonderfully erudite Guido Brunetti mysteries. In this installment, a body is discovered in the home of diva Flavia Petrelli. (ITL559, $14.00)
Al Dente, The Adventures of a Gastronome in Italy • William Black FOOD • 2004 • PAPER • 368 PAGES Clearly besotted by food, William Black travels throughout Italy in search of food and experience. (ITL548, $13.95)
Architecture in Italy 1500-1600 • Wolfgang Lotz • Deborah Howard ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1995 • PAPER • 205 PAGES A classic, comprehensive introduction to 16th-century Italian architecture. In this highly readable book, Lotz discusses the work of Renaissance architects including Bramante, Giulio Roman, Michelangelo and Palladio. Originally published in 1974 as part two of "Architecture in Italy, 1400-1600." With hundreds of color photographs and site plans, the book is an excellent companion for visitors to Venice, Florence or Rome. (ITL247, $40.00)
The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance • Peter Murray ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1997 • PAPER • 256 PAGES A classic, informative guide to Renaissance architecture throughout Italy, with black-and-white photographs and site plans. Beginning with the 14th century, Murray surveys major works and influences through the Italian Renaissance up to the 17th century. Ideal for travelers to Italy with an interest in architecture. (ITL34, $20.40)
Art in Renaissance Italy • Gary M. Radke • John T. Paoletti ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2001 • HARD COVER • 512 PAGES • COMING IN A complete, scholarly and remarkably readable overview of Italian Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture, co-authored by two leading art historians. Paoletti and Radke examine the political, social and artistic currents that produced the unprecedented art of the 15th-17th centuries. With 600 illustrations (more than 200 in color). (ITL412, $85.00)
The Art of the Renaissance • Peter Murray ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1992 • PAPER • 286 PAGES A brief, illustrated survey of the world of the Renaissance and its art, complete with illustrations. This fine book puts the flowering of art and culture that began in Florence in 1420 in its historical context. With 251 well-integrated illustrations, 51 in color. Organized geographically and thematically, it includes chapters on Florence and its artists, the Netherlands, early illustrated books and many individual artists. (ITL14, $18.95)
art/shop/eat Venice • Paul Blanchard GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 207 PAGES Blue Guide's compact, illustrated guidebook with excellent local maps. The book includes not only museums, shops and restaurants, but also not-to-be-missed sites and attractions by neighborhood. The perfect addendum to the Blue Guide Venice (ITL457). (ITL765, $13.95)
Balkan Babel, The Disintegration of Yugoslavia From the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milosevic • Sabrina P. Ramet HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 440 PAGES A scholarly political assessment of the last twenty years in the Balkans, and the causes and results of the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Fourth edition. (BLK34, $48.00)
Balkan Tragedy, Chaos and Dissolution after the Cold War • Susan Woodward HISTORY • 1995 • PAPER • 536 PAGES A scholarly, detailed analysis of Yugoslavia's collapse, published by the Brookings Institution, where the author is a senior policy fellow. Woodward places the Bosnia-Herzegovina war in an international context, showing how Western Europe and the U.S. policies contributed to the explosion of violence. (BLK18, $24.95)
Balkan Wars, 1912-1913, Prelude to the First World War • Richard C. Hall HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 176 PAGES In this concise history, Hall analyzes the diplomatic and military aspect of the war between Ottoman Empire and the Balkan coalition that took center stage in the outbreak of WWI. (WAR86, $43.95)
The Balkans Since 1453 • Traian Stoianovich • L.S. Stavrianos HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 996 PAGES A seminal -- and hefty -- study of the Balkans from the Ottoman conquest to the Second World War, originally published in 1958, and eminently useful for its sweep and perspective on the region. With a new introduction by Traian Stoianovich. (BLK36, $35.00)
The Balkans, From Constantinople to Communism • Dennis Hupchick HISTORY • 2004 • PAPER • 468 PAGES Hupchick looks at European, Orthodox Christian, and Muslim influences in the Balkans from early kingdoms through the 1990s in this useful survey. The author, who also co-wrote the excellent Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of the Balkans, is director of the East European and Russian Studies Program at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania. (BLK37, $35.00)
The Balkans: Nationalism, War, and the Great Powers, 1804-1999 • Misha Glenny HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 752 PAGES A history of southeastern Europe from Croatia, Bosnia, and Serbia, to Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. Glenny poignantly challenges the intervening role historically played by the "Great Powers" in the region. (BLK32, $22.00)
The Birth of Venus, A Novel • Sarah Dunant LITERATURE • 2004 • PAPER • 397 PAGES This tasty tale of art, passion, politics and danger, memorably set in Renaissance Florence in the days after the death of the powerful Lorenzo de Medici in 1492, comes to us from British novelist, broadcaster and critic Sarah Dunant, who brings her experience as the creator of the private investigator Hannah Wolfe to this new era. The malevolent political reformer (and zealot) Girolamo Savonarola figures prominently -- and even Michelangelo makes an appearance. Not surprisingly, Dunant divides her time between London and Florence, which she so vividly depicts. A runaway bestseller. (ITL532, $15.00)
Blood from a Stone • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2010 • PAPER • 320 PAGES Book number 14 in Donna Leon's satisfying, wonderfully erudite Guido Brunetti mysteries, again set in a richly evoked contemporary Venice. In this installment, a Senegalese immigrant is murdered in a public square and no some seems to care. Brunetti's young daughter dismisses the case with a breezy comment that he was only a vu compra (immigrant peddler). This, as you might imagine, leads to interesting questions of race and class. This is the Venice of gossip and incompetent politicians and corruption, not some white-washed paradise. (ITL615, $14.00)
Blue Guide Northern Italy, from the Alps to the Adriatic • Paul Blanchard GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 735 PAGES This Blue Guide by a popular tour leader provides a thorough overview of the history, art and architecture of northern Italy from Trieste across to the Valle d'Aosta, Venice, Verona, Milan, Genoa and Bologna. With 36 maps and site plans. 12th edition. (ITL48, $32.95)
Blue Guide Venice • Alta Macadam GUIDEBOOK • 2007 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A comprehensive guide to the art, architecture, museums, history and culture of Venice. With 30 illustrations, maps and site diagrams, recommended restaurants, cafes and hotels. (ITL457, $29.95)
Bosnia, A Short History • Malcolm Noel HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 488 PAGES A well-researched and elegantly written history of Bosnia from its origins to the 1990s by a British journalist and political columnist. Organized chronologically, it includes insightful short chapters on the medieval Bosnian state, the Bosnian Church, islamicization of Bosnia, Jews and Gypsies, Bosnia under the Austro-Hungarian rule, WWI, WWI, Bosnia under Tito, the death of Yugoslavia and The destruction of Bosnia, 1992-1993. (BLK54, $25.00)
Bradt Guide Albania • Gillian Gloyer GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 272 PAGES A compact overview of Albania, its history, wildlife and major attractions. Geared for the independent traveler, it also includes maps and practical information. (BLK66, $25.99)
