The Betrothed (Alessandro Manzoni, 1827 with revisions through 1842) (translated by Michael Moore)

Read on Kindle; print version is maybe 800 pages.

Story is written in first half of 19th century but the action is set in the 17th century. I read that it is considered a masterpiece and the first modern Italian novel.

I liked it a lot.  

Renzo and Lucia (local peasants, poor though Renzo is a valued silkworker) are engaged to be married, but the local priest (Don Abbondio) puts them off after a warning from some local toughs (known as bravi - a sort of henchmen for those who do activities requiring henchmen). In this case, a squirrelly noble named Don Rodrigo wanted to have Lucia in some way, and headed off the marriage.  The story goes on from there as Renzo and Lucia - seldom in the same location - try to evade Don Rodrigo and work through various other challenges.

The plague scenes are pretty compelling and certainly correlate to some Covid events. The Capuchins are presented as incredibly helpful. Fra Cristoforo helping Renzo and Lucia; they forgive Don Rodrigo.

Cardinal Federigo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, is helpful. The local priest is too scared to do his job.

Here's Gemini's summary -

Set in 17th-century Lombardy under Spanish rule, Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi) is a cornerstone of Italian literature. The story follows two silk-weavers, Renzo and Lucia, whose plans to marry are thwarted by the local tyrant, Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Rodrigo intimidates the cowardly priest, Don Abbondio, into refusing the ceremony, forcing the couple to flee their village.

The narrative splits as the lovers endure a series of historical calamities. Renzo travels to Milan, where he becomes caught up in bread riots and is nearly arrested, while Lucia seeks refuge in a convent, only to be betrayed by the tragic Nun of Monza and kidnapped by the powerful "Unnamed." However, Lucia’s piety sparks a miraculous moral conversion in her captor, who eventually releases her.

Their trials culminate during the devastating Great Plague of Milan (1630). After surviving the disease, Renzo finds Lucia in a plague hospital (lazzaretto). With the help of the saintly Fra Cristoforo, who releases Lucia from a vow of celibacy she made in captivity, the couple is finally reunited. The novel concludes with their marriage, symbolizing the triumph of "Divine Providence" and the resilience of the humble against the corruption of the powerful.

Revolutionary Spring - Europe Aflame and The Fight for a New World 1848-1849 (Christopher Clark, 2023)

(754 pages)

This took a while to read but was thoroughly worth it. The events of these two years are amazing. 

Google Gemini's 150-word blurb:

"Christopher Clark's Revolutionary Spring provides a panoramic history of the 1848 revolutions that swept across Europe, arguing against the traditional view of them as a failure. Instead, he casts the simultaneous continental upheavals as "the particle collision chamber" of the nineteenth century, a critical turning point that profoundly shaped the future.

Clark traces the origins of the revolts to a mix of economic precarity, social inequality, and a collision of emergent political ideologies, including liberalism, radicalism, and nationalism. The book vividly recounts the rapid spread of uprisings, constitutional changes, and the subsequent, often ruthless, counter-revolution. He highlights how the movements forced open debates on social rights, democracy, and capitalism. Though short-lived, the 1848 revolutions left a profound and lasting legacy on European political thought and public life."

Part of my interest was the rather strange times we're going through here in the 2020s. Donald Trump's emergence (going back to mid 2010s) has been and remains, for reasons I don't really grasp, a perceived threat to the way political business has been done in the US for decades. A dire threat. There exists a continuing resistance that certainly reminds of mid-19th century elements described in this book.

Though vast differences. The French Revolution and the Napoleonic era had stirred the pot of sentiments that hadn't really developed previously - national identity, the desire for a constitution, political viewpoints arranged left to right (or vice versa) - all this getting more and more refined.

Similar problems as today - the leadership of the left somehow refused "to have any enemies on the left" - leaving them stuck with positions that just didn't have much support. Mazzini’s idea for Italy - that the revolution needed the blood of martyrs to feed success - sounds familiar. The familiar trope of students locking themselves into university buildings - always way too sure of themselves. A bunch of folks who take advantage of unrest to just plain loot.

When the excitement and glamour of change and revolution flips to mundane matters of governance - much harder. Most governments conceded some form of constitution, though some retook control through different methods than prior to the revolutions. 

Different types of revolutionaries. Poor people who wanted better wages, or even just food, some poor harvests were involved here (timing of potato famine?) Then the more theoretical types who were looking for social change, a constitution, etc.  Often minimal understanding of the poor or rural folk.  Elements of the “haves” v. “have-mores” a driver as much as the “have-nots” as drivers.

Widespread across Europe - astonishing scope and speed.

Little preparation - groups assemble to fill a governance void.  Existing regimes often in a position to regain.  Parliaments that might end up supporting monarchy - for a while.

