Italy Uncensored: A Travelogue with Politics and Religion

Rating:
Summary: The Italy We May Never Know
Review: Italy Uncensored is not your ordinary tour guide. The Monkeruds go out to see what there is to see in this classical country, but, strangely enough, it is only partly what all the rest of us see. He is at times funny, other times satirical, and at other times plain outright outrageous! But around the comedic accounts is a wonderful stroll--actually, more like a hike--through the city streets and countryside as he observes this very different world and compares it to ours. The Monkeruds take a Ric Steves
tour for part of the trip, then spend some time on their own. But whether moving quickly or slowly, they not only get the feel of the land, but also get to convey it to us in a well-written style.I thoroughly enjoyed reading these adventures Italiano. I recommend that you try it for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: A Long Letter From Italy
Review: You can't say Don Monkerud isn't frank with his readers. A writer, who lives on the California coast, he starts this book off by telling you straight that, in his view, he hasn't got the credentials to write about his (and his wife's) experiences on a recent trip to Italy. He's neither an experienced world traveler nor a linguist, he admits. In other words, he lets us know that Fodor's, Lonely Planet, and other guidebooks have nothing to fear from him. That confession out of the way, he proceeds to take the reader on an extended sightseeing ramble through Italy- a tour- with occasional digressions into various historical, political and cultural byways. In the 19th century people must have sent along their observations by letter, in much the same way, while making the Grand Tour of Europe. You get the impression that Monkerud isn't trying to impress you- he's just passing on what he sees... and eats. Some of the descriptions of even simple meals make one's mouth water.

The essential attraction of this book is its honesty; it isn't trying to be something unique. If he disagrees with something one of the other tour members says, he doesn't hesitate to tell us about it. Imagine a standard guidebook digressing into the California energy crisis!

I do have a bone to pick, though, with part of the book; that is the "sidebar" attempts at a humorous rendering of bits of Italian history. If these have a place, it is in a separate book, not in this one, where I found them to be jarring, and in places, somewhat offensive. Monkerud espouses a liberal point of view, and it's difficult for me to square that with some of what he writes.

That aside, however, it's fun to accompany him on his trip. And the photos are excellent, and complement the writing nicely.