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Rating: 
Summary: Travelers' Tales Italy
Review: "Travelers' Tales Italy is a fine collection of accountings and tales told by visitors to the country so rich in art, religion and food.... The ventures into Italy take the reader beyond a package tour to discover sculptors, olive harvesters, art historians, cooks and ordinary people."- Messenger Press Service"Travelers' Tales Italy is a veritable treasure trove of reckonings and accountings; yarns spun and tales told by visitors to a country rich in art, religion, food and culture."-Palo Alto Daily News
Rating: 
Summary: Very appealing collection
Review: 50 short essays divided into 4 sections: the first 2 sections, "Essence of Italy" and "Some Things To Do" have the most appealing, simpatico, essays (though be warned that "The Nicholas Effect" in the last chapter is heartrending without trying to be). Several essays prompted me to buy the books they were excerpted from.
Rating:
Summary: Very appealing collection
Review: 50 short essays divided into 4 sections: the first 2 sections, "Essence of Italy" and "Some Things To Do" have the most appealing, simpatico, essays (though be warned that "The Nicholas Effect" in the last chapter is heartrending without trying to be). Several essays prompted me to buy the books they were excerpted from.
Rating: 
Summary: Silly, offensive, and patronizing
Review: In the introduction we are regaled to a reminder of the stereotype of the Italian gangster or buffoon. There is a story about a casual sexual encounter that seems entirely out of place in this day of AIDS. Italian men are portrayed as habitually unfaithful to their wives ("The Italian Mistress"). There are excerpts that characterize the "average Italian citizen" as an inveterate cheater. Italians, we are told, are breast-obsessed. This book is a paradigm of the sort of travel writing that romanticizes the exotic "other." I see no reason to think that this brings anyone closer to the "real" Italy and it is silly and simplistic to think otherwise. It would appear that in these days of political correctness it is still considered acceptable to portray Italians in a patronizing way, in contrast with almost every other group or ethnicity. This book is insulting both to Italians and to the reader's intelligence.
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Summary: Free spirits in travel...
Review: Some folks take themselves too seriously..but enough of those reviewers. I think of these stories as little after-dinner treats. Something to savor after a long day dealing with the real world, knowing in these days of a bad economy and terrorism and jobliness, my chances of getting to Italy are slim. I enjoy the vicarious experience of savoring these adventures-travels in a country that I was never born into, but yearn for all the same.
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Summary: A great compilation of diverse views of la bella Italia
Review: The stories in this anthology truly capture the anomaly that is Italy -- mysterious and obvious, beautiful and ugly, sacred and profane -- as well as the "pull" that Italy has on those of us who were not born to it, but have adopted it in our hearts. I loved the juxtaposition of contemporary stories with quotations from travelers to Italy in past times.
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Summary: Another great Traveler's Tales
Review: This book, like all of the Traveler's Tales books, is the product of thoughtful editing. Here are stories of real people in Italy. And each one seeks to show the beauty and complexity of the place. These are not just the stock images here. These are beautiful, sometimes intense stories about a place that, for so many, is out of reach. This book is a journey. Good, Bad, Ugly and perfect, flaws and all. Read it, enjoy and then, go.
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Summary: Travel companion - real or armchair
Review: This is a delightful volume. Either take it on a trip to Italy to read as you go, or save it up til you come home, read it before planning a trip, or just let yourself go from your armchair or bed (or favourite reading spot). There is a very brief attempt at some guidebook-style information at the end. i donlt think it is all that useful, and will be long out of date before the travellers' tales are. Still, it is brief enough not to detract. It includes some web addresses and , most usefully, some further reading and full bibliographic details of the excerpts presented. There are many renowned writers included in this anthology, and of course some I had never encountered before. Some of the better known include Tim Parks ('An Italian Education'), Jonathan Keates ('Italian Journeys'), H.V. Morton ('A Traveller in Italy'), Frances mayes ('Under The Tuscan Sun').
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