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Kindle and other e-books for Italy

I'm looking for recommendations of Kindle edition or other e-books that people have found useful or enjoyed for leisure about Italy. This includes guidebooks, classics, memoirs, history, food, etc. I am not looking for paperback and hardback edition recommendations. I'm not taking any paper books on my trip this year except for a few phrasebooks and food companions that I expect to carry with me and use each day. I have guidebooks pretty well covered (Rick Steves, Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, Frommers). The biggest problem I've run into is that most books from recommended reading lists simply don't exist in the Kindle or e-book format. Almost all the books from Rick's list aren't available, at least not on Kindle. I have some classics like Machiavelli, but the problem I've run into on classics is trying to decide which edition to get. There can easily be ten or more editions of the same book and it isn't generally clear which is might be better than another. If you recommend a classic, please list the date or price or anything else that might distinguish the edition you are recommending. For example, "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" by Jacob Burckhardt shows at least 10 Kindle editions. Anyway, if you have some suggestions of digital books I can find for free or buy for my Kindle that you've enjoyed about Italy, I would love to hear about them.

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504 posts

I like Francis Mayes's Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany.

Posted by
59 posts

Thanks for getting things started. Here are some books that I have already purchased that I can recommend: Chow Venice: Savoring the Food and Wine of La Serenissima, Second Edition ( Revised and Updated) by Shannon Essa and Ruth Edenbaum Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine 2011 I also like the Approach Guides: Italian Wine Guide and the Guide to the Regional Foods of Italy (Italian Food Guide) and The Architecture of Venice. However, these three guidebooks are rather short, so they might be hard to justify for some people. They do promise free updates. Samples I'm looking at before my trip, but haven't made a decision on yet: Delizia! by John Dickie
Eating Up Italy by Matthew Fort