Louis Kossuth incredibly popular - led to naming places after him (such as Kossuth County, Iowa). His popularity did wane however.

This just scratches the surface, a lot to learn here.  I think. 

The Savage Storm - The Battle for Italy 1943 (James Holland, 2023)

(476 pages)

I've been lucky to run across quite a few WWII histories that are very high quality - but this one is a definite favorite - the author was completely effective in knitting an overview of the military strategy and key battles with many contemporary excerpts from diaries, letters and the like; these latter gathered from grunts and officers in American, British, German, and Italian armies; also Italian citizens, Ernie Pyle, etc.  

I'll let the author explain - 

"I have been studying the long and terrible Second World War for some years now, but nothing has moved me in quite such a profound way as researching and writing this book.  Perhaps it's because, for the first time, I've used mostly contemporary sources:  diaries, letters, signals and memoranda, and photographs taken in a split second.  Rather than hearing the memories of those times fifty, sixty or even seventy years on, my cast of very real characters have drawn from the testimonies they recorded at the time. I have deliberately tried to avoid any forward projection and to write purely in the moments, hours and days in which the events described were taking place.  None of those writing diaries and letters knew when Rome would fall. None of them knew when the war would end.  I have found it difficult not to be swept up in their experiences, their suffering, their anxieties, their fears and it has been impossible not to care about their fates." (p. 474)

I was definitely swept up.  It also helped that Irvin Bormann and Vernon Hohenberger were literally there for big chunks of the 1943 timeline covered in this book - Irvin's diaries and Hohenberger's memoir include items that are 100% on point with descriptions here; makes it much more personal.

Some things I have a better grasp of -

--The Allies attacked Sicily earlier in 1943 with overwhelming force and encountered weak Italian resistance in many cases.  Plenty of landing craft available to bring all the stuff that a mechanized army needs, especially when the strategy is to overwhelm the enemy with aircraft and artillery to reduce the expenditure of soldiers' lives.

--Italy in this second half of 1943 was not like this.  Resources were diverted to preparations for Normandy and for the war in the Pacific.  Sicilian success perhaps gave too much confidence; the politicians and high command were promising "Rome by Christmas" and no one could back off this push even though it pretty quickly became evident that there soon was no basis for achieving this goal.

--Landing craft in particular were key - I didn't think about how new large-scale amphibious assault was (not a thing in WWI) - these craft just didn't exist in sufficient numbers to bring all the stuff needed. As manufacturing ramps up, many diverted to Pacific and Normandy.

--And to some extent the lack of mechanized support and artillery didn't matter - horrific winter weather and isolated mountainous terrain made aircraft and tanks and shelling less effective. 

--Italy surrendered in September 1943, and the German army took over - much tougher resistance than encountered in Sicily.  Hitler very concerned about this southern approach to Germany.

--The mountains were just made for defense; and the Germans were expert at exploiting this. Whereas an attacking force might be assumed to need a 3:1 numbers advantage, it probably was higher here. Divisions were pulled out of the line (Normandy), soldiers were expected to keep going way beyond normal tours.

--Yet the decision was made to keep going.  Which meant the infantry had such a terrible time of it here.  

--Mark Clark takes a lot of grief, but this author pins the blame higher up the chain, thinks Clark did well under the circumstances.

--I hadn't read much about the Salerno landing - difficult, interesting.

--The civilian suffering - the mechanized, heavy shelling approach had very different consequences in populated Italy as compared to the North African deserts. The sad stories here, wow.

This book wraps up at year-end, so author doesn't get to Anzio, Rapido River crossing; Irvin Bormann DOW on February 1, 1944 so we don't get battles in his final month. Irvin does mention seeing a big battle down in a valley in the December 15-17, 1943 time frame; that could well have been for San Pietro (p. 440).

Sicily '43 - The First Assault on Fortress Europe (James Holland, 2020)

(499 pages)

I'd never read much about this - it sort of falls into a gap between all the activity in North Africa and then larger Italian mainland campaign.

Summer 1943; largest amphibious landing to that point, by a long shot.  So there was lots of learning to be done.

Success seems inevitable in hindsight.  But terribly difficult. Very difficult to storm beaches even with materiel advantages.

Nighttime paratrooper drops - disaster.  Little effect on outcome, however.  Lots to learn, somewhat helpful at Normandy.

Italian troops just not ready - or inspired- in any sense - offered little resistance.

Hermann Goering division touted by name but cobbled together and not very effective.

German balancing needs on eastern front - Kursk battle going on right at this time (July 1943).  Hitler worried about "southern flank" and does move men and material from the east.

German reinforcements arrive - higher quality. Many very difficult local situations, lots of casualties, seems discouraging in a fight whose outcome both sides could readily foresee.  Germans fall back to the NE corner of the island, then they do a good job falling back into the "toe" of the Italian "boot".  And surviving to make difficult fighting for the Allies as they push up into Italy (the author's next book).

