Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy

I enjoyed this book overall, though for me it was a bit of a slow read because of all the facts included. The coverage of the early history in particular seemed to jump around quite a bit and I had difficulty keeping everything straight. This got much easier by the time we were in the 16th to 17th centuries! The biggest disappointment was seeing the captions under Illustrations which obviously appear in the print copy but were left out of the digital one. There were many, and I really wanted to see them!

Mario Batali predicted Naples would be the next hot destination for travellers. Well, it hasn't quite worked out that way BUT, Naples and the entire Campania region are becoming more and more popular...deservedly so. If you love Italian food as reinterpreted throughout the US (mostly by families from this area BTW) this is the place to visit for the real thing. If you love history, this is the place to visit...there are ruins near Naples (and of course Pompeii) which trump anything anywhere.Or if you want to just kick back in one of the most beautiful settings anywhere in the world...well, Capri, Amalfi, Positano have been destinations for film stars as well as the hoi poloi for years...they and their neighbors have it all.And if you want to know how and why its like it is...this is easily the best, most readible (and un-sentimentalized)book on the subject. An essential for a lover of Southern Italy. DW

This is a good book with a heavy focus on Naples. The author does a good job of narrating the unusual and complex succession of kings and queens in Southern Italy. Also of interest is his description of early Greek and Roman times in Southern Italy. Recommended for those who seek a scholarly overview of this subject.Peter L. Belmonte Italian Americans in World War II (IL) (Voices of America) Days of Perfect Hell: The U.S. 26th Infantry Regiment in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, October-November 1918

The book was a good read and it dealt with the history of Southern Italy and the Islands

highly recommend to read it before going on a vacation in southern Italy - especially Naples ( but its not a travel guide ..)

Good brisk history of a neglected area of Europe. A little dry. Very little discussion of ordinary life of the mass of people.

Provided great insight to history and culture of southern Italy prior to recent trip from Naples to lecce

This book is not for those who read for enjoyment, or who want to read a balanced history of Southern Italy. It is packed full of historical names and dates that run together and are presented in such a random way that it is impossible for the casual reader to figure out what is going on. The first few chapters (which I have not been able to get past) are filled with (98%) dry historical data (names/dates - mostly of the rulers)which are repeated too often, and in such a random and confusing way that it's difficult if not impossible to clearly understand what is going on. There is only a sprinkling (2%) of information about the economy and culture of the general population of the times (which was the real reason I bought the book). This book is not written well, even as history. It ignores completely the times before the year 1000, and spends far too much time on the first few hundred years after. It's just too much work and does not hold my interest. I am glad I read it BEFORE I gave it as a gift to my Southern Italian friend. I'll have to look for something else and just mark this off as a waste of money.

As someone with a passion for Naples, I found this a useful brief history of the south of Italy. The author does focus on Naples (and Sicily) but I found he managed also to give a sense of the enduring problems of the south generally as well as aspects of its culture like the strong influence of the Catholic Church and popular beliefs in things like the evil eye.