Bradt Guide Bosnia and Herzegovina • Tim Clancy GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 288 PAGES This practical guide in the excellent British series covers travel, history and sightseeing in detail. (BLK68, $25.99)
Bradt Guide Macedonia • Thammy Evans GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 336 PAGES • COMING IN JUNE A detailed overview of Macedonia, its history, wildlife, culture and major attractions in the series by Bradt. Geared for the independent traveler, it includes maps, town plans, and lots of practical travel information. (EUR168, $26.99)
Bradt Guide Montenegro • Annalisa Rellie GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 304 PAGES A compact, detailed overview of Montenegro, its history, wildlife and major attractions in the series by Bradt. Geared for the independent traveler, it also includes maps and lots of practical travel information. (BLK47, $24.99)
Broken April • Ismail Kadare LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 248 PAGES In this best-known novel by the contemporary Albanian writer, a bereaved mountaineer and a young anthropologist couple both wrestle with the age-old traditions of the author's native High Plateau. Set in the early 20th century, the tale specifically revolves around the custom of blood feud. (BLK70, $14.95)
Burn This House, The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia • Jasminka Udovicki HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 337 PAGES A collection of articles by journalists and academics still living in the region, these essays present the history and analysis of the particular geopolitical circumstances that resulted in the fall of Yugoslavia. It follows the development of medieval states in the region, partitioning by the Hapsburgs and Ottomoans and groundwork for the 20th-century formation of a united Yugalavia. The authors argue vigorously against the notion of deep-seated ethnic hatred as the cause of the 1991-1995 war. (BLK07, $25.95)
Bury Me Standing • Isabel Fonseca CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1996 • PAPER • 322 PAGES The Roma, as the Gypsies call themselves, have a long tradition in Eastern European culture -- influencing the music, foods, religious and folk traditions. This is an excellent book on the evasive subject of Roma culture in Eastern Europe, painstakingly researched by Ms. Fonseca as she traveled and lived among Gypsies. Black-and-white photos help give a human face to the conditions of the Roma, their history among the settled peoples of Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany and the prospects for their cultural survival in the "new" Eastern Europe. (EUR09, $16.00)
By the Grand Canal, A Novel • William Riviere LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 272 PAGES A group of friends reunite in Venice in the days after the 1918 armistice in this atmospheric novel. At its center is Hugh Thurne, a British diplomat who tries to escapes the shadows of war among the canals and dilapidated palazzos of the city. (ITL651, $13.00)
Cadogan Guide Croatia • James Stewart GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 368 PAGES A guide in the respected series with insightful cultural and historical background, and up-to-date practical information, illustrations and maps. (BLK90, $21.95)
Cafe Europa, Life After Communism • Slavenka Drakulic HISTORY • 1999 • PAPER • 224 PAGES More essays from the author of How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed. Drakulic is a Croatian journalist, novelist and contributing editor at The Nation who divides her time between Austria, Sweden and Croatia. (BLK53, $15.00)
Casa Rossa • Francesca Marciano LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 340 PAGES This is Italian filmmaker Marciano's second attempt at the pen, her first being a novel of Kenya, titled Rules of the Wild. This second popular novel, set in Southern Italy, Rome and New York City, follows the lives of a mother, daughter, and granddaughter, and their ties to modern Italy. The novel opens as the narrator, Alina Strada, prepares to sell the family farm (Casa Rossa) in Puglia. The author, as you might guess, divides her time between Italy and Kenya. (ITL534, $14.95)
A Castle in Romagna • Igor Stiks LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER A short novel of two alternating stories: one set in Renaissance Lombardy, the other set on a Croatian island during the Bosnian War. (BLK82, $12.95)
Central Europe Map • Freytag & Berndt 2010 • MAP This colorful regional European map, like the sister map Europe Grand Tour (EUR185), covers from Paris and Amsterdam to Vienna, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, Rome and Dubrovnik. One Side. 49x34 inches. (EUR12, $14.95)
Central Europe, Enemies, Neighbors, Friends • Lonnie Johnson HISTORY • 2010 • PAPER • 382 PAGES An academic survey of the social, political, and economic past of Central Europe, and the conflicts that stir modern-day European politics. From medieval to modern times, the formative historical events of Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia, are all introduced. Johnson is especially successful in analyzing the struggle of small nations in the face of imperial powers and how these experiences have created a diverse European heritage. With maps. Awarded an Outstanding Academic Book of 1997 by Choice. (EUR69, $47.25)
Charming Small Hotel Guides, Venice • Fiona Duncan • Leonie Glass GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 224 PAGES A full page with a color photograph is dedicated to each entry in this guide focused on hotels with 20 bedrooms or less. (ITL772, $15.95)
The City of Falling Angels • John Berendt HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 414 PAGES Berendt here does for Venice what he did for Savannah, Georgia in the phenomenally popular Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. His central hook is the investigation of the devastating fire of January 29, 1996, which destroyed the Venice opera house. What follows is intrigue, political machinations, financial chicanery, and, of course murder. Berendt succeeds in conveying a certain essence of what it is like to live in modern Venice. (ITL644, $16.00)
City Secrets Florence, Venice • Robert Kahn GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • HARD COVER • 150 PAGES A connoisseur's guide to Italy featuring 200 short recommendations, many by artists, architects and other members of the American Academy in Rome or the organization Save Venice. Each contributor provides a brief profile of a favorite walk, restaurant, garden, market, work of art, building or other attraction. With maps and travel information. (ITL277, $14.95)
Companion Guide Venice • Hugh Honour GUIDEBOOK • 2001 • PAPER • 386 PAGES The classic guide to Venice. Designed to take along on a walking tour, this wonderfully literate and opinionated guide describes the art and architecture of the city in loving detail. With dozens of maps, site plans and black-and-white illustrations. (ITL21, $34.95)
The Contested Country: Yugoslav Unity and Communist Revolution, 1919-1953 • Aleksa Djilas HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 272 PAGES This in-depth scholarly history of Yugoslavia focuses on period from the end of WWI to 1953. (BLK51, $30.00)
Croatia Coast 1, Kornaten-Zadar • Freytag & Berndt MAP A detailed map of the Croatian coast at a scale of 1:100,000. The entire coast from north to south is covered in a series of four maps. Two Sides. 40x27 inches. (BLK85, $11.95)
Croatia Coast 2, Sibenik/Split/Vis • Freytag & Berndt MAP A detailed map of the Croatian coast at a scale of 1:100,000. The entire coast from north to south is covered in a series of four maps. Two Sides. 40x27 inches. (BLK86, $14.95)
Croatia Coast 3, Middle Dalmatia • Freytag & Berndt MAP A detailed map of the Croatian coast covering Brac, Hvar, Split and surrounding islands at a scale of 1:100,000. The entire coast from north to south is covered in a series of four maps. Two Sides. 45x29 inches. (BLK87, $14.95)
