Book Review
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The Hangman’s Daughter and The Dark Monk
Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! traveler Jeff Berger The Hangman’s Daughter and the sequel The Dark Monk, originally published in German to wide acclaim, were written by Oliver Pötzsch, the descendent of a long line of hangmen, including Jakob Kuisl, the protagonist… Read full article
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Wild by Cheryl Strayed
In Wild, Cheryl Strayed recounts her solo 1995 1,100 mile journey along the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert in California to the Washington border. The story is made more entertaining by the fact that before this trip Strayed… Read full article
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Machiavelli By Ross King
Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! traveler Bill Giovinazzo. When our ExperiencePlus! bike tour passed through Florence I happened to notice the statue of Niccolo Machiavelli outside of the Uffizi Museum. He had the look of an opportunist; his head bowed, hand to… Read full article
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The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
Ayla is Back! Jean M. Auel’s Earth’s Children series introduced us to one of the original beautiful, strong, and self-sufficient female protagonist back in 1980 and in this last installment of the series, The Land of Painted Caves, we find… Read full article
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The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior
by Paul Strathren. Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! traveler Bill Giovinazzo. When we rode across Italy we cycled over roads and through towns that were thousands of years old, areas that have seen the rise and fall of empires, invasions by foreign… Read full article
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The Tigress of Forlí
The Tigress of Forlì: Renaissance Italy’s most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de’ Medici By Elizabeth Lev, 2011 Review by Paola Malpezzi Price I grew up hearing the story of Caterina Sforza (as we called her) valiantly defending… Read full article
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Movie Review: Evita
Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s hit musical isn’t just on Broadway. This is no news flash, as Evita the film came out in 1996, but we’d like to remind you that if you’re planning a trip to Argentina, this may just have to… Read full article
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Iberia by James Michener
Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! traveler Bill Giovinazzo During our last trip with ExperiencePlus, my son and I were having dinner when he ordered Coquilles St. Jacques. As we ate our dinner I told him the origin of the dish and how… Read full article
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Labyrinth by Kate Mosse
Reviewed by Monica Malpezzi Price. Anybody who was gripped by The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown will enjoy this well-researched, historical novel by British author Kate Mosse. While there are similarities between the two books, there are also several… Read full article
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The Leopard by Giuseppe Di Lampedusa
Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! Traveler and regular contributor to the Rambler Newsletter, Bill Giovinazzo. In May of 1860 one thousand “Garibaldini”, or Redshirts, sailed from Genoa to Marsala to free the idyllic isle of Sicily from the Bourbons. Leading this group… Read full article
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The Italians by Luigi Barzini
Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! Traveler Bill Giovinazzo. I know there is a God. I know that he/she is good, kind, and loving. There is no doubt in my mind about this fact. How do I know? Only a good, kind, loving… Read full article
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Celebrate Italy’s 150th Birthday
As the ExperiencePlus! Italia 150 bicycling expedition begins May 7th in Marsala, Sicily we thought it would be the perfect time for all of us to acknowledge Italy’s unification. Unfortunately we can’t all join the twenty-seven cyclists who are riding… Read full article
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Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King
Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! Customer Bill Giovanazzo. She lay there, basking in the sun of a Tuscan August. Her beauty is beyond any of her kind. She is the queen of the Renaissance, Firenze. She is the queen mother who gave… Read full article
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A Bell for Adano by John Hersey
Reviewed by ExperiencePlus! Customer Bill Giovanazzo Italy, Italia, is unique in the world. From the voluptuous bosom of the Tuscan hills to the fishing towns on Apulia’s Adriatic coast, the culture of this ancient land, of these loving people, affirms… Read full article
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Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents
by Jim Maluso – Reviewed by Monica Malpezzi Price In “Into Thick Air: Biking to the Bellybutton of Six Continents,” author Jim Maluso sets himself up as an anti-hero who, instead of aspiring to climb to the highest points on… Read full article
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The Lost Cyclist by David V. Herlihy
The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance by David V. Herlihy It’s the late 1800s and the “safety bicycle” has just been introduced in the USA. The age of the high wheel is quickly coming to… Read full article
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Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from …
Rick Price, ExperiencePlus! founder, reviews Richard Louv’s, Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder (first published in 2005, updated and expanded in 2008; Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill) Here’s a book that’s not about bicycling, nor… Read full article