The Divine Comedy has been a cornerstone of Western literature for the better part of a millennium. In this work, Joseph Gallagher brings the power and prestige of this medieval classic to a new generation of readers--taking them on a guided tour through heaven, purgatory, and hell.
This book was an invaluable guide to me as I journeyed with Dante from the Inferno to Purgatory to Paradise. If you are new to the Divine Comedy, as I am, then this brief but densely packed guide to the work is just what is needed. The author devotes about two or three pages to every Canto. He is easy to read, informative, and funny as well.
As a first time reader of the Divine Comedy, I found this book to do a very solid job of putting all the things Dante talks about in context. I would have liked a chapter or two on Dante himself and the history of Florence at the time, but that is really nitpicking.
As an additional item of interest, my family name is mentioned in warning during canto 28 of the Inferno as potentially ending up in the 8th circle of hell if we do not mend our ways.
Esse livro esmiuça a Divina Comédia capítulo a capítulo, explicando cada trecho, cada referencia, cada contexto histórico. Sem ele a minha experiência teria sido muito mais pobre, certamente.