Croatia Coast 4, South Middle Dalmatia • Freytag & Berndt MAP A detailed map of the Croatian coast covering Mljet, Madugorje, Dubrovnik and surrounding islands at a scale of 1:100,000. The entire coast from north to south is covered in a series of four maps. Two Sides. 40x28 inches. (BLK88, $14.95)
Croatia Map • ITMB 2008 • MAP A map of all Croatia, including the entire coast, at a good scale of 1:325,000. Printed on and water- and tear-resistant paper, the full color map is on two sides, with the eastern half of the country on one side, and the western half on the reverse. Two Sides. 27 x 39 inches. (BLK61, $11.95)
Croatia, A History • Ivo Goldstein • Nikolina Jovanovic HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 281 PAGES A concise, balanced history of Croatia, from medieval times to the present, by a professor at the University of Zagreb. (BLK30, $29.95)
Croatian Coast Atlas • Cartographia 2006 • MAP A spiral bound, fully indexed road atlas at a scale of 1:160,000 for the Croatian coast and islands, reaching inland to Karlovac. With travel and tourist information, sightseeing, 40 city plans and an introductory 16-page, route-planning atlas of Bosnia, Croatia & Slovenia at scale of 1:820,000. (BLK89, $27.95)
Croatian Nights, A Festival of Alternative Literature • Tony White • Borivoj Radakovic ANTHOLOGY • 2005 • PAPER • 256 PAGES This anthology of 18 short stories set in the Balkans, neatly divided between British and writers from the former Yugoslavia, stems from the now legendary Festival of Alternative Culture organized by playwright and novelist Borivoj Radakovic.The stories offer unusual insight into contemporary life. (BLK77, $15.00)
The Culture of Lies, Antipolitical Essays • Dubravka Ugresic HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 273 PAGES Cynical yet unbiased essays describing the realities of life and politics in Communist and post-Communist Yugoslavia. (BLK60, $34.95)
Death and Judgment • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2009 • PAPER • 304 PAGES In the fourth installment in the enormously satisfying Guido Brunetti series, the Commissario investigates suspicious happenings in Santa Lucia, Venice and the Dolomites. (ITL745, $14.00)
Death and the Dervish • Mesa Selimovic LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 464 PAGES The sad tale of Sheikh Ahmed Nuruddin, the dervish of the title, deluded and self-serving, set during the Ottoman rule in 18th-century Bosnia. A volume in the series Writings from an Unbound Europe, Selimovic (1910-1982) is a bestselling Bosnian Muslim author. Translated from Serbo-Croatian, this big important book was first published in the 1960s in what was then Yugoslavia. (BLK69, $24.95)
Death in a Strange Country • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2009 • PAPER • 400 PAGES This, the second in Brunetti mysteries, opens with a body of an American soldier in a Venetian Canal, an excellent opportunity for Commisario Brunetti to take on military might, the Mafia and local politicians. (ITL556, $14.00)
Doctored Evidence • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2010 • PAPER • 272 PAGES Another in Donna Leon's satisfying, wonderfully erudite Guido Brunetti mysteries set in Venice. In this installment, a miserly, unpleasant woman is found murdered and all eyes, at least until our hero arrives, point to her Romanian housekeeper. This is number 13 in the series. Leon seamlesslessly weaves details of Venice and of the family life of her detective (whose kids are now teenagers) into her tale. (ITL613, $14.00)
Dressed for Death • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2008 • PAPER • 352 PAGES Book number three Donna Leon's satisfying, wonderfully erudite Guido Brunetti mysteries set in Venice. In this installment, what looks first like the obvious murder of a tranvestite prostitute gets much more complicated when the body turns out to be that of a bank director. Our poor dective has to cancel his vacation in the mountains to find out what is what. (ITL614, $14.00)
Dubrovnik, A History • Robin Harris HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 503 PAGES A nicely illustrated, scholarly and readable history of Dubrovnik from its origins in the 7th century until the collapse of the Republic in 1808. Journalist Robin Harris, who writes frequently on the Balkans, presents a comprehensive portrait of the historically important maritime city-state. Recommended for the serious-minded traveler. With 52 color plates. During its heyday in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Ragusan Republic (as Dubrovnik was also called) rivaled Venice as a commercial power in the Adriatic. (BLK56, $26.95)
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture • Slobodan Curcic • Richard Krautheimer ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1992 • PAPER • 357 PAGES Now in its fourth edition, this is classic, well-illustrated history covers the Eastern Mediterranean from the age of Constantine to the era of Justinian. A volume in the Pelican History of Art published by Yale. (TKY72, $40.00)
Early Christian and Byzantine Art • John Lowden ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1997 • PAPER • 448 PAGES An illustrated guide to the architectural heritage of the early Christian period (860-1453), including a survey of the philosophy, ideas and intellectual climate of the time. With hundreds of photographs of Byzantine art, decorated churches and illuminated manuscripts. (EUR23, $27.95)
Early Christian Buildings, A Graphic Introduction • Warren Sanderson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1994 • PAPER Intended as a guide to looking at architecture, this book is a highly accessible, illustrated introduction to the architecture of Christian antiquity. With 124 illustrations of key buildings constructed between c.300 and 600, it is an excellent introduction for travelers. With a glossary, chronology and guide to further reading. (EUR21, $24.95)
Economic and Social History of Medieval Europe • Henri Pirenne HISTORY • 1936 • PAPER • 224 PAGES Pirenne, an important economic historian, traces the economic and social development of Western Europe from the end of the Roman Empire to the middle of the 15th century in this classic book, first published in 1936. It gives a concise picture of medieval Western Europe, including social disturbances, economic and social catastrophes, famine and the Black Death. A separate section on the North Sea and the Baltic contains specific references to the Hanseatic League. (EUR18, $15.95)
Endgame, The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica • David Rohde CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1998 • PAPER • 464 PAGES The horrific tale of the murder of 7000 Muslims in Srebrenica in July 1995 -- and its aftermath -- by the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. Rohde tells the story through the eyes of seven people, Serbs, Muslims and international peacekeepers, who were present. (BLK71, $20.00)
Europe's Last Summer, Who Started the Great War in 1914? • David Fromkin HISTORY • 2005 • PAPER • 384 PAGES Fromkin puts the imperial struggle between Germany and the Austro-Hungarian over Serbia at the heart of this enthralling, persuasive analysis of the events leading to World War I. Fromkin, a historian at Boston University, is author of Kosovo Crossing and Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East, (EUR183, $17.00)
Eyewitness Guide Umbria • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • FLEXI-BOUND • 192 PAGES A marvelously illustrated, compact guide to the culture, history and attractions of Umbria, organized geographically and especially helpful for its innovative site plans, building diagrams and local maps. With select, annotated listings of where to eat and sleep and what to buy. (ITL512, $20.00)
