The Italians

British journalist Hooper (The New Spaniards) draws on his years of experience as a correspondent in Italy to produce a nuanced look at its national character. He begins by describing the history of the peninsula, along with the topographic and linguistic variety that distinguishes its various regions. Topics like politics and the economy recur throughout, while the Catholic Church, soccer, the Mafia, and food receive their own sections or chapters. Hooper ranges from important issues, such as the centrality of family and the treatment and role of women, to minor ones, like the national penchant for sunglasses. Hooper continually returns to Italian vocabulary to explain terms that have no direct English equivalent but which are central to life in Italy. He selects certain people as examples of specific traits, suggesting that Silvio Berlusconi, for instance, managed to weather so many political setbacks before being convicted of tax fraud, in part because he seemed to offer an ability much desired among Italians: that of doing quello che gli pare (whatever he likes). This is a fascinating study of the fundamentals and foibles of Italy’s people. [em]Agent: Lucy Luck, Aitken Alexander Associates. (Feb.) [/em]