Travelers' Tales Italy: True Stories

Interesting stories about Italians and how events happen. It gave me a better understanding of the country and Italians. I would recommend it before going to Italy!

Many stories giving insighst to different aspects of Italy

I enjoy the quality of the subjects presented. I did'nt know there is a whole city underneath Rome.This is a book written by well known authors, journalists therefore the quality is high, brief, informative and generally, good reading.

I've kept this book at my bedside for a year, reading one of the relatively short articles every few nights. The stories are all very different, and they are of different levels of interest, though all generally well written. I live part of the year in Italy, so the book has special meaning. If you're interested in Italy on any level, you too will enjoy reading a section of this book.

Having just returned from my first trip to Italy a few months ago, I'm still reliving the memories and soaking up information about the people and places in this enthralling country. Although you can't "get beneath the surface" and truly understand the culture during a 2-week bus tour, my armchair traveling since returning has deepened the experience for me and made me eager to return.The essays in Travelers' Tales allowed me to validate my own experiences and learn about others experiences and impressions of Italy. From interesting, educational and insightful to downright hilarious, I enjoyed every one of the essays. The difficulties of banking and understanding the tax laws, the challenges of traffic, the misconceptions about people in southern Italy, appreciating the churches, artwork and food of Italy are topics revealed by the various contributing authors.I highly recommend this collection to anyone who has traveled to Italy, is contemplating a trip to Italy, or will never get any further than armchair traveling. There's something for everyone in Travelers'Tales.

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 i donlt think it is all that useful, and will be long out of date before the travellers' tales are.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').

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.

Having travelled to Italy so many times, I found that some stories in this book are accurate. I do not agree with the other review, this book is not that bad at all. I agree that there are some stories that are boring, but that's what we see when we have different writers in one book and some are just fantastic. I really enjoy this book and I'm glad I bought it to accompany me during a travel to Spain with my Italian friend, so I asked him a lot of questions about the stories while we were on the road. And that's very entertaining!

Excellent! cast a true picture through the tales told, makes you want to explore more and enjoy this wonderful country.

Some the material was glorious and transported me to Rome and to Venice. But I wish it wasn't soooo American in expression and attitude as, after a while, it does grate on me and diverts my thoughts from the places written about. American travellers are very different animals to, say, the British and even when they are being positive it doesn't always ring true - but then I guess the understated British often equally miss the point. Nevertheless, I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves Italy.