Eyewitness Top Ten Dubrovnik & Dalmatian Coast • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 128 PAGES This slim guide, geared for visitors on a short stay, features color photographs and maps. (BLK83, $14.00)
Fellowship of Fear • Aaron J. Elkins MYSTERY • 2005 • PAPER • 288 PAGES As Gideon Oliver, professor of forensic anthropology, pieces together the history of bone fragments, he also pieces together a murder mystery. The aging, yet horny, Oliver, with the aid of his FBI friend, John Lau, takes another case. Assigned to teach at European military bases, Oliver encounters NATO and the KGB, while defending himself from physical attacks. The very first Gideon Oliver novel by Edgar-winner Aaron Elkins. (EUR233, $7.99)
Fires of Hatred • Norman M. Naimark HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 248 PAGES This illuminating study focuses on five cases where genocide was a matter of government policy: The Armenians and Greeks of Anatolia; The Nazi Attack on the Jews; Soviet Deportation of the Chechens-Ingush and the Crimean Tatars; The Expulsion of Germans from Poland and Czechoslovakia; and The Wars of Yugoslav Succession. Norman Naimark is director of Stanford's programs in International Relations and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. (EUR179, $24.00)
Fodor's See It Italy • Fodor's GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 496 PAGES An inaugural volume in this new line of guides by Fodor's this book is notable for its especially vibrant presentation of the country. Each page displays full-color photos accompanied by much useful information on how to eat, sleep, shop, and sightsee in Italy. With seven sections choc-full of tips to help make your visit memorable. The "Out and About" section features pre-planned walking and touring routes such as "A Lover's Walk in the Cinque Terre," "A Wine Tour from Alba to Cuneo" and "The Salentine Peninsula." (ITL550, $24.99)
The Food of Italy • Waverly Root FOOD • 1992 • PAPER • 750 PAGES Evocative of Italy and its diverse cuisine, this classic book--organized geographically--offers a cook's tour of the country. It's a well-informed and wonderfully literate guide. (ITL75, $22.00)
Footprint Croatia • Jane Foster GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A detailed, comprehensive guide in the British Footprint series. With a focus on the Dalmatian Coast and the Dubrovnik area, the guide also features an excellent chapter on Zagreb and inland Croatia. Includes practical information of accommodations, food, events and sights. Perfect for the independent traveler. (BLK94, $21.95)
For the Beauty of the Earth: Birding, Opera, and Other Journeys • Thomas Urquhart BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2006 • PAPER • 320 PAGES Urquhart chronicles a lifelong affair with nature, combined with a passion for music, as he travels-- and bird watches-- through pastoral England, Italy, the Camargue in Provence, and the villages of Mali. (BRD35, $15.00)
Frommer's Venice Day by Day • Frommer's GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 180 PAGES A compact shirt pocket guide, ideal for a short visit, featuring remarkably good suggestions for everything from food, hotels and neighborhoods to shopping. With a separate foldout map of the city center. (ITL353, $12.99)
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis • Giorgio Bassini • William Weaver LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 197 PAGES Made into an Academy Award-winning film in 1971, this powerful book deals with unrequited love and classist society in the time of Mussolini, when anti-Semitic laws were beginning to melt down the social hierarchies. A wonderfully written and well-translated tragedy, it takes place in the town of Ferrara, between Venice and Bologna. (ITL205, $13.95)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral • Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2005 • PAPER • 294 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $21.95)
The Haunted Land, Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism • Tina Rosenberg CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1996 • PAPER • 437 PAGES In this groundbreaking book, a journalist reports on how the newly democratized people of East Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have confronted the horrors of their former governments. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. (EUR54, $17.95)
Here Is Where We Meet • John Berger LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $15.00)
Historical Atlas of Central Europe • Paul Mogocsi HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 232 PAGES An influential, authoritative survey of maps and shifting borders in the region from the Middle Ages until the present. With dozens of superb color maps illuminating the history and ethnic complexity of this bewildering part of the world. The atlas covers the region from Poland, Lithuania, and the eastern part of Germany to Greece and western Turkey and extends in time from the early fifth century to the present. (EUR33, $45.00)
The History of Eastern Europe for Beginners • Paul Beck HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 186 PAGES • COMING IN An irreverent tour of recent Eastern European history in documentary comic-book style, a provocative, fast-moving and opinionated look at who is in conflict with whom and why, nationhood, ethnicity and the future. (EUR30, $11.00)
History of My Life (Vols. III & IV) • Giacomo Casanova • Willard R. Trask BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1997 • PAPER • 704 PAGES Casanova's Venice is a city of intrigue and extravagance, a fitting homeland for a multi-faceted, extravagant man. The foremost scoundrel of the 18th century was also a memoirist of formidable talent. In the fourth volume of his autobiography, Casanova -- who was, variously, a spy, a diplomat, a soldier, an astrologer, and a cleric -- tells of his imprisonment in the dungeon of the Ducal Palace in Venice. The tale made him a wanted commodity throughout Europe in 1756, the year of his escape, and indeed it is no less sensational now. (ITL381, $40.00)
A History of Venice • John Julius Norwich HISTORY • 1989 • PAPER • 673 PAGES A vivid 1,000-year history of the Venetian Republic from its ancient settlement to its humiliating defeat by Napoleon in 1797. Norwich, who also wrote a three-volume history of the Byzantine empire, marshals myriad personalities, battles, sieges, and facts into a compelling history of Venice's rise to power under the Doges. He's a terrific writer, and a great admirer of this "most beautiful of cities." (ITL177, $26.00)
Il Postino • Michael Radford 1995 • DVD The Italian comic actor Massino Troisi stars as a shy Italian postman living in a small fishing village on a Mediterranean island off the coast of Italy who learns the ways of poetry and romance while delivering mail to the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. In Italian with subtitles. (ITL541, $19.99)
Imagining the Balkans • Maria Todorova HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 257 PAGES A challenging book, but well worth the effort for its insight, this collection of essays examines in scholarly and critical detail the roots of our stereotypes and misconceptions about the Balkans. (BLK19, $35.50)
Insight City Guide Venice • Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2008 • PAPER • 313 PAGES In its trademark style, this handsome Insight Guide gives a profusely illustrated overview of Venice. Featuring concise essays by well regarded authors on the art, architecture, and history of the city, it contains hundreds of photos and maps as well as some limited practical information. This handy book is a popular and highly recommended one-volume introduction to Venice. (ITL23, $16.95)
Italian Days • Barbara Grizzuti Harrison TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1998 • PAPER • 479 PAGES • FAVORITE A literary celebration, portrait and guide to Italy and the Italians. Barbara Grizzuti Harrison writes with warmth and depth of her journey from Milan south to Calabria in this sprightly account. It's one of our favorite books about place. (ITL02, $15.00)
