A Traveller's History of Italy

by Valerio Lintner, Denis Judd (Editor), John Hoste (Illustrator)

The history of Italy is central to the European experience. Through the supremacy of Rome, Italy enjoyed its greatest influence, as Roman power stretched from the Atlantic to the borders of Mesopotamia, and from the Scottish Lowlands to the Sahara Desert. A Traveller's History of Italy moves from Italy's pre-historic and Etruscan civilizations, through the Roman Empire and the Renaissance, the creation of modern Italy, fascism and World War II, and the role of Italy in today's Europe, up to present day.

Genres: Travel, History, Italy, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with others in this series, not a scholarly history, (although written by a scholar with fine credentials), but a straightforward easy-to-read history to give the prospective traveler the basics (well, more than the basics) of the country's history. Great way to sort out all the periods in a country's history, so for example, you understand who King Victor Emannuel was and what he did to get that dopey monument in Rome erected in his honor.

[John Kaufmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plus is it was brief and hit the high points- something you can get through quickly if you're preparing for a trip and want to know something about Italy. The downside is there isn't a lot of detail, which adds a lot of richness and interest.

[Hal Brodsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Practical book covering the history of the Italian peninsula and Sicily. Not very detailed, but provides enough information to familiarize the traveler with Etruscans, Visigoths, Romans, Carthinians, and fascists.

[C. Patrick G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book a lot. For someone not well versed in Italian history, there are a heck of a lot of places and names, but given how much Italian history and western history are tied, lots were familiar.

A good book to read while on honeymoon in Italy!

[T SP · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book uses very biased language, to the tune of declaring some Italian cultures to be culturally superior to others. It also has a very casual tone, even going so far as to use exclamation points during the narrative. It name-drops people and ideas without explaining or introducing them. The book is also physically difficult to keep open; I had to pin it down with both hands on my desk to be able to read it. The only thing that saves it from 1 star is the fact that most of the information presented is technically accurate.

[Brian Kolda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda dry rundown of every conflict. For a true traveler, I’d keep it lighter.

[Ray Savarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice balance of detail and overview; for a traveller, I don't need excruciation detail about the history, but a sweeping overview is useful.

[Emilee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this was a little dry and hard to read a times, I think it was a good representation of Italy's history and gave a traveler a bit of a head start before their travels.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since it was presented as a "Traveler's History" I wish some of the history had been keyed to specific places more. As a background for the history of the country as a whole, it was pretty good. My favorite line came in the section about the towers in the Tuscan hill towns, explaining that the towers were a way for warring families to keep an eye on each other when "vendettas and assassinations were the order of the day."

[Alyssa Weinert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives the main historical facts about Italy. It doesn't really summarize how things are at this point since its a little bit of an older book. It's interesting I don't really like Historical books but it wasnt bad. It tells how the country got formed how things were doing different wars and who were main people at main causes.