One of The Economist's 2011 Books of the Year Did Garibaldi do Italy a disservice when he helped its disparate parts achieve unity? Was the goal of political unification a mistake? These questions are asked and answered in a number of ways in this engaging, original consideration of the many histories that contribute to the brilliance-and weakness-of Italy today.David Gilmour's wonderfully readable ex­ploration of Italian life over the centuries is filled with provocative anecdotes as well as personal observations, and is peopled with the great fig­ures of the Italian past-from Cicero and Virgil to Dante and the Medicis, from Garibaldi and Cavour to the controversial politicians of the twentieth century. Gilmour's wise account of the Risorgimento, the pivotal epoch in modern Italian history, debunks the nationalistic myths that surround it, though he paints a sympathetic portrait of Giuseppe Verdi, a beloved hero of the era. Gilmour shows that the glory of Italy has always lain in its regions, with their distinc­tive art, civic cultures, identities, and cuisines. Italy's inhabitants identified themselves not as Italians but as Tuscans and Venetians, Sicilians and Lombards, Neapolitans and Genoese. Italy's strength and culture still come from its regions rather than from its misconceived, mishandled notion of a unified nation.With The Pursuit of Italy, David Gilmour has provided a coherent, persuasive, and entertain­ing interpretation of the paradoxes of Italian life, past and present.

Product Description: This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience...read more

Product Description: "I loved David Gilmour's sleek, potent little memoir, The Film Club. It's so, so wise in the ways of fathers and sons, of movies and movie-goers, of love and loss." --- Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize winning author of Empire Falls "If all sons had dads like David Gilmour, then Oedipus would be a forgotten legend and Father's Day would be a worldwide film festival...read more

Product Description: It was an unconventional deal: Jesse could leave school, sleep all day, not work, not pay rent - but he had to watch three films a week...of his father's choosing. Week by week, side by side, father and son watch the world's best (and occasionally worst) films - from "True Romance" to "Chungking Express", "A Hard Day's Night" to "Rosemary's Baby", "Showgirls" to "La Dolce Vita"...read more

Aims to unearth the life story of the creator of 'The Leopard', one of the novels of the twentieth century. This book stands as a meditation on what it is that makes a writer.

aA history of the British administration in South Asia during the reign of Queen Victoria profiles the India Civil Service and the society they attempted to build in the region, explaining how officers and their families were expected to fulfill a wide range of roles.

Product Description: All 10 songs from the critically acclaimed 2006 solo album from the guitarist and vocalist from Pink Floyd. Includes notes and tab for: The Blue * Castellorizon * On an Island * A Pocketful of Stones * Red Sky at Night * Smile * Take a Breath * Then I Close My Eyes * This Heaven * and Where We Start, plus a full-color, lyrics-only section up front...read more

Product Description: "Elegant biography . . . a fast-moving, entertaining, and finely written story." --Simon Schama, The New YorkerGeorge Nathaniel Curzon's controversial life in public service stretched from the high noon of his country's empire to the traumatized years following World War I...read more

An unparalleled biography of the great writer and imperial icon focuses on the prevalent themes in his intricate life, his ideas, his relationships, and his views on the Empire and the future, examining his public role and his influence on the way Britons saw themselves and their Empire. Reprint. (view table of contents)

Product Description: In his elegant, lucid and moving biography David Gilmour used his access to Lampedusa's unpublished notes and papers to trace the process by which Lampedusa came to an understanding of his own history and transformed that understanding into one of the most admired novels of his century...read more

Product Description: Everyone would agree that Darius Halloway was the most civilized of men, a professor of French literature; a connoisseur of ideas, beautiful women, and fine wine; a perfect guest at life’s dinner party. Darius himself would have especially agreed until Emma, waifish and insatiable Emma, leaves her empty clothes hangers rattling in his closet and walks out the door...read more

Product Description: Lost Between Houses is about a turbulent year in the life of Simon Albright, a fifteen-year-old private school boy struggling to be his sophisticated mother's best friend, the rebel his girlfriend adores and the son his father respects...read more

When his lover, Emma, abandons him, Darius Halloway, a professor of French literature, is devastated, but as his obsession grows, he is driven by erotic and psychotic extremes to seek the ultimate revenge. 40,000 first printing.

Selected writings on the daily life in Revolutionary France

(view table of contents)

Product Description: Siren and Selected Writings (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: This work provides a biography of George Nathaniel Curzon, Viceroy of India under Queen Victoria and Foreign Secretary under George V. Emphasis is placed on Curzon's personal relationships, the long vendettas, the turbulent friendships and the passionate love affairs that filled his life...read more