Italian English Bilingual Visual Dictionary • DK Publishing LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2005 • PAPER • 360 PAGES With thousands of neatly arranged color photographs, this compact book is impressively comprehensive, covering everything from the basics of la casa (house) to the vocabulary of le granaglie e i legumi secchi (grains and legumes). With a handy reference section in the back. (ITL626, $14.95)
Italian Hours • Henry James TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1992 • PAPER • 376 PAGES A classic series of travel essays written between 1872 and 1909 on the art, religion and people of Italy. James is an observant guide to Rome, Naples, Florence and other great destinations in the 19th century. (ITL07, $17.00)
Italian Neighbors • Tim Parks BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2003 • PAPER • 272 PAGES This sparkling memoir by the British novelist captures the travails and delights of life in the Italian countryside with charm and wit. Montecchio, which Parks so indelibly sketches in this favorite book, is outside Verona. (ITL16, $14.95)
The Italian Renaissance • J. H. Plumb HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 320 PAGES A well-written history of the Renaissance, its artists and thinkers, originally published in 1961, with chapters on Florence, Milan, Rome and Venice, Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Women of the Renaissance. (ITL562, $16.00)
Italian, A Language Map • Kristine K. Kershul LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 1999 • PLASTIC CARD This durable, foldout card, featuring 1,000 words and phrases, works as a quick reference for travelers. (ITL645, $7.95)
The Italians • Luigi Barzini CULTURAL PORTRAIT • CASETTE TAPE The definitive portrait of the Italian people, a classic essay on the Italian character first published in 1964 -- and still worth reading (or listening to!) for its insight, grace and wit. Much historical information is included. Highly recommended. (ITL33, $69.95)
The Italians • Luigi Barzini CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1996 • PAPER • 352 PAGES The definitive portrait of the Italian people, noteworthy for its insight, grace and wit. It's a classic, scholarly essay on the Italian character, still worthwhile though first published in 1964. Much historical information is included. Highly recommended. (ITL05, $16.00)
Italy and Its Invaders • Girolamo Arnaldi HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 240 PAGES A wide-ranging history of the many empires and world powers that have invaded Italy, with either success or failure, and their lasting influences, both positive and negative, on Italian art, architecture and culture up to the present day. (ITL661, $19.95)
Italy in Mind • Alice Powers LITERATURE • 1997 • PAPER • 349 PAGES A terrific collection of some of the best literary writing on Italy, including pieces by Melville, Lawrence, Henry James, Mary McCarthy and many others. Each piece (they tend to run about 5-7 pages) is introduced thoroughly with a description of its historical, geographical, or literary context. Great reading. (ITL39, $17.95)
Italy, A Short History • Harry Hearder HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 294 PAGES Elegantly written, generous and enormously informative, this compact book takes in the fell sweep of Italian history from the Roman Republic up to the present, including the Renaissance and World War II. It has a welcome focus on the essential unity of Italian civilizations, as well as maps and a chronology. This revised second edition of the late Harry Hearder's classic book includes a new chapter by Jonathan Morris on recent history. (ITL56, $29.00)
Italy, A Traveler's Literary Companion • Lawrence Venuti ANTHOLOGY • 2003 • PAPER • 256 PAGES This collection of tales by diverse Italian writers, organized geographically, captures the spirit, history and allure of the country. Not just a literary companion, this anthology is also a who's who of contemporary Italian writers. Bravo. (ITL466, $14.95)
The Julian Alps of Slovenia, Mountain Walks and Short Treks • Roy Clark • Justi Carey GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 309 PAGES A compact, practical guide to 50 walks ranging from easy strolls to scrambles in the high mountains and multi-day adventures, including four hut-to-hut hikes. The book is organized geographically with chapters on walks in the vicinity of Kranjska Gora, Bovec, Kobarid, Bled and Bohinj. (CEU15, $22.95)
Knopf Guide Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast • Knopf Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • FLEXI-BOUND • 288 PAGES A nicely illustrated compact guide to the region. (BLK76, $26.95)
Knopf Mapguide Venice • Knopf Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 48 PAGES This ingenious full-color guide takes the form of a series of foldout neighborhood maps, each annotated with local sights, hotels, restaurants and attractions. (ITL667, $10.95)
The Lives of the Artists, Vol 1 • Giorgio Vasari • Julia Conway and Peter Bondanella BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1987 • PAPER • 477 PAGES Vasari offers short biographies of the art and lives of his Renaissance contemporaries in this classic and much-discussed book written in the mid-16th century. He focuses on painters both great and lesser-known, including Giotto, Michelangelo, Titian and others. This edition includes parts one, two and three of the huge original work. (ITL17, $14.00)
Lonely Planet Croatia • Jeanne Oliver GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 340 PAGES In its hallmark style, this practical guide to Croatia by Lonely Planet features maps, a good overview of culture, history and nature, and much nuts-and-bolts information on excursions, accommodations and sightseeing. With color photographs, many local maps, and excellent travel information. (BLK27, $22.99)
Lonely Planet Eastern Europe • Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 1028 PAGES A comprehensive guide to Eastern Europe, including Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia. It is a compact overview of the region, especially appropriate for the independent-minded traveler visiting several countries. With 150 local and regional sketch maps, and a 10-15-page overview of each country. (EUR72, $29.99)
Lonely Planet Italian Phrasebook • Lonely Planet LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2012 • PAPER • 260 PAGES A handy, palm-size guide to pronunciation, basic grammar and essential vocabulary for the traveler. (ITL531, $8.99)
Lonely Planet Western Balkans • Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 452 PAGES A compact, practical guide to the region from Slovenia and Croatia, to Bosnia & Hercegovina, Serbia & Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. (BLK84, $24.99)
Love Thy Neighbor, A Story of War • Peter Maass HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 305 PAGES A hard-hitting account of the war in Bosnia by a Washington Post newspaperman, Love Thy Neighbor is unflinching in its portrayal of Serbian atrocities. It's a gripping personal report, including interviews with unwitting Serbs caught up in the maelstrom. Maas places the blame directly on Milosevic and his nationailistic ambitions. (BLK10, $16.00)
M, The Man Who Became Caravaggio • Peter Robb BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2000 • PAPER • 592 PAGES A masterful biography of the Renaissance painter by the author of "Midnight in Sicily." (ART47, $24.00)
Macedonia Map • MapLink MAP A detailed, shaded relief map of Macedonia, on the scale of 1:260,000. (EUR27, $6.95)
The Magic Lantern, The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague • Timothy Garton Ash HISTORY • 1993 • PAPER • 167 PAGES A vividly reported eyewitness account of the fall of the Berlin Wall and other dramatic events of 1989 by an astute journalist and historian of Central Europe. With a chapter each on Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague, it's a good introduction to these vibrant cities during a time of great change. (GER36, $15.00)