This author does a good job weaving individual narratives within the overall story line.  Also history of Sicily, including mafioso development (the Fascists had mostly subdued them and many emigrated to America; the Allies found them useful including in the postwar period, reinvigorating them).  I hadn't known much about Sicily before this other than classical tales, Arab pirates, lingering poverty.

Retracing My Footsteps in World War II (Vernon Hohenberger)

The author had given a copy of this book to my parents some years ago; I had paged through it on St. Joe visits, and was pleased to be able to take this from the St. Joe house when we siblings "divided out" things in April 2023.

It's autographed by the author!  Vernon Hohenberger farmed near us in the Luverne/Livermore area though - since he wasn't Catholic - we didn't see him regularly - in fact, very seldom.  I have a dim recall of a very pleasant human being.

The book is fascinating. Partly because I read so few, if any, first-person accounts of the war.

Hohenberger's path overlapped geographically with that of our uncle, Irvin Bormann - North Africa and Italy. But a bit earlier in time (and later). Unlike Irvin, Hohenberger survived Italy and ended up with duty elsewhere after the fall of Rome.

He belonged to the famous 34th Infantry Division - "Red Bull" - an incredibly long combat history - at page 100 he mentions 33 months overseas. Red Bull division is prominent in all the histories of the European theater in WWII.

p. 28 - vivid memories of getting into a theater to see "White Christmas" prior to getting shipped toward N. Africa.

p. 35 - artillery experiences, here in N. Africa - reminds of Irvin's artillery descriptions.

p. 45 - his description of N. Africa "Arab" scenes - again, reminds of Irvin's.

p. 47 - he mentions the soon-to-be-famous 100th Infantry - this is the successful battalion of mostly Japanese-American soldiers mostly from Hawaii - they come up later in his story - Michener covered this in his "Hawaii" novel.

p. 50 - landing at Salerno (Irvin at Naples). I believe this was autumn 1943, prior to Irvin's arrival.

p. 53 - Volturno River - just a terrible area. Lots of detail in ensuing pages about fighting around Rapido River, Cassino. Mentions Christmas 1953.  Irvin killed in action February 1, 1944.  Monte Cassino eventually bombed February 15, 1944.

Additional discussion of finally getting furloughed and a visit home; war wrapping up by the time his overdue leave was expiring - ended up with some duty with occupation troops.

Stories of getting back into civilian life - including a short time working at a store owned by Cliff and Mary Baker (yes, Uncle Daryl's parents).

This is a quick and excellent read.

The Mysteries of Udolpho (Ann Radcliffe, 1794)

Another Paul Jr. recommendation.  This was an unusual type of read for me.  I liked it.

Emily St. Aubert is the protagonist.  Orphaned in her late teens early in the story; her aunt is her guardian (I'll call it) but herself makes an ill-advised marriage to an Italian fellow (Montoni).  They all go to Venice; then onto Montoni's castle (Udolpho).

Emily had met Valancourt (and fallen in love with him) while traveling with her father through the Pyrenees.  Entirely separated while at Udolpho, not clear to her what's up with him.

Apparitions at Udolpho, and later at a chateau in France.  Strange music playing in the middle of the night in various locations.  Emily spends time at a nearby convent, meets a strange nun who seems to recognize Emily.

Very early in the book, Emily's father is advising her strongly about the dangers of indulging in grief, emotions in general.  Then for hundreds of pages, Emily is continually plunged into deep grief, fainting, etc.  Even though she's strong, rational.  She did go through some quite amazing scenarios.

Book was immensely popular when first published, and I read that it's considered the first "Gothic" novel (not sure exactly what that means but I think I get the general idea).

In the page 40s, taking a journey for the father to convalesce. Classic romantic descriptions of wild terrain, natural beauty, etc.  How does this tie temporally to Caspar David Friedrich paintings, etc.?  Lots of this type of descriptive writing as they travel between France and Italy and enjoy local scenery.

A Soldier of the Great War (Mark Helprin, 1991)

(860 pages)

Premise a bit implausible - that this 70+ year old (the protagonist, Alessandro Giuliani) could walk overnight x kilometers alongside a kid he just met.  And I didn't love those parts of the book as much as when the author switched to just describing Alessandro's life and adventures (fortunately, that was most of the book).  (Mentioning this upfront but it's not a major problem - I'd definitely recommend this book.)

There are early passages that seem to be just floating out there, but author does a really good job of tying things together - sometimes with aspects I had forgotten over the course of hundreds of pages.

Quite a few fantasy touches - protagonist gets into multiple amazing situations, survives incredible dangers, meets one elite person after the next; the whole Orfeo (he of the blessed sap) story line.

