Paolo Brusasco

In Italian, but worth the effort to find an Italian-speaking friend to read it

Of course, if you (or your friend) can resist the temptation to toss it away after few pages filled with academic clichés and the use of a "trendy" misappropriation of Italian words, such as "magistrale", "le eccellenze", etc.

My fav: "impero intercontinentale"- as if the British Empire had been a long-distance phone call :)

Nonetheless- a different perspective from somebody who, beside teaching at the University of Genova, is or has been supervisor of archeological expeditions in the area.

Moreover- interesting reading also for those planning interventions (humanitarian or otherwise) and willing to leave something that the locals could consider their own heritage (if you are planning an "Attilla the Hun" tabula rasa, then maybe you should skip this book- as it could give ideas on what to remove)

So, worth buying (please: if you buy the right for an English edition, restructure the book and its lingo, do not just replace Italian academic mumbo-jumbo with its English sibling :D)

Suggestion: as I saw after a quickread, and "slowread"despite its text-only structure, reading the book makes pictures pop up from your mind- if you remember something from the ancient art in the region; if not... have a look at books showing pictures, read maybe a couple of guides and then, only then, pick up this book.

You cannot read it without visualizing what the author writes about (probably a side-effect of his experience)… (más)