Making a Nation, Breaking a Nation • Andrew Wachtel HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 302 PAGES A scholarly account of the downfall of Yugoslavia with a focus on the Serb-Croat dynamic. (BLK58, $27.95)
Mammals of Europe • Priscilla Barrett • David W. MacDonald FIELD GUIDE • 2002 • PAPER • 320 PAGES Published by Princeton, this is a field guide to land and marine mammals throughout Europe, both endemic and introduced. With more than 600 color illustrations of over 200 mammals, it's a comprehensive handbook, with detailed descriptions, range maps and commentary on behavior. (FG61, $38.50)
Marco Polo and the Discovery of the World • John Larner EXPLORATION • 2001 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A scholarly, insightful study of Marco Polo's famous travel account -- and its impact on European ideas and politics, particularly its influence on cartographers and explorers. The author looks too at the circumstances of Marco Polo's life and travels, arguing that Marco Polo really did visit China -- and that he must have had a highly talented co-author in Rustichello da Pisa. (EXP22, $21.00)
Materada • Fulvio Tomizza • Russell Scott Valentino LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 134 PAGES A story of pre-World War II farm life on the Istrian peninsula, first published in 1940. (BLK79, $15.95)
Mediterranean Winter, The Pleasures of History and Landscape in Tunisia, Sicily, Dalmatia, and Greece • Robert D. Kaplan TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2004 • PAPER • 272 PAGES The prolific journalist and traveler revisits the Mediterranean of his youth in this extended meditation on the pleasures and freedom of life on the road. He conjures images of archaeological sites, Byzantine art, ancient temples and monuments, taking in Carthage, Sicily, Greece, and the Dalmatian coast. (MED78, $16.00)
The Middle Sea • John Julius Norwich HISTORY • 2007 • PAPER • 720 PAGES A marvelous writer who has already tackled Byzantium, the Normans in Sicily and Venice, Norwich spins his magic in this story of culture, trade and politics, royalty and rulers, wars and religion in the Mediterranean from antiquity to the end of the First World War. (MED98, $21.00)
Modigliani • Doris Krystof ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 96 PAGES This slim illustrated book, part of Taschen's Basic Art series, showcases Modigliani's distinct colorful style of painting and portraiture, and places him within the context of his bohemian contemporaries (and friends), such as Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera. (ART44, $9.99)
The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics • Ivo Banac HISTORY • 1989 • PAPER This serious scholarly study by a leading historian focuses on the foundation of the modern Yugoslav state. (BLK52, $38.95)
A Noble Radiance • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2009 • PAPER • 277 PAGES Number seven in the Guido Brunetti mysteries, all memorably set in contemporary Venice. For some readers, this installment is the best yet. A body is found on the estate of a local landowner at the foot of the Dolomites. (ITL557, $14.00)
Northern Italy Map • Touring Club Italiano MAP This beautifully shaded road map of Northern Italy (1:400,000) shows the region including Trieste, Venice, Bologna Milan and Turin. Printed and tear- and water-resistant paper. One Side. 37x59 inches. (ITL38, $14.95)
On The Road with Francis of Assisi • Linda Bird Francke TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2006 • PAPER • 256 PAGES Weaving tales of the 13th-century saint and her own 21st-century travels, Francke follows in the footsteps of Francis on her own pilgrimage. She lingers in Assisi, Venice and Rome, and takes in Siena, Bologna, Gubbio, and many hill towns, sanctuaries and chapels. The book nicely evokes both the spirit of Francis of Asisi, and the history and pleasures of Italy. (ITL647, $15.95)
One-Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy • Paolo Lazzarin GUIDEBOOK • 2004 • HARD COVER • 276 PAGES A handsome book highlighting Italy's charming and scenic villages. Featuring color photographs and an overview of history and attractions, favorite accommodations and restaurants by photographer-journalist Lazzarin. Translated from the Italian (the book was originally published for the Italian market as an introduction to unique and wonderful places throughout the country). (ITL546, $45.00)
The Orthodox Church • Kallistos Ware RELIGION • 1993 • PAPER • 359 PAGES A comprehensive, clear overview of the origins, historical development and practice of Eastern Christianity by a British scholar and Archbishop. With chapters on Byzantium, conversion of the Slavs, the Church under Islam, Moscow and St. Petersburg and the contemporary Orthodox world. (GEN261, $17.00)
Othello • William Shakespeare • Roma Gill LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 176 PAGES This Oxford School Shakespeare edition of Othello is nicely footnoted, providing lots of commentary on the immortal text. Set in Venice. (ITL527, $7.95)
The Ottoman Centuries • Lord Kinross HISTORY • 1988 • PAPER • 638 PAGES A richly detailed, engrossing history of the Ottoman Empire from its dawn in 1300 through its zenith under Suleiman the magnificent and up to the foundation of the modern republic in 1923. With maps and black-and-white photographs throughout. (ITL54, $18.99)
Painting in Renaissance Venice • Peter Humfrey ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1997 • PAPER • 320 PAGES A compact, well illustrated introduction to Bellini, Titian, Tinteretto and other Venetian masters. With 80 fine color plates. Humfrey balances the works themselves and individual painters with information on the social and political background of the period. (ITL492, $28.00)
Palladio • James Ackerman BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1974 • PAPER • 170 PAGES James Ackerman's seminal biography of Venetian architect Andrea Palladio. (ITL234, $15.00)
Paradise of Cities, Venice in the 19th Century • John Julius Norwich HISTORY • 2004 • PAPER • 336 PAGES Norwich, a lively historian who has written frequently on Italy and the Ottomans, conjures the appeal of Venice for a star-studded group of 19th-century residents and visitors. He devotes a chapter each to Napoleon, Byron, Ruskin, the Browns, Wagner, Henry James, Robert Browning, the Layards, Whistler and Sargent and the Corvo. With archival illustrations. (ITL483, $16.00)
The Perfect House, A Journey with Renaissance Master Andrew Palladio • Witold Rybczynski ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2003 • PAPER • 320 PAGES Rybczynski considers 17 villas designed by Palladio in this appreciate account of the pleasures of travel and architecture. A professor of urban studies and popular author, he's an enlightening guide to Palladio, his history and influence. (ITL590, $19.99)
Pimsleur Quick & Simple Italian • Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2005 • AUDIO CD Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Italian, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (ITL630, $19.95)
Plagues and Peoples • William McNeill HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 365 PAGES Wide-ranging, fascinating and well researched, this book traces the waves of epidemics that raged through Europe, particularly the famous Black Death of the 13th and 14th centuries. (EUR26, $17.00)
Pretty Birds, A Novel • Scott Simon LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 368 PAGES In this bold first novel Simon has turned his experiences as a journalist in war-torn Bosnia into a powerful tale of family, ethnicity and survival. His tale revolves around 17-year-old Irena Zaric (and her parrot). (BLK63, $15.00)
