I read this, The World From Italy, by George Negus about twenty years ago. I've always valued reading non-fiction books by professional journalists. AI read this, The World From Italy, by George Negus about twenty years ago. I've always valued reading non-fiction books by professional journalists. And this one doesn't disappoint. The fact that I remember much of it these years later is due to the clarity and economy of the skill and experience of this seasoned investigative journalist. Five stars, as it was a pleasure to read, besides being informative and interesting, from the first page to the last. The opening page statement header says, " The Best Question Any Journalist Can Ask - 'Why?' Trust the Italians, in their own delightful way, to confuse the issue. Their word for 'why' is perché. It's one of the first words you learn as you muddle your way through the early pages of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Teaching Yourself Italian."...more
First published in 1926. And has been drawn from ever since. The Great Gatsby This is a good start. Chapter 1 "In my younger and more vulnerable years myFirst published in 1926. And has been drawn from ever since. The Great Gatsby This is a good start. Chapter 1 "In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. 'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.' "
And this is a good ending. "They were careless people, Tom and Daisy - they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made . . . " "And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night. Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter - tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms further . . . And one fine morning - So we beat on, boats against the current, born back ceaselessly into the past."...more
