In 1981 Tim Parks moved from England to Italy and spent the next thirty years alongside hundreds of thousands of Italians on his adopted country’s vast, various and ever-changing networks of trains. Through memorable encounters with ordinary Italians – conductors and ticket collectors, priests and prostitutes, scholars and lovers, gypsies and immigrants – Tim Parks captures what makes Italian life distinctive. He explores how trains helped build Italy and how the railways reflect Italians’ sense of themselves from Garibaldi to Mussolini to Berlusconi and beyond.

From the bestselling, Booker-shortlisted writer of Italian Ways and Europa, a classic novel about a man's emotional reckoning in a changed world far from home Frank's reclusive existence in a leafy part of London is shattered when he is summoned to Milan for the funeral of an old friend. Preoccupied by this sudden intrusion of his past, he flies, oblivious, into the epicentre of a crisis he has barely registered on the news. It is spring, his luxury hotel offers every imaginable comfort; perhaps he will be able to weather the situation and return home unscathed? What Frank doesn't know is that he's about to make a discovery that will change his heart and his mind. The arresting new novel from Booker Prize-shortlisted Tim Parks, Hotel Milano is a universal story from a unique moment in recent history: a book about the kindness of strangers, and about a complicated man who, faced with the possibility of saving a life, must also take stock of his own.

How does Italy really work? When Valeria travels from hot, dusty Basilicata to begin her studies in a northern university town, she has little idea of the kind of education she will find there. Italian Life is her story, and that of the students and professors around her: a story of power and corruption, influence and exclusion, and the workings of a society where your connections are everything. Written with flair and insight, Italian Life joins Tim Parks' bestselling books about his beloved and paradoxical adopted country. It is a gripping, entertaining, behind-the-scenes account of how Italy actually happens, and the ways it can surprise those who know it inside out.

Explore London downtown with this Freytag & Berndt street map. The best way to plan your trip, prepare your itinerary, and to travel independently in the British capital. This map covers: from Kensington Park to the Tower of London (west/east), and from Regent's Park to Battersea Park (north/south). Street index on the other side. Touristic information: pesdestrian streets, parks, theatres, museums, religious buildings, monuments, World Heritage sites, police stations, hospitals, tourist centres, post offices, underground, bus terminal. The legend is in English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Czech, Slovak, Polish and Hungarian.

How do we find calm in our frantic modern world? Tim Parks - lifelong sceptic of all things spiritual - finds himself on a Buddhist meditation retreat trying to answer this very question. With brutal honesty and dry wit, he recounts his journey from disbelief to something approaching inner peace and tackles one of the great mysteries of our time - how to survive in this modern age.

How do we find calm in our frantic modern world? Tim Parks - lifelong sceptic of all things spiritual - finds himself on a Buddhist meditation retreat trying to answer this very question. With brutal honesty and dry wit, he recounts his journey from disbelief to something approaching inner peace and tackles one of the great mysteries of our time - how to survive in this modern age.

Travels around Italy in search of illusion, national character and goals. 'Delves into the very essence of being a fan, while seamlessly exploring Italian history, politics, culture and society,' Guardian Is Italy a united country, or a loose affiliation of warring states? Is Italian football a sport, or an ill-disguised protraction of ancient enmities? Tim Parks goes on the road to follow the fortunes of Hellas Verona football club, to pay a different kind of visit to some of the world's most beautiful cities. This is a highly personal account of one man's relationship with a country, its people and its national sport. A book that combines the pleasures of travel writing with a profound analysis of one country's mad, mad way of keeping itself entertained.

A glorious update of a modern classic - full of colourful recipes that evoke Italian life at its most enticing, Passione is the story of Gennaro Contaldo's upbringing in Italian food and will teach you to cook like a true Italian. Born just metres away from the sea on Italy's stunning Amalfi coast, Gennaro learnt from his father how to seek out wild food - free-diving for oysters, foraging for wild mushrooms and missing school to go fishing. This adventurous spirit lived on throughout Gennaro's career in food and was what went on to inspire Jamie Oliver to call Gennaro his 'London dad'. It was summed up here in this first, glorious collection of his favourite Italian recipes, originally published in 2003. Lovingly restored and updated for the modern kitchen, this new edition of this classic book features photographs from Gennaro's childhood alongside stunning food and travel photography. Over 100 recipes, full of delightful personal recollections, share the secrets of Gennaro's love affair with Italian food, and will inspire cooks of all abilities to taste the true flavours of the Italian coastline. Buon appetito!

This dictionary is up to date and easy to use and it will take you from the first day you start learning Italian right through to your exams and beyond. With core curriculum and international vocabulary, clear guidance on usage and grammar, and a section on everyday life and culture, it is the perfect dictionary for all students of Italian.