As a youngster - encounter with Austrian soldiers, princess (and her fat relative), gondola ride with stricken orchestra member; horsemanship and the neighbor's daughter; mountaineering with Rafi. The lawyer Giuliani (his father)  Loves the family garden.

When get to wartime - stories of varied venues [northern Italy version of trench/front lines; dealing with deserters in two distinct ways; military prison; alpine maneuvering; POW], mostly areas that I've read much less about, so that part is interesting.

The kinds of conversations held by folks facing near-certain death; how they think of what might lie on the other side (or not); will I be remembered?  Author does a good job on this.

Author's technique of not writing scenes all the way to a conclusion - just giving the reader enough to know what's going to happen and leaving it to imagination - then picking up the story line - this really works well, I liked it.  Though he probably should have used the technique in the last half dozen pages.

Plenty of memorable characters - I liked Strassnitzky - the pacifist field marshal.  A general on the winter line charged with sending the Italian troops up towards Innsbruck - does a great job talking about the absurdity of what they were doing.

Alessandro's life gives a vehicle for the author to meditate on the nature of religious faith, the nature of love - for family-of-origin, for war buddies, for wife and child - of course there are no hard answers to any of this, but he offers lovely, thought-provoking things about these topics.

Proust-type touches - how memory of important people and events stays with us; also Alessandro's training in aesthetics - seeing beauty, linking to works of art. Significant chunks of the story line revolve around a couple art works; interesting.

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexander Dumas, 1844)

PJr and CPG liked, so I tried this - a true "adventure" story, I'd say - well worth reading. Easy to see why it is, and I expect will endure as, a classic.  Certainly made the time at the gym go by quickly.

Even if the book is quite long - as Umberto Eco explains in a nice "introduction," Dumas needed money and was paid by the word for this serialized work.  But the length, and repetitiveness, somehow draw or propel the story forward, I think.

The basic plot is well-known from multiple movie versions.  Edmond Dantes ends up in prison due to machinations of Danglars, Fernand, Caderrouse, Villefort - Dantes was framed as a Bonapartist when that was a dangerous thing to be.  Spends many years in prison; meets the abbe; loses Mercedes; acquires the abbe's hidden treasure following the daring escape; pursues revenge; some innocent folks suffer in addition to all the guilty parties; he has some regrets but ultimately handles it.  Became an expert in just about everything.

Italian bandits - Luigi Vampa, Pepino.  Danglars' scheming wife.  Villefort's deadly second wife.  Valentine and Maximilian Morrel.  Valentine's grandfather (old man Noirtier).  The Count's household help:  Ali, Bertuccio (with son Benedetto (also known as Prince Cavalcanti).  Mercedes's son - the duel.  Haydee.  And many more.

The plot line makes more sense if the reader has a little background with French history in first half of 19th century.  But this is definitely not needed to enjoy the tale.

Monte Cassino - The Hardest-Fought Battle of World War II (Matthew, Parker, 2004)

I've read a fair amount about this battle (have been interested in it from Irvin Bormann perspective in addition to general interest in World War II).  At first I wasn't feeling that this book added a lot - and I still prefer the discussion about the battle (and Italian campaign in general) in this book.  But the author's technique - heavy reliance on survivor interviews - became progressively more interesting or captivating as the book proceeded, and I ended up liking it quite a bit.

It reinforces the message that the Italian campaign was messed up in so many ways, that so many lives were thrown away in the way the attacks were staged, that so little was accomplished in terms of diverting Nazi resources etc.  It's hard to be too critical of the political and military leadership in such a difficult overall situation, but it makes the thought of the losses even more depressing.

The Germans were excellent, well-trained soldiers.  The Gustav Line was amazing.  Even Hannibal was smart enough not to try to attack up the Italian peninsula from the south.  The weather was appalling.

Got a better feel for the multi-national coalition involved (which of course made everything more difficult in terms of coordination, which turns out to be pretty important in these settings).

The title here seems overblown, but some of the battle descriptions make you wonder if other battles were much worse than Monte Cassino - it certainly had elements of World War I static slaughter, as well as Stalingrad house-to-house fighting.

I keep thinking politicians should be required to read books like this, and then re-read them once or twice more, before they ever commit soldiers to battle.

The Leopard (Giuseppe di Lampedusa, 1958 (posthumous))

I much liked this, though I'm still considering why it worked so well.  It's very unusual.

For one thing, the author is remarkably economical with words; the book is relatively short; at one level the author can't create the kind of connection with the characters that a Tolstoy can accomplish over many more pages; yet he pulls it off, and the book really works.  The author truly is quite marvelous using words, it is a delight to read the book just on that level.

