Italy Biography

Since the Renaissance, Julius Caesar has been idolized as a superman. While there is no doubt that Caesar was an extraordinary man, General Fuller points out that he was more extraordinary for his reckless ambition, matchless daring, and ruthless tyranny than for his skill as a military...

It is not an easy job to draw the border between the history of Italy and the history of Rome. In so many places, the two political and geographical entities collide. They wouldn’t be possible without each other, but they each have their own story. Rome’s history is only a small fragment of Italy’s history. Although it is just a city, Rome was the birthplace of the republic, a great empire, and notable philosophers, poets, and artists.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane—now in a twentieth-anniversary edition featuring a new afterword “This beautifully written memoir about taking...

After 64 years, Mezzabotte Coletta, a retired truck driver for a Toronto macaroni factory, is retuning to his native Italia. In his native village of Supino is a rundown villa bought sight unseen by Mezzabotte Coletta 's daughter Maria - an olive branch after years of family struggle. While she and her husband breathe in the chatter of local tradesmen, the fragrant offerings of well-wishing neighbors, and the aroma of fine wine, her father awaits in Canada, anticipating the day he will again touch Italian soil.

Brought to you by Penguin. Corruption, sleaze and violence were woven into the fabric of twentieth-century Sicilian life, as the Mafia rose to dominance; this is the story of one man who stood in opposition. In 1986, the largest Mafia trial in Italy’s history took place in Sicily. The...

Bloomsbury presents Catherine de' Medici by Mary Hollingsworth, read by Sophie Hunter and Rachel Bavidge. A new biography of Catherine de' Medici, the most powerful woman in sixteenth-century Europe, whose author uses neglected primary sources to recreate the life and times of a remarkable –...

""Tantalizing"" - NPR “A thrilling detective story… Stapinski pursues the study of her family’s criminal genealogy with unexpected emotional results.” — Library Journal A writer goes deep into the heart of Italy to unravel a century-old family mystery in this spellbinding memoir that...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER"Absorbing history of an unlikely alliance.” - Kirkus Reviews From the New York Times bestselling authors of Ghosts of Honolulu comes their most harrowing true story yet. It's 1942, and New York City is at war. German U-boats are sinking ships just miles...

Naples '44 is an unflinching autobiographical account of a year in Naples after the armistice and Allied landings in Sorrento in 1943. Working as a British counterintelligence officer under the Allied occupation, Lewis documents the rich pageant of life in the city and its surrounding areas. There is suffering and squalor: Criminal gangs are on the rise, along with typhus and black market commerce, and the female population is forced into part-time prostitution. But there is farce and humor, too, witnessed in the Roman uncle paid handsomely simply to appear at funerals.

Exploring the importance of Ernest Hemingway's time in Italy to his writing and legacy From his World War I service in Italy through his transformational return visits during the decades that followed, Ernest Hemingway's Italian experiences were fundamental to his artistic development. Hemingway...

In 1944 and 1945, Tom Faulkner was a B-24 pilot flying out of San Giovanni airfield in Italy as a member of the 15th Air Force of the US Army Air Forces. Only 19 years old when he completed his 28th and last mission, Tom was one of the youngest bomber pilots to serve in the US Army Air Forces during World War II. Between September 1944 and the end of February 1945, he flew against targets in Hungary, Germany, Italy, Austria, and Yugoslavia.

Antonio Gramsci was born in Sardinia in 1891, became the leader of the Italian Communist Party in his early 30s, was arrested by Mussolini’s police in 1927, and remained imprisoned until shortly before his death 10 years later. The posthumous publication of his Prison Notebooks established him as a major thinker whose influence continues to increase. Fiori’s biography enlarges upon the facts of Gramsci’s life through personal accounts, and through Gramsci’s own writings to relatives and friends.

Read by the author, acclaimed conductor Jane Glover. 'You don’t have to be able to hum Mozart to find this book utterly engrossing . . . I couldn’t put it down' - Joanna Lumley An expertly researched and vividly written account of Mozart’s formative trips to Italy. At thirteen years old...

A comprehensive and exclusive biography on one of the most pivotal figures of the 20th century: Pope John Paul II. As the spiritual head of more than one billion Catholics and a world statesman of immense stature and influence, Pope John Paul II was a major international figure. Yet he remained...

I always imagine each of the signoras who lived in this house—where she shelled peas, rocked the grandchild, placed a vase of the pink roses. Now I would like to take one of these women back to my house in California to show her how Bramasole traveled to America and took root, how the doors...

'You don’t have to be able to hum Mozart to find this book utterly engrossing . . . I couldn’t put it down' - Joanna Lumley An expertly researched and vividly written account of Mozart’s formative trips to Italy. At thirteen years old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child prodigy who had...

Pack your bags! We're headed to Italy. On this whirlwind tour, you'll learn all about the country's landscape, culture, people, and more. We'll see an active island volcano, ride the gondolas in Venice's canals, and visit ancient ruins in Rome. A special section introduces Italy's capital, language, and population. Hop on board and take a fun-filled look at your world!

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 incredible story of the two most high-profile Italian cases in recent history: the story of the Monster of Florence, a serial killer who targeted unmarried couples and terrorized Florence for two decades, and the Amanda Knox case.

The ingenious artist we know as Michelangelo lived during the Renaissance in Northern Italy, and you could say that he was indeed a Renaissance man - he was a painter, sculptor, poet, and engineer all rolled up into one. Even though it has been some 450 years since his passing, his legacy remains one of the strongest on record. If the burgeoning art student of today wishes to learn from the best, he takes his notes directly from Michelangelo.