The Question of Bruno • Aleksandar Hemon LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER Set in Chicago and Sarajevo, this imaginative and brilliantly funny series of interconnected short stories explores the trauma of war, the absurdities of life and the struggles of an exile to build a new life in a new land. (BLK81, $15.00)
Return to Diversity: A Political History of East Central Europe Since World War II • Joseph Rothschild HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 274 PAGES An opinionated, well-written and clear political history of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria and Albania since WWII, revised for this fourth edition. (EUR31, $44.95)
Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book & Dictionary • Rick Steves LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS • 2008 • PAPER • 281 PAGES A compact phrase book for travelers, organized thematically and with a brief dictionary. This is no dry litany of phrases but is instead peppered with humor and Rick Steves' insider insight into how to break the ice and make friends around the world. (ITL424, $8.95)
Romeo and Juliet • William Shakespeare LITERATURE • 2000 • PAPER • 352 PAGES This edition of the Bard's tragedy is heavily footnoted, providing lots of commentary on the immortal text. (ITL322, $10.95)
Rough Guide Croatia • Rough Guide GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 496 PAGES A practical, comprehensive guide to Croatia for the traveller. Organized geographically, it also includes a 35-page section on the culture and history of the region. (BLK31, $21.99)
Rough Guide Venice & the Veneto • Jonathan Buckley GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 440 PAGES A no-nonsense, comprehensive travel guide with region-by-region descriptions, a good overview of history and culture, and a great bibliography. With color photography. With a section of color maps. (ITL554, $19.99)
Sarajevo Marlboro • Miljenko Jergovic • Stela Tomasevic LITERATURE • 2004 • PAPER • 180 PAGES Journalist and Sarajevo native Jergovic presents brief, affecting snapshots and impressions of war-torn Sarajevo in this stunning debut collection of stories. (BLK91, $15.00)
Serbia and Montenegro Map • Reise Know How 2004 • MAP A product of the World Mapping Project, this full-color map, double-sided map of Serbia and Montenegro is at a detailed scale of 1:400,000. Two Sides. 28 X 36 inches. (BLK48, $16.95)
The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia • Tim Judah HISTORY • 2010 • PAPER • 368 PAGES An even-handed history of Serbia and the dissolution of Yugoslavia by an award-winning journalist who was on assignment in the region from 1990-1995. Timothy Judah (Kosovo: War and Revenge), who was Balkans correspondent for the London Times and the Economist, has also written widely on the region for the New York Review of Books. (BLK49, $19.00)
Short Stories in Italian, Racconti in Italiano • Nick Roberts LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 174 PAGES This bilingual collection, with the English and Italian alongside, features stories by contemporary and established Italian literary figures, including Italo Calvino and Primo Levi, Leonardo Sciascia, Goffredo Parise and Antonio Tabucchi. (ITL730, $14.00)
Special Places to Stay Croatia • Lisa Plumridge GUIDEBOOK • 2007 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A review of 200 remarkable inns, guest houses and other lodging of character with color photographs. Organized geographically, each place gets a full page with two photographs, concise desription and contact information. (BLK92, $21.95)
The Talented Mr. Ripley • Anthony Minghella 1999 • DVD A screen adaptation of the first in Patricia Highsmith's popular Mr. Ripley mystery series. Matt Damon stars as the obsessive and murderous Mr. Ripley, whose jealousy of his dashing companion Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) quickly turns sinister. The highlight of this thriller, which also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Cate Blanchett, is its suspenseful portrayal of an exquisite sundrenched Italian town (the film was shot in, among other places, Venice, Tuscany, the Gulf of Naples and Southern Sicily), where life is carefree but a menacing potential for violence lurks behind every corner. (ITL542, $14.99)
That Fine Italian Hand • Paul Hoffman CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1991 • PAPER • 246 PAGES A former newspaperman in Rome, Hoffman spears the Italians in this affectionate portrait of Italian society with all its quirks, contradictions, and energy. (ITL346, $17.99)
Through a Glass, Darkly • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2010 • PAPER • 272 PAGES Number 15 in the enormously satisfying, wonderfully erudite series memorably set in the author's beloved Venice and starring police commissioner Guido Brunetti. The secrets of the Murano glass factories unfold as Brunetti, with the help of an annotated Dante's "Inferno," discovers a body that may reveal the mystery of the polluted Venetian waters. (ITL714, $14.00)
Through the Embers of Chaos, Balkan Journeys • Dervla Murphy TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2003 • PAPER • 388 PAGES • COMING IN She's the best. This seventy-something Irish grandmother writes from the heart with authority and verve, interweaving three separate trips throughout the region with history, crack reportage and her usual astute observation. Her Balkan Journeys are three: a visit to Croatia over the holidays in 1991-92, a more extensive trip to Serbia in 1999 and a grand tour through Croatia, Boznia-Herzegovina, Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo in 2000. She's no dilettante either, preferring to linger and to travel by foot or bicycle (or, in some cases, by mule). (BLK43, $15.95)
Time Out Venice: Verona, Treviso, And The Veneto • Time Out GUIDEBOOK • 2009 • PAPER • 335 PAGES An up-to-date guide on what to do and where to go by the people who publish Time Out Magazine. (ITL672, $19.95)
Timeless Cities, An Architect's Reflections on Renaissance Italy • David Mayernik ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2005 • PAPER • 274 PAGES In this thoughtful book, Mayernik shows the philosophical and religious meaning behind the planning and architecture of Rome, Florence, Venice, Siena and Pienza. Not exactly a guide, nor a history, Mayernick's meditation on the buildings and texture of these very different cities is illuminating. (ITL589, $18.95)
The Titian Committee • Iain Pears MYSTERY • 1999 • PAPER • 230 PAGES In this second Jonathan Argyll book, the amiable and incompetent professor Jonathan Argyll and the vivacious Flavia di Stefano of the Italian Art Theft Squad investigate the murder of a prestigious member of the scholarly Titian Committee. Through Titian's paintings, the increasingly-amorous couple follows clues leading to the murderer -- but the subsequent deaths of an art collector and a philosopher mean that they must act quickly before the murderer strikes again. (ITL741, $6.99)
Travelers' Tales Italy • Ann Calcagno • Jan Morris ANTHOLOGY • 2001 • PAPER • 437 PAGES From a climb up the dome of St. Peter's to a walk through Milano Centrale train station, this collection of 48 stories on traveling in Italy and Italian life is an insightful introduction to the country. Contributors include Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Frances Mayes, Jonathan Keats, and Stanley Crouch, who writes on "Umbria Jazz" in Rome. (ITL182, $18.95)
A Traveller in Italy • H.V. Morton • Barbara Grizzuti Harrison TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 640 PAGES The much-beloved, enduring account of Morton's ramblings in Italy. As in all his many travel books, Morton charmingly mixes a deep appreciation of the art, culture and, especially, the history of a place with his own keen observations, in this case the temples, tombs and villas of Tuscany, Lombardy, Emilia and the Veneto. His books are recently returned to print in handsome paper editions, this one with an appreciative introduction by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison. (ITL417, $25.00)
