Italy: The Places In Between.

New York, NY Harper & Row: Perennial Library, 1990. Paperback Second Edition (1984) Revised & Enlarged. Fifth Printing Thus (1989). First published in 1970. Very Good+ to Near Fine in Wraps: shows only a tiny dot at the bottom edge (not a remainer mark, but a local bookseller's mark to disinguish 'new' from 'used' books) and the expected light tanning to the text pages due to aging; a single page has been dog-eared; a bit of sticker residue at the lower rear panel; else flawless; the binding is square and secure; the text is clean. Free of creases to the backstrip. Free of creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of underlining, hi-lighting, notations, or marginalia. Free of any ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, plates, or labels. A handsome, nearly-new copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing a couple of minor, unobtrusive flaws. Bright and Clean. Corners sharp. Close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8 x 5.35 x 1 inches). xv, 384 pages. Index. Line maps. Language: English. Weight: 13.9 ounces. Second Edition (1984) Revised & Enlarged. Fifth Printing Thus (1989). First published in 1970. Trade Paperback. Kate Simon (1912 – 1990) was a Polish-born American writer, born Kaila Grobsmith in Warsaw. Simon became one of America's best-known travel writers; several of her guides became best sellers. Her autobiography was written in three parts. The first, Bronx Primitive: Portraits in a Childhood (1982) was one of the New York Times twelve best books of 1982 and was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award. This was followed by Wider World: Portraits in an Adolescence (1986) that told of her teen age period and college experiences. The third volume, Etchings in an Hourglass (1990) is about her adult years. Her work, Fifth Avenue: A Very Social Story (1978), is a social history of Manhattan. A Renaissance Tapestry: The Gonzaga of Mantua (1988) tells the story of the Renaissance through the history of the Gonzaga family. Kate Simon was a very fine writer and it shows in her skillful descriptions of every aspect of life in Italy, every subtlety of gesture and of intonation, making the most wonderful observations of her surroundings. There is one paragraph which alone is worth the price of the book. It is under the sub-heading 'ON LEARNING ITALIAN' and is undoubtedly the finest description ever written on that subject. Her intimate knowledge of the language is on display in this explanation of why she found it all too hard, why she threw up her hands in defeat and reverted to pigeon Italian (which, of course, she ultimately did not). This book will also serve as an excellent guide to the lesser-known, off-the-beaten track towns and smaller cities of Italy. I would never go to Italy without it, but that really does seem less important than the pleasures provided by the glorious prose on display in this work. .