Explore Austria with this Freytag & Berndt road map. The best way to plan your trip, prepare your itinerary, and to travel independently in this country. This map also covers Slovenia, South Bavaria (Munich, Augsburg, Regensburg), and Northeast Italy (from Milan to Venice). It includes a separate place name index in a booklet and touristic information on main sights in several languages (English included). Other information on the map: places of interest, airports, castles, nature reserves, monuments, scenic view-points, camp-grounds, golf courses, spas. The legend is in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Czech, Polish, Slovak, and Hungarian.

From Tuscan tomato and bread soup to monkfish stew, simple spaghettis or lemon and pistachio polenta cake, Made at Home is a colourful collection of the food that Giorgio Locatelli loves to prepare for family and friends. With recipes that reflect the places he calls home, from Northern Italy to North London or the holiday house he and his wife Plaxy have found in Puglia, this is a celebration of favourite vegetables combined in vibrant salads or fresh seasonal stews, along with generous fish and meat dishes and cakes to share. Early every evening, Giorgio’s ‘other family’, the chefs and front of house staff at his restaurant, Locanda Locatelli, sit down together to eat, and Giorgio reveals the recipes for their best-loved meals, the Tuesday ‘Italian’ Burger and the Saturday pizza. In a series of features he also takes favourite ingredients or themes and develops them in four different ways, amid ideas for wholesome snacks, from mozzarella and ham calzoncini (pasties) to ricotta and swiss chard erbazzone (a traditional pie), crostini to put out with drinks, and fresh fruit ice creams and sorbets to round off a meal in true Italian style.

The home of trusted Italian dictionaries for everyday language learning. A handy and affordable Italian to English and English to Italian reference for every day, including short grammars of Italian and English. The clear layout allows for fast and easy access when you most need it. Ideal for use on the go, at home, in the office, classroom or on holiday. Over 40,000 words and phrases and 60,000 translations. Designed for all those studying Italian who need maximum information in a handy travel format. Offers comprehensive and up-to-the-minute coverage of Italian and English, with additional notes warning the user of those words which are easily confused. Delivers the accuracy and reliability you expect from the Collins name. With natural, idiomatic example phrases, in-depth treatment of the most important core vocabulary and help to find the exact translation you want.

How have the modern world, technology and our addiction to information changed who we are? What effect does it have on our relationships, minds and bodies? What can the simple act of sitting still teach us about ourselves? When Tim Parks fails to find a cause for his crippling chronic pain, he turns to meditation. This is, however, not your average self-help book or conversion story; instead, it is a refreshingly honest and profoundly moving introspection of one writer and his quest to overcome the inner battle between mind and body. A revelatory read with delightful cultural and literary references, Teach us to Sit Still by Booker-shortlisted author Tim Parks examines how the philosophy of 'sit still, relax and stop worrying' can be profoundly life-altering.

The home of trusted Italian dictionaries for everyday language learning. With 40,000 words and phrases and 60,000 translations packed into this Collins Gem Italian to English and English to Italian dictionary, you’ll have everything you need to know on the go. All the latest words reflecting changes in modern lifestyle are included in this small Italian dictionary, plus notes about life in Italy and top tips on commonly confused words. This is the perfect choice for travellers, students and business people. An essential, user-friendly travel Phrasefinder is included, along with a handy menu-reader ensuring you always get what you expect from a meal out. A clear layout, useful examples, and language and cultural notes makes this Collins Italian Gem dictionary ideal for school and a great companion to GCSE Italian.

The home of trusted Italian dictionaries for everyday language learning. Designed for all those studying Italian who need maximum information in an accessible format, the Collins Pocket Italian to English and English to Italian Dictionary offers excellent, up-to-date coverage of today's Italian language, culture and usage right in your own pocket. This handy, durable format makes the Collins Pocket Dictionary ideal for use on the go, at home, at work, in the classroom or while travelling. With the most up-to-date words in both Italian and English, this is the perfect bilingual dictionary for GCSE exams, boosting students' test-taking ability and confidence. It also includes all the features you would expect from a Collins dictionary: an easy-to-read layout, special treatment of key words and an 'Italian in Focus' supplement that helps you develop your fluency skills. This practical guide gives you information on pronunciation and how to use Italian in different situations, like sending an email or making a phone call, while also giving you insight into Italian life. With 40,000 words and phrases and 60,000 translations, this Italian to English Pocket Dictionary is the perfect companion for all language learners.

Heartbroken after a long, painful love affair, a man drives a haulage lorry from England to France. Travelling with him is a secret passenger - his daughter. Twenty-something, unkempt, off the rails. With a week on the road together, father and daughter must restore themselves and each other, and repair a relationship that is at once fiercely loving and deeply scarred. As they journey south, down the motorways, through the service stations, a devastating picture reveals itself: a story of grief, of shame, and of love in all its complex, dark and glorious manifestations.