A Traveller's Companion to Venice • John Julius Norwich ANTHOLOGY • 2003 • PAPER • 432 PAGES • COMING IN MAY An illuminating selection, edited and introduced by the great John Julius Norwich. The book includes, among its many pleasures, selections of Mark Twain, Henry James, Byron, Casanova, Robert Browning and (of more recent vintage) Jan Morris. (ITL484, $16.95)
A Traveller's History of Italy • Valerio Lintner HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 287 PAGES A brief history of Italy through the 1990s -- wide-ranging, accessible and necessarily condensed. With a useful chronology and historical gazetteer, this book marches confidently through the centuries. (ITL86, $14.95)
A Traveller's History of Venice • Peter Menzel HISTORY • 2005 • PAPER • 304 PAGES A lively brief history of Venice in the popular series. (ITL625, $14.95)
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere • Jan Morris TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 208 PAGES A loving celebration of the city and its faded glory. Morris, who first visited the city as a soldier during WWII, is especially good at evoking the varied history and fortunes of Trieste. This brief book, which Morris says is her last, captures the many political and economic transformations of this region at the head of the Adriatic Sea. (ITL347, $15.00)
Uniform Justice • Donna Leon MYSTERY • 2010 • PAPER • 258 PAGES In this twelfth entry in the satisfying Guido Brunetti series a cadet is found dead. Leon conjures the atmosphere of Venice as evocatively as ever -- and has a few comments to make about the military too. (ITL558, $14.00)
A Venetian Affair, A True Tale of Forbidden Love in the 18th Century • Andrea Di Robilant LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 320 PAGES The author, a journalist based in Rome, bases his tasty tale of frustrated love, passion and society on a cache of letters discovered in his family's Venetian palazzo. The affair between the Anglo-Italian beauty and her aristocratic lover (in which Casanova has a minor role) plays out in the richly evoked milieu of 18th-century Venice, Paris and London. (ITL604, $15.95)
Venetian Life • William Dean Howells TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2001 • PAPER • 336 PAGES A leisurely account of housekeeping, touring and socializing in 19th-century Venice by the American consul and literary lion, first published in 1866. (ITL327, $16.95)
Veneto Friuli Venezia Giulia Map • Touring Club Italiano 2008 • MAP A detailed, shaded relief map of the Veneto at a scale of 1:200,000. Accurate, colorful, and imported from Italy. Eigth edition. Two Sides. 37x54 inches. (ITL22, $12.95)
Venice and the Slavs, The Discovery of Dalmatia in the Age of Enlightenment • Larry Wolff HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 404 PAGES Professor of history at Boston College, Wolff's expertise is the divide between eastern and western Europe: its intellectual, political and artificial origins. For this volume he focuses on the Venetian empire in the Balkans in the 1700s, finding there much that explains modern Yugoslavia and westerners' attitudes toward the Balkans. (BLK35, $29.95)
Venice Map • Borch Maps 2008 • MAP A colorful, detailed, laminated map of Venice at a scale of 1:6,500. Perfect for finding your way around the famously labyrinthine streets and canals. Plastic-coated. Two Sides. 20x26 inches. (ITL26, $8.95)
Venice Observed • Mary McCarthy CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1995 • PAPER • 158 PAGES Originally published over 30 years ago, this collection of eight essays is a literate, evocative celebration of the city, its character, and its history. Most of these essays first appeared in the "New Yorker." (ITL27, $13.95)
Venice Revealed, An Intimate Portrait • Paolo Barbero TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2001 • HARD COVER • 233 PAGES An appreciation and rediscovery of Venice, its mysteries and pleasures by a native son. A volume in the excellent Steerforth Italia series. Barbero lives in the Dorsoduro. Trained as a civil engineer, he considers the precarious state of the city built centimeters above the water on many tiny and disappearing islands. He laments the duel challenges of geography and tourism. (ITL678, $27.00)
Venice Triumphant, The Horizons of a Myth • Elisabeth Crouzet-Pavan • Lydia Cochrane HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 432 PAGES A scholarly, provocative history of Venice, organized thematically. Elisabeth Crouzet-Pavan, a professor of medieval history at the Sorbonne, uses the city's geography and architecture as a lens to re-examine the developemnt of the city -- and its identity -- from Roman Empire to the end of the Renaissance. (ITL504, $33.00)
Venice, City of Art • Matteo Varia • Livio Bourbon • Richard Pierce ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2006 • HARD COVER • 128 PAGES A lively photographic celebration of the architecture, art and life of Venice with extended captions and an accompanyings. (ITL721, $27.95)
Venice, Lion City • Garry Wills HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 448 PAGES A magisterial history of Venice at the height of its power as a maritime republic in the 15th and 16th centuries. Wills shows the power and influence of the city through its magnificent Renaissance art and architecture. With 130 illustrations, 30 in color. An accomplished historian and political commentator, Wills is attuned to the nuances of Venetian religious and political power. (ITL324, $20.00)
Venice, the Tourist Maze • Robert C. Davis • Garry R. Marvin CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2004 • PAPER • 368 PAGES A history of the impact and importance of tourism in Venice, a city that both thrives on and suffers from the millions of people who visit it every year. The authors paint a sobering picture of the state of the city today and the prospects for its future. (ITL648, $26.95)
Visible Cities Dubrovnik • Annabel Barber GUIDEBOOK • 2006 • PAPER • 199 PAGES An informative, personable guide to exploring the city and surroundings, featuring a good overview of the history of Dubrovnik, suggested walking tours, a map of the city center and practical advice on where to go and what to do. (BLK40, $24.95)
Watermark • Joseph Brodsky TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1993 • PAPER • 135 PAGES In this brief, intense, gem-like book, equal parts extended autobiographical essay and prose poem, Brodsky turns his eye to the seductive and enigmatic city of Venice. A mosaic of 48 short chapters -- each recalling a specific episode from one of his many visits there (Brodsky spent his winters in Venice for nearly 20 years) -- Watermark associatively and brilliantly evokes one city's architectural and atmospheric character. (ITL105, $13.00)
Wine Country Europe, Touring, Tasting, And Buying At European Regional Wineries • Ornella D'Alessio • Marco Santini FOOD • 2005 • HARD COVER • 324 PAGES Part how-to, part guidebook, part picture book, this charming coffee table treat covers sprawling French vineyards as well as lesser-known hidden treasures in Austria and Hungary. The authors, both Italian journalists and wine connoisseurs, provide helpful tips alongside the hundreds of magnificent color photographs. (EUR191, $35.00)
Words Are Something Else • David Albahari LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 215 PAGES Twenty-seven very short stories make up this debut collection from Serbian writer Albahari. (BLK80, $15.95)
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, Portrait of an Age • William Manchester HISTORY • 1993 • PAPER • 322 PAGES In this wide-ranging study, Manchester evokes in vivid detail the great figures and daily life of the 16th century, with information on Henry VIII, Magellan, Borgia, da Vinci and Martin Luther. This is his 18th book and Manchester knows how to tell a great story. It's divided into three sections: Renaissance, Reformation and Discovery. (EUR06, $15.99)

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