Perhaps my sense of connection to this work is related to the way the story line fits with other things I've been reading (though I have no doubt the story line also would stand perfectly well on its own).  The story primarily is set in 1860s Sicily - a noble family experiences changes wrought by the Risorgimento (crystallizing around Garibaldi's arrival in Sicily).  The Prince (Fabrizio) of the House of Salina (symbol = the leopard) - approaching 50 years in age when we meet him - is the central character.  His nephew (Tancredi) appears to be nearing marriage with his daughter (Concetta) (which I guess was ok at the time), then meets the uncommonly beautiful commoner, Angelica (daughter of the nouveau riche Mayor).  Father Pirrone - confessor to the Salinas - makes a trip back to his home village and experiences a marriage setup similar to that affecting the house of Salina.  Interesting speeches by the Prince about the character of the Sicilians.  Death of the Prince - and the passing of an era in many senses.  Concetta and her sisters with the relics.  Sicily itself - the importance of geography in shaping the people.

Perhaps above all - a really effective way of communicating the oft-neglected but fundamental idea:  the transience of so many things on which we burn so much energy.

I'm constantly struck with how reading is self-reinforcing - each book makes other books far more interesting.  For example: This book was helpful in understanding The Leopard - good discussions of the gulf that still exists between northern and southern Italy (certainly including Sicily).  This book was helpful regarding the Risorgimento and the various revolutionary movements following the French Revolution (including 1848 events); with this book, it communicated the importance and incredible popularity of Garibaldi (if he was politically marginalized).  This book was interesting in terms of 19th century Italian politics - how the French and Austrians intrigued in the country (and not just in the north).  This and this drive home the Prince's comments about the history of Sicilian invaders, going back to classical times.

Well-known quote:  "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change." (spoken by Tancredi).

To Hell and Back (Audie Murphy, 1949)

I've seen numerous positive references to this book. Including comparisons to "All Quiet on the Western Front" (discussed here), but set in WWII.

I didn't find it all that compelling. One indicator: I don't like to write notes in books; instead, I dog-ear pages with passages I find interesting. I didn't dog-ear any pages in this book.

Murphy did have an unbelievable career in the army, and worked his way through Italy, France and Germany. And the stories are very interesting (especially as I have quite a bit of interest in the Italian campaign due to interest in Cassino, etc.) But too much space was devoted to wise-cracking repartee between folks in his unit.

Also interesting that he started out in extreme poverty - share-cropping background - and was able to thrive in the army and in Hollywood.

The Charterhouse of Parma (Stendahl, 1839)

I liked The Red and the Black so was looking forward to this one. Also because I had for the first time (and quite recently) paid some attention to Napoleon's early military success in Italy in this book - so the setting seemed quite familiar territory. And Zamoya talked about Stendahl and his participation in the retreat from Moscow in this book.

I read that Stendahl is categorized by some as an early "realist". OK.

Numerous strong characters; perhaps the lead is Fabrizio de Dongo - his father is collaborating with the Austrians, but Fabrizio runs off and appears, if ineffectively, at Waterloo. His aunt (Duchessa Sanseverina) is a great character, as is Count Mosca - who works for a despotic prince. Clelia Conti, daughter of the warden at the infamous Farnese Tower, falls for Fabrizio.

Fabrizio - despite lacking any apparent inclination for the job - becomes a leading cleric in Parma. Intrigues with court factions. Etc.

The Island of the Day Before (Umberto Eco, 1994)

I liked The Name of the Rose a great deal. I liked Foucault's Pendulum quite a bit. So I read this on the strength of Umberto Eco as author. Didn't work out as well.

I never really did figure out what Eco was up to in this one. It's worth reading because there is a ton of interesting things floating around - ideas about the efforts to figure out longitude; politics and battles at the time of the 30 Years War; Richelieu and Mazarin; etc.; long discussions about knowledge, religious belief compared to scientific method, role of imagination; etc.

So I think the best aspect - and perhaps what Eco was up to - was giving the reader a window into the mindset and conversations of the first half of the 17th century.

As far as the plot - the protagonist (Roberto) is shipwrecked, and ends up being washed up onto an abandoned ship moored just far enough off a south seas island such that Roberto - a non-swimmer - is pretty much trapped. The abandoned ship relates to the intrigues surrounding the efforts to be the first to reliably calculate longitudes, and Roberto explores. While imagining things with a woman back in Paris whom he hopes to love.

The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco, 1980)

I enjoyed this book a bunch. Moreso than this other book by Eco.

Wealthy abbey in Italy, early 14th century. One death per day for seven days, seeming to follow Apocalypse verses. First death on the day that William of Baskerville (protagonist) arrives as one of numerous visitors for a meeting at the abbey. Important meeting to discuss tensions between Franciscans wanting poverty in their order (reacting to what they perceived as a drift toward materialism and away from St. Francis's teachings), and others who felt too much emphasis on poverty could be a dangerous, destabilizing concept (how far might the impoverished masses go if the concept of renouncing private property took hold?)

