5 comments about Italy Today The Beautiful Cookbook: Contemporary Recipes Reflecting Simple, Fresh Italian Cooking.

1. I love to cook, love italian,and love this book. The beautiful photographs are very inspiring and the unique recipes are motivating!



2. This is AWFUL. Most of these recipes even the most beginning cook would know of or could simply figure out on their own - if they wanted bland food. Many if not most recipes are very few ingredients and fairly common sense. Chicken, rosemary, balsamic and oil. I didn't need a $50 cookbook to teach me that one - or any of them that would actually be tasty.



3. ... you have to pay a little less. These "Beautiful Cookbooks" are usually on sale at Borders store for $20 for 2 or $10 each. For that price, they are a real value. Beautiful to read through, pictures of every dish and some nice recipes too.



4. ITALY: THE BEAUTIFUL COOKBOOK is just that - a book brimming with known dishes and as well as rarities from throughout Italy presented in a format so well designed, filled with excellent photography, and thorough information about the country that it could rest as comfortably on the traveler's coffee table as in the gourmet's kitchen.
   
   Lorenza De'Medici takes the reader on an insider's tour of Italy with readable maps, stunning photographs of each region, information about the peculiar characteristics of the regions that inform the recipes, and then gives some of the finest recipes you'll likely to encounter for dishes both simple and complex.
   
   As with the best of cookbooks this one contains images that show how the result of the time spent in the kitchen will look. De'Medici writes with candor and in a relaxed inviting style. This survey of Italian culinary arts and the historic background that accompanies them is as fine as any similar book on the market. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, December 05



5. This book has almost the same title as her first book from 1987, Italy the Beautiful Cookbook. This one is called Italy today the Beautiful cookbook. This one is as bad as her first was good... pass on this one and order her first one.

2 comments about Insight Fleximap Rome.

1. When visiting Rome you will find that the city is a maze of narrow winding streets surrounded by high buildings. It is impossible to see more than one or two blocks in most places. Furthermore the names of the streets are not on signs but carved into stones on the sides of buildings, and not at regular intervals. Turn one or two corners and you will find yourself completly lost.
   Furthermore many of the prime spots are in places that are best accessed on foot. The streets are too narrow for tour busses or cabs. If you plan on seeing Rome you will eventually find youself on foot, and you had better be prepared with a good map.
   This map is well laid out with the streets printed in an easily readable fashion, despite the twists and turns of the streets themselves. It also has the major landmarks and the churches that are open to the public in seperate colors so they are easily found.
   Finally after a week of carrying the map in my back pocket, and several unexpected rain showers, it was still as good as when I first purchased it, do to the lamination. In all this is a durible, well laid out map that is essential to the Roman visitor. Trust me, every street corner had at least one tourist checking their map to figure where they had been, where they were, and how would they get to their destination.



2. Rome is a very good city to walk around in. Most of the sights are within walking distance of each other and you can't walk more than a few blocks without coming across some ancient ruin or historic church. A map like this is a necessity because, as another reviewer noted, Rome is an easy city to get lost in. The streets often wind and curve, and it is easy to lose your bearings.
   
   The Insight Map of Rome provides a very detailed map of a large area of the city within which you will find virtually all of the city's tourist sites. It also includes a map of the Rome subway system which is very easy to use: It is hard to get confused about it as there are just two subway lines.
   
   I used this map on my recent visit to Rome and found it indispensable.

5 comments about The Year I Didn't Go to School.

1. The other reviewer is correct in that there are many mistakes in the Italian and a few in the English. But you have to understand what is going on in the story.
   The family in this story is an American family that goes to Italy for a year to perform. I get the feeling from the book that they are NOT Italian and are just trying to fumble their way through the language as best as they can. You have to remember that this is not an Italian language instructional guide. It's an autobiographical telling of a year of Ms. Potter's childhood. With that in mind, the other mistakes make sense too. I read the story again and found that the mistake the former reviewer mentions is contained in a section where young Giselle is writing in her journal. It is the writing of a child, hence the grammatical mistakes.
   And the reviewer is also correct about there not being many captivating images of Italy, but I don't think Italy is supposed to be the star of the book. Ms. Potter wants us to learn from the lessons she learned as she traveled through that beautiful country. The most important lesson, I feel, is being able to support your family and find the joy in life even when things aren't going so well.
   No, this isn't the book you should use if you are trying to teach Italian to your child, but if you just want a cute little book for your child to enjoy, this one will do just fine. My 2 daughters loved it - especially the thought of having a year off of school!



