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Summary: brings rome to life
Review: i've never been to italy, but this book made me feel as if i was walking the streets of rome without getting bogged down in meandering descriptions. i especially like that you're introduced to rome through the life of a family living there- the chapter about mr. epstein's trip to his son's violin lesson through a pouring rainstorm, their hilarious efforts to sell a home in california & furnish their new apartment... i would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a book to escape into.
Rating: 
Summary: As the Romans Do
Review: If you're as fascinated by Italy as I am--or want to know what the fuss is all about--Alan Epstein's book is a delightful insider look at living la dolce vita in the place where the good life began. His essays are personal, insightful and wonderfully descriptive. I am recommending this book to everyone I know who loves Rome and can't get enough.
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Summary: More than just a travel book
Review: It would be easy to think of this as just a travel book, but for me it is something more. It is a mirror or prism through which to view and test our own cultural assumptions. We have so many untested beliefs. Italy is a devoutly Catholic country, right? And Catholics tend to have large families, right? Well, not in Italy. Italy has the lowest birth rate in the world. Catholics have strict views about sex, right? Well, you won't see much evidence of it in Italy. There are scantily clad or nude women everywhere (either actual or depicted), both men and women flirt relentlessly, and extramarital affairs are the order of the day. American moralists would have us believe that this kind of behavior leads to dire consequences - divorce, broken families, neurotic children, illegitimate births, and sex crimes. But that's what happens in America, not Italy. Their divorce rate is five times lower than ours, illegitimacy is rare in Italy, and sex crimes are almost non-existent. Could it possibly be that the Italian approach is actually healthier, and that our own moralizing is what leads to the social ills that we here attribute to "immoral" sexual behavior? But it also seems there are things the Italians could learn from us. They could, for instance, learn how to make things work. Epstein paints a picture of a very inefficient country. He also worries that globalization is slowly leading to American-style modernization and that this could destroy much of the charm that led him to live in Rome. Perhaps. But one would hope that both the Italians and the Americans could learn to strike a balance by which we take the good from each other's ways and discard the bad. One Italian reviewer on this page has asserted that Epstein's depiction of the Italians is a stereotype, but another asserts that it is right on, and recent reports I've received from friends who have visited there tell me that Epstein's descriptions are on the mark. The book also works as a travel guide and a sales pitch for Rome. I have always wanted to visit there, but never more so than now. This is a very good book about a very interesting place.
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Summary: If only life for most people was so easy.....
Review: Mr. Epstein obviously has bushels of cash, and plenty of connections with the glitterati. His descriptions of buying a place in Rome, going to dinner parties with his famous personal friends, and his perceptions of la bella figura, etc. are all rather patronizing. While I did enjoy a couple of the chapters, I found that Mr. Epstein's reality in the USA was obviously far different from mine, and so is his reality in Italy. Must be nice to have it all so easy.
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Summary: Enjoyable reading
Review: My college-age son and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Often the author's observations are very humorous. I thought that reading this book was very good preparation for our trip. It gave me a better understanding of the Roman people and their culture. I think that a lot of his observations extend beyond Rome. Even though we have returned from our trip, I am going to make my husband read this book. It is a fun! I am very glad that I had read an earlier review that convinced me to read this book.
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Summary: One of the best of its genre
Review: Previous customers have explained well how enjoyable this book is. I would love to find (in any language) a similarly spirited book for Coimbra, Portugal. Congratulations to Alan, his wife, and sons!
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Summary: the same old tired starry-eyed cliches
Review: sorry to demur from the outpouring of unfocused affection, but this book is awful. For anyone who has been for more than a casual trip to Rome, the author disappoints. Every old cliche is dutifully trotted out and dusted off. The language is uninspired, the insights pedestrian and lacking in flair, the egocentricity rampant. A banal addition to the travel bookshelf, fit mainly for those intrepid armchair travellers who prefer their fare pre-chewed.
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Summary: whimsical personal anecdotes, no more
Review: Sorry, but as someone who has lived and worked here for 15 years, this book was a big disappointment. I didn't recognise half the stuff he talked about, where are all these "beautiful long legs" of Italian women for example. At least that was one of the more readable phrases, most are overlong and hyperbolic. If it gives people pleasure, that's good,if your only demands for a book are that it is like "having a chat with a friend", then go for it. Otherwise read serious travel guides, Cornwell's biography of Pio XII, Friedmans book on the Agnellis, "Midnight in Sicily" (author please..) and other books by people who have at least bothered to do some research.
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Summary: Poetic, Philosophical, Soulful
Review: There are many aspects of "As the Romans Do" that resonated with me. A few that leap to mind: Epstein's expert weaving of Italian words and phrases into the English text, which add pizzazz to his encounters; the juxtaposition of Roman history -- in all its epochs -- with current Roman life; the contrasts between contemporary Roman and American society, as noted in general observations and in descriptions of Epstein's and his Roman neighbors' personal experiences; the overall smooth rhythm and pacing of the book. "As the Romans Do" should have broad appeal, enchanting people who love all things Italian, who have visited Rome -- or who would like to, and who enjoy reading about expatriates living in foreign cultures. Epstein does an artistic, classy job with a subject that lends itself to art and class, but that can fall easily into cliches and descriptions of Rome we've all read before. Epstein has a fresh perspective. His individual approach to the Eternal City defines his book, and as readers, we get to dream about Rome as we mull over our own definitions.
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Summary: What It's Like to Do as the Romans Do
Review: This book gives a very good all-around picture of what it's like for American ex-pats to live in the Eternal City -- a fair picture of the various frustrations, but with emphasis on the many over-riding pleasures.
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