Unique abbey: fabulous library, including lots of materials from Arabic and other non-Western sources. But the keepers limit access rather than make widespread availability.

The abbot asks William to get to the bottom of the murders. William references Roger Bacon, William of Occam; uses what would be considered scientific method in a setting where medievalism and superstition tend to control.

In a way this is a detective story, but the "detecting" takes place in the context of so much else.

Long discussions about poverty in religious life (in the context of a very wealthy abbey).

Long discussions about heresy, and how the political and religious leaders pursue heretics to achieve other policies. While little people unable to comprehend (or uninterested in comprehending) doctrinal minutiae are swept up (and used by the leaders) for reasons that have little to do with the ostensible religious issues. Sounds familiar, actually.

Long discussions about the proper role of laughter for man. (Did Jesus ever laugh? Blind Jorge says no.)

Long discussions about appropriate access to knowledge. And the role of the inquisitors.

I read that this was a commercial success. Which seems unlikely given that the book is long and - as should be evident from the above - not focused on pop topics. But it works. Perhaps even gave a snippet or two of insight into life in systems where the civic and religious authorities manage knowledge and doctrine to maintain power and control.

Very good follow-on to this book, which described events a couple hundred years later - but many of the same concepts crossed over.

"The Name of the Rose" shares many concepts with this book, which is another one that I like an awful lot.

Empires of the Sea - The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto (Roger Crowley, 2008)

This book was delightful in two ways. First, the baseline story - two empires with global reach duking it out via siege warfare and naval battles (using galleys) in the Mediterranean - is great. Second, the book is a different look at multiple threads read elsewhere that I've had a difficult time linking up.

Lepanto:  1571.  Just 65 years after Martin Luther; just 79 years after Columbus.

Some items:

1. It helps put Mediterranean geography in context - I've always been somewhat baffled as to the location of various islands that show up in story after story going back to Greek classics. I hadn't really thought of this sea as two separate spheres but it turns out that there is a pretty clear east/west split (running north to south from the toe of the boot - Sicily - Malta - North Africa); now I can finally keep straight (west to east): Majorca and Minorca; Corsica and Sardinia; Sicily and Malta; Crete; Rhodes; Cyprus.

2. And now I can better remember where Genoa and Venice fit, that these northern city-states surrounded Hapsburg and papal state territories, part of the reason why southern Italy is relatively undeveloped, why Italy featured cities instead of developing into a country like France or England or others.

3. Warfare that is startlingly modern - fort descriptions and gunnery positioning etc. reminded me of Verdun (described here); sophisticated cannon and other weaponry, supply arrangements, etc.

4. Yet warfare that is primitive in other ways - I didn't realize that in the 16th century naval warfare in this area was conducted via galleys - hearkening back to Ben Hur or far earlier in history. The situation had not improved about recruiting rowers; galley slaves; the disgusting conditions in which they rowed (and generally died).

5. The Ottoman siege of Malta sounded reminders to the siege of Malta in World War II, described here. Troop staging in Sicily reminded me of the Allies in World War II (described here). Same considerations of geography. etc

6. Rampant piracy - on both sides, though far more coming from the Muslim world. These folks were wrecking towns and hauling off slaves (many headed for the galleys) by the tens of thousands, with a focus on Italy, the Adriatic, Spain, France. (One can see where "the shores of Tripoli" - from the Marines' Hymn about stopping Barbary Coast pirates - could still have been an issue hundreds of years after the events in this book. And now we have Somalian pirates.) This also connected to the Vikings - the raids sounded quite similar (and southern Italy was hit up in both phases).

7. The events help put Spain in context - Moors recently ejected; but "unreliable" forced converts living oh so close to "Moorish" territory. Sounds like inquisition is in order.

8. Prescott discussed how Charles V (key Hapsburg emperor) paid little attention to Cortez; there was interest in treasure but otherwise events in the New World almost were a sideshow to events in Europe; this book puts some specifics around this. There were just a few folks sent to the New World; the bullion returned via treasure ships financed many projects and including in particular the naval warfare with the Ottomans. Cortez participated in a raid to North Africa later in life (trying to retake Algiers in 1541).

9. More context around Christianity v. Islam. This was 400+ years after the Crusades were launched. What an incredible, and incredibly ridiculous, history of fighting. Each side claiming true religion while leadership typically is pursuing far more earthly goals. And watching Christianity split with Protestant reformation. And even the Catholic domains (France and Venice) constantly cutting deals with Ottomans at the expense of Spain.

10. Vision of the Ottomans and the Hapsburgs as true world empires; only places with the $$ to put together significant armies/navies. Ottomans were so highly developed. I have this image of incompetence from all the references to the "sick man of Europe" = but that was ~300 years in the future. Ottomans were still awesome at this stage.