2. My oldest daughter (4) and I LOVED this book! The illustrations are powerful and the story is so fun it makes me want to buy a van and travel around putting on plays with my husband and two daughters!!



3. This is a great book for any child. It has great pictures that are fun to look at and enjoy reading. I bought this for my neice and she loves the pictures.



4. I love this book. I had seen some of the artworks in a gallery last year and am so glad to have found the book they belong to. It's a fun read and a fantastick family adventure. This would make a great introduction to the possibilities of theater and engaging in performance for any child with a yearning to act, sing, paint, or dance.



5. I gave this book as a present to a little friend of mine, after seeing an exhibit of the illustrations and falling in love with them myself.
   
   Her parents have to ration reading the book! She loves it so much that, left to herself, she'd read it over and over in the same sitting.
   
   I'm now going to buy it for another little friend of mine.

2 comments about Streetwise Italy Map - Laminated, Pocket Size Country Road Map of Italy - with integrated major city distance chart.

1. This is just a fold out map of Italy. It only displays the major highways of the entire country.



2. If you are drving the main roads of Italy, this handy map folds up and opens up and keeps its handy laminated shape. If you are looking for small villages, this will not work.

3 comments about Let's Go 2007 Italy (Let's Go Italy).

1. There is so much interesting detail about Italy in this book that can be found no where else. The information about lodgings, travel, food, etc is invaluable. The hotels are reasonable(I don't want to make a down payment, I just want to rent a clean room for a little sleep). It makes me want to take a trip there, and I plan to. I'm quite old but it makes me feel comfortable about going by myself.



2. I used this with my Rough Guide italy, they certainly had different takes on various towns, sometimes this was more in line with my thinking. I was hoping to use this to find cheap hotels, since Rough Guide is weak on that. But the hotels were not as cheap as published, by the end of the trip I was using the tourist information booths with better results.



3. The Let's Go series is the best travel books on the market. If you are a younger person say 30 and under, this is the book for you. Woven throughout the book are helpful tips. Color Maps of various cities in the front of the book. I have been able to make sound decisions on where to stay, how to get around, and where to buy tickets/passes.

5 comments about The Alps of Tuscany : Selected hikes in the Apuane Alps, the Cinque Terre and Portofino.

1. If you are planning a trip to northern Tuscany (Florence, Pisa, etc.) and want to do some hiking, you must check out this book! It is a goldmine of information on hikes in the Tuscan Alps -- all carefully described and ranked by difficulty, scenic beauty, elevation gain and duration, etc.-- as well as recommendations for places to eat and sleep at the end of your tiring day. I will update this review after putting the book to the test in May 2000.



2. This guide gives detailed information about 31 hikes in Italy's Liguria region and the Apuane Alps of Tuscany. As an example of its useful detail, it rates the difficulty of each hike as Easy (up to 8 km, up to 500 m elevation gain) Moderate (up to 10 km, up to 800 m elevation gain) Strenuous (up to 14 km, up to 1200 m elevation gain) and Very Strenuous (over 14 km, over 1200 m elevation gain).

   Five of the hikes are more strenuous than the climb from Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to Grand Canyon Village, at the South Rim. And there are just two easy hikes.




3. This book, which I received as a present in anticipation of a trek to Italy, is fantastic. It is very interesting and well written with lots of good information. I agree with the above reviews; I especially love the menu recommendations for various spots and the guide to Italian behavoir. My one complaint is that it does not have much information for extended (multi-day) hikes, and while it has useful information on trains, the book as a whole is geared towards those traveling by car. All in all a delightful book, that is a fun read even if you aren't actually going hiking.



