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How can a nation that spawned the Renaissance have produced the Mafia? How could people concerned with bella figura (keeping up appearances) have elected Silvio Berlusconi as their leader - not once, but three times? Sublime and maddening, fascinating yet baffling, Italy is a country of seemingly unsolvable riddles.
John Hooper's entertaining and perceptive new book is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to understand contemporary Italy and the unique character of the Italians.
Digging deep into their history, culture, and religion, Hooper offers keys to understanding everything from their bewildering politics to their love of life and beauty. Looking at the facts that lie behind the stereotypes, he sheds new light on many aspects of Italian life: football and Freemasonry, sex, symbolism, and the reason why Italian has twelve words for a coat hanger, yet none for a hangover.
Even readers who think they know Italy well will be surprised, challenged, and delighted by The Italians.
"Starred Review. A thoroughly researched, well-written, ageless narrative of a fascinating people." - Kirkus
"Hooper offers personal experiences and anecdotes from his many years living in Italy, creating a readable and entertaining work. However, owing to the book's large scope, the analysis of each cultural aspect is little more than an overview. As such, it is recommended for casual readers eager to learn more about Italian culture and people." - Library Journal
"This is a fascinating study of the fundamentals and foibles of Italy's people." - Publishers Weekly
This information about The Italians was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
The Italy correspondent of The Economist and southern Europe editor of The Guardian, John Hooper has also written or broadcast for the BBC, NBC, and Reuters. His book The Spaniards won the Allen Lane Award and was revised and updated as The New Spaniards in 1995 and 2006.
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