City of the Soul: A Walk in Rome
by William Murray
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Book Summary Information
Author: William MurrayNarrator: Grover Gardner
Edition: Audio Cassette
Audio: English (Published)
Published: 2004-10
ISBN: 073669773X
Publisher: Books On Tape
Book Reviews of City of the Soul: A Walk in Rome
Book Review: Unpleasant book; grouchy author?
Summary: 1 Stars
Rome is my favorite city on earth, but Mr Murray is in a bad mood all the way through his book -- a bad mood he holds against wonderful Rome. He sounds like a returning vacationer who can remember only the miseries of the trip and relates each and every one of them to all he meets, forgetting the beauty and pleasure of the journey.
Rome is surely not perfect, and in its imperfections lie its joy and humanity -- at least that is what I have found in my visits there over the past 30 years. On our last trip, we took a tiny apartment overlooking a lively piazza providing a never-ending parade of Roman life, a cafe-circled plaza hosting a vegetable and clothing market in the day and a gathering spot for strollers, musicians and jugglers in the evenings. Mr Murray's take on that same piazza? That it is annoying, loud, scruffy, blah blah.
I agree with another reviewer here that some of the book is out of date, but the gloomy attitude pervading the entire work is its worst flaw. A better book is H.V. Morton's "A Traveller in Rome", written in the 1950s, but still an accurately charming and evocative love song for a great city and its ever-present history.
Sorry, Mr Murray. Attitude adjustment time.
Summary of City of the Soul: A Walk in Rome
"One lifetime is not enough for Rome," the famous saying goes, and anyone who's ever been there knows these words to be true. In City of the Soul, William Murray begins to show us why.Growing up in Rome and spending much of his life in the city, William Murray is an expert guide as he takes us on an intimate walking tour of some of Rome's most glorious achievements, illuminating the history and the mythology that define the city. Murray leads us through the centro, the city's historic downtown center. He writes about the Villa Borghese, the Piazza di Spagna, and the Trevi Fountain and describes such singular attractions as the Capuchin Church of Santa Maria della Concezione, whose macabre crypt has impressed visitors from Mark Twain to the Marquis de Sade.
As he walks, he reveals stories that only a longtime resident would know, capturing the sights, sounds, and flavors that make Rome a combination of the deep past and the ever-sensual present.
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