4. I just returned from a trip to the Apuan Alps, where I put this book to the test, and it was quite useful. The hikes are very well described and are very accurate in terms of the terrain and the time and distance. I also agree with their rankings of the various hikes in terms of difficulty and the overall experience. However, this book should be used as a "starting point" coupled with detailed road maps and trail maps, as the directions to the trailheads (and on the trails themselves) can be a bit vague at points. Still, it was an excellent tool that made for a great hiking experience.



5. The level of detail in this guidebook is astonishing. I have walked and climbed this area for 23 years but still found new ideas. I can confirm the accuracy of the descriptions from my experience of many of the routes followed in whole or in part. In this area it is essential to use detailed maps to supplement the route description if only to find starting and finishing points. The maps recommended within this guide are not wholly adequate for the purpose, and maps of the series "Edizioni Multigraphic, 1:25 000" are really indispensable.

2 comments about Authentic Sicily (Authentic Italy).

1. The Touring Club of Italy is well-known for its focus on natural, cultural, culinary, and historical itineraries. This guidebook is very well written, perfect for pre-travel planning and to carry with you during your trip as well. Great for off-the-beaten path itineraries and do-it-yourself travelers.
   The Touring Club offers guidebooks for each region of Italy, and for those of you who don't know, that's the best way to see Italy: region by region, NOT all in one single trip! So, find out which regions you want to see first by giving these books a read and finding out which area is more ideal for your vacation.



2. I bought this book with the hope that it would be a guide to the towns we visited much like a Michelin guide. Although there were alot of good pieces of information it did not meet my needs.

2 comments about In Sicily.

1. When I read about this book and the author, I thought I would be reading another book telling about Sicily. Instead, I find that the author discusses the Mafia. He says nothing about the history of Sicily, places in Sicily or anything of interest. The entire book is about the Mafia. One time I thought he was going to talk about Sicilian customs and the people only to have him discuss the Mafia. Worst of all, the discussion had nothing to do with the custom he had started off with. He has nothing good to say about any of the towns and cities and, most of all, absolutely nothing good say about Sicily. I have read other people's comments on other books of his and I can't understand why they enjoy him so much. Most of his other books appear to be about the same subject, including his fiction works. Perhaps the title of this book should have been "In the Mafia."



2. I bought this book as a gift for an american friend whose relatives are from Alcamo,Sicily and I did not read it. But I trusted the author, since I read "Naples 44" that I SIMPLY LOVED.

No comments about Frommer's Tuscany and Umbria With Your Family: From Renaissance Architecture to Stunning Scenery (Frommers With Your Family Series).

3 comments about The Antique & Flea Markets of Italy.

1. I have used other books of this kind in the past for other countries. This one seem to lack the fundamentals for this type of informational book. #1 You must write this book for someone who is not familiar with the local surroundings or the languages. #2 In the years that will be called the new millinneum people want to just blow in and blow out. When I travel I have a limited time and budget to see the flea markets available. In this book there is alot of leg work the author could have provided but for some reason did not.#3 If you speak fluent italian you can call all the phone #'s provided if they are still current. I on the other hand will have to hire a translator. If the author would provide maps, locations to trains, location to major city monuments, and make things easy for the reader to find, the hidden treasures she has found would be available to her reader, which should be her goal. When I travel many times I have up to 5 days in which to find this type of treasure. With this book it would be difficult to accomplish what I would like, but with more effort from the author this book could be a complete guide for any traveler.



2. This slim volume lists all types of markets by the day of the week or month and location. There's also usually a contact number for more information. If you're going to be in Italy during the first weekend of the month, or the second Tuesday, say, you can check the listings for that time period. There are a few blank pages at the end of the book to write your own personal market notes!

   No doubt people will need local maps and/or guidebooks to help locate the markets; this book will work best in addition to other guidebooks - not as a replacement.




3. I got this cute little book as a gift for my mother who loves antiques and is traveling to Italy this summer.
   Unfortunately, the information is organized by day of the week - and not by location. There is no index that cross-references by location (i.e. city, region). So you end up reading through every single entry for "2nd Sunday of the Month" just to find a market that's taking place that day in Firenze.