11. Sieges at Rhodes and Cyprus (in addition to Malta). Heroism by defenders; great stories throughout.

12. Miguel de Cervantes in the fighting at Lepanto (with Don Quixote making reference to the battle in the book). Quite the battle - 600+ ships (70% of oared vessels in entire Mediterranean in one spot); the author says the rate of slaughter (however calculated) wasn't matched until this battle in 1915. The fresco shown above shows ships in the lines of battle; compared to Trafalgar; hard to believe they could keep this many ships in order.

13. Apparently western Europe was under such pressure that finally having some success (meaning Lepanto) led to outbursts of joy; a series of famous art works by the "masters;" the story absolutely captured the popular imagination. And now there were printing presses to spread the word (and leave a huge trail for historians). The artwork at the top of the page certainly expresses a point of view as to where the religious preferences fell during the battle.

14. But as it turned out, Lepanto didn't disable the Ottomans, but broke momentum and with other events, ended efforts to go on to Rome when that seemed not only possible but likely. Attentions turned elsewhere. Spain sent a fleet to England. Burning energy fighting Protestants in Holland. Ottomans supposedly focused more on Persia, did keep going up the Danube basin (for over a century).

15. Read a lot about the Templars here; they were pretty much out of business at this point but the Knights of St. John had survived and played key roles in all this, especially on Rhodes and Malta (where they went after the Ottomans kicked them out of Rhodes).

16. Andrea Doria fought in this, along with other luminaries. Charles V apparently loved having court painters show him in war-like glory, as with this example.

The Day of Battle - The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 (Rick Atkinson, 2007)

This book had quite a bit of attention when published in 2007. I liked it quite a bit. First time I've read in any degree of detail about the Italy campaign. That part of WWII in general seems overlooked (in comparison to e.g. Normandy).

A motivation for learning more about this is the participation of my uncle, Irvin Bormann, in this part of the war. He was killed in one of the major Cassino dustups. Reading the book, it's a wonder any of those guys survived some of the things they were asked to do. Much of the Allied attack strategy seemed like World War I (moreso than anything else I've read about WWII); high-casualty largely frontal attacks on entrenched positions.

The overall impression was that this was just an extremely difficult slog with a number of factors making things very tough. Such as:

1. Germans in 1943 and early 1944 still had quite a bit of firepower left in them. (Diminishing resources, but far less of the young boys/old men problems later into 1944 and into 1945.)

2. Italian terrain is a tough place to make war. There always is another line of mountains as you make your way north. Germans were always well prepared, well dug in. Few roads or open routes through which tanks could get involved; attacks were funneled through defined routes where the Germans had a relatively easy time inflicting casualties.

3. Americans were forced to attack in part to draw Nazi resources off the Eastern Front and away from Western Europe (Normandy invasion planning was in full swing and Italy was viewed mostly as a diversion.)

4. The attacking was extra difficult because taking on established uphill positions required lots of resources. And guess what - resources were being diverted to Normandy (men, ships, etc.). (This led to a big shortage of landing craft for Anzio that contributed directly to the problems there.)

5. To sustain the pressure/diversion, the Allies kept trying to push forward in winter. Something even Hannibal and other classical campaigners never tried to do. Constant rain, cold - just miserable conditions.

6. Lots of confusion about the real goals in the campaign, weak cooperation between Americans and British.

Patton had a key role in taking Sicily; I didn't realize this was where the slapping incident occurred that put him on the shelf for awhile.

Discussion of difficult Salerno landing; rivalries and distrust with British Eighth Army; up to Naples and to onto the Gustav line (including in particular Cassino, where things bogged down). Click to enlarge the map for a good summary.

Anzio was supposed to draw off Nazis to enable the Gustav line (and Cassino) to be breached - but one of the big attacks on Cassino was launched when things weren't really ready so as to keep the Germans occupied and permit the Anzio beachhead to be established in the first place. This was the tail wagging the dog. The description of this part of the Cassino battle is almost heartbreaking, one of the bloodiest episodes for Americans anywhere in the entire war. Sent to cross the Rapido River with Germans dominating the heights across the river with a clear field of fire (and no pressure brought to bear on the German positions) - awful casualties without getting so much as a toehold across the river.

Another big - and failed - assault on Cassino in the January 25 - February 12 timeframe. Yes, the timing of these efforts to take Cassino correspond to the date where Irvin was killed.

Finally enough materiel and men were amassed to break through, starting May 11. Better weather had arrived. Polish and Moroccan units were effective. They finally broke out of Anzio around May 23. After that it was onto Rome; Fifth Army (Mark Clark obsession) arrived June 4-5. A big achievement immediately upstaged by D-Day.

