"The Italians" by John Hooper

[RobD]

If you've got a soft spot for Italians and appreciate Italian culture I can recommend a book called "The Italians" written by journalist John Hooper. It delves deep into the history of Italy and reveals some fascinating facts about what makes Italy and the Italians what they are.  Hooper worked as a journalist in Italy for many years and therefore the book is well-researched and very thorough but written in a witty anecdotal style. Sorry, no Lancia content but don't let that put you off. Once you've read this you'll look at Italians in a different light!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Italians-John-Hooper/dp/1846145449/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449655397&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Italians

[frankxhv773t]

Interesting. I once read a book called "Marching to Captivity" by Gustav Folcher, a French soldier who became a POW during the fall of France in 1940. His story changed the way I view the and understand the French in a perhaps similar way.

Frank T

[stanley sweet]

Likewise I read The Discovery of France by Graham Robb (ISBN: 9780330427616). Afterwards I saw France in a whole different light. Makes you realise how recently it became a unified country, not least because they eventually began to speak one language. I imagine Italy was much the same.

[chriswgawne]

We are  both finding the John Hooper book, The Italians, to be both absorbing and informative. The author has identified many of the less obvious character traits of the Italians , many of which have puzzled us for years, and given perfectly plausible reasons for these.
A very readable book so thanks for the recommendation.
Chris

[neil-yaj396]

Yes, reading it too and it's very good. The local library had it, but only in large print for some reason.