Discussion of the debate whether to destroy the abbey; the author pretty clearly thinks this was unnecessary except perhaps that the regular soldiers had developed a belief in the importance of destroying the abbey and it was affecting morale. Destruction of the abbey didn't help a bit, probably made things worse because the Germans now occupied the ruins.

There is a really compelling story at the end where one of the key leaders (Truscott) gives a speech at the beachhead cemetery at Anzio (picture below). He turned his back to the audience and spoke to the dead. Who can imagine this?

Interesting, the Moroccans apparently were pretty effective fighters. This author's description of their behavior with the local female populace corresponded with the Sophia Loren movie (Two Women) of 1961.

Ernie Pyle and Bill Mauldin were strong presences.

Sounds like the battle among the local partisans, Nazi sympathizers, side-switchers, etc. resembled behavior in the Balkans (and elsewhere, I suppose).

The author writes how the American troops were hardening over time; less likely to take prisoners as time went on . . .

Something interesting was the countless references to the classics as the Allies moved out of North Africa, into Sicily, and up the Italian boot - Aeneid, Odyssey (Cyclops, Sirens); Horace; Hannibal; Caesar; on and on.

I thought the author was pretty balanced. For example, he talked about the failure to pursue opportunity at Anzio, but pointed out the high risk of an under-supplied group breaking out with a long unprotected flank. Etc.

Foucault's Pendulum (Umberto Eco, 1988)

OK, I had plenty of misgivings because the story revolves around secrets, secret societies, powerful hidden folks, etc. (DaVinci Code-ish). That's almost certain to generate a weak story line. And I had further misgivings because the book was an "international bestseller" - maybe that doesn't mean much in terms of actual sales, but it suggests a product pitched to an overly broad audience.

But Eco has more going on than tale-spinning - he is speaking to the question why humans are drawn towards secrets and conpiracies, what happens to the world-view of secret-seekers, etc.

Plot - the particular "secret" - involves the Crusades-era Templars and rumors of a long-term plan to take power over the world via subterranean currents or whatever. But the power-taking plan, or at least crucial elements, seems to have been lost over the centuries. Three employees of an Italian publishing house get deeply immersed and make up a version of the plan. The fictional plan (and efforts to implement it) end up, in their version, explaining just about everything that's happened in the last 1000 years across several continents. The plan then turns out to be of great interest to certain others, even though the plan is fiction.

The story was interesting enough, though too many sections didn't seem to add much to the story (including long passages from private writings of one of the main characters (Belbo) - I just started skipping these (though there was something there from the perspective of Italians dealing with World War II, shifting allegiances as the fortunes of the war shifted, etc.)). The story was told through the eyes of Casaubon (same name as the old husband in Middlemarch, not sure why but I doubt it was a coincidence).

What is a "secret," anyway? Author observes that there is nothing inherently magical about secret information, as so often is suggested - simply means that persons other than the secret-seeker have the information. He correctly points out that once the secret is known, its power - which generally is in the imagination of the secret-seeker - is gone. There are no secrets that unlock powers, or obviously these would have been exploited long, long ago.

In the end this business of secrets, Kabbalah, etc. seems to be another way of addressing the profound - and unanswerable - questions - why are we here, where did we come from, what happens after we die, etc. Humans have faced these questions forever, and have come up with a long list of ways of coping. (Probably at more profound levels in eras prior to endless distraction with media.) Many folks seem to like believing that there is a power and a system (or at least a conpsiracy) that if understood, gives us a measure of control or understanding over these eternal unknowns. Numerology - crack the code, understand something. And if there are conspirators out there implementing secret designs - well, that helps explain why things go wrong for you, and it's not even your fault! It was out of your control or even perhaps "meant to be" - a great cop-out. (Versions of this are of course popular with politicians - blame secret conspirators (fill in the details as needed: speculators, financiers, Jews, whatever) for the failure of your policies how convenient.)

So in the end all of this business about secrets or ancient rituals or Kabbalah or whatever doesn't lead anywhere. And still leaving us with the big questions . . .

A Farewell to Arms (Ernest Hemingway, 1929)

This tells the story of an American serving as an ambulance driver on the Italian front in WW I. He falls in love with an English nurse; she attends him following an injury and they fall in love.

He returns to the front, but the Germans overwhelm the Italians and the protagonist eventually deserts as he figures out that scapegoats are being sought. Finds the nurse, and they cross the border into Switzerland.

I liked it, but not nearly as much as For Whom The Bell Tolls.

Where Angels Fear to Tread (E.M. Forster, 1905)

Lilia travels to Italy and marries penniless Gino; dies in childbirth within a year.  Her brother (Philip) and sister (annoying Henrietta) and Ms. Caroline Abbott go to retrieve the child so it can have a proper English upbringing.  Seems to lead to a Philip-Caroline romance but she goes for Gino, without plans to follow through.  Henrietta persists in child retrieval.  I liked the book well enough.