You’re no idiot, of course. You know there’s more to Italy’s rich tapestry than spaghetti and the Sicilian Mafia, but you also know you have a lot to learn about the country that brought you the paintings of Michelangelo, the poetry of Dante, and the Ferrari of your dreams. Get ready to indulge! The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Italian History and Culture will satisfy your thirst for all things Italian with its in-depth information about Italian art and literature, wine and cooking, and famous Italians and Italian Americans. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get: • Secrets of Italian cooking sure to whet your appetite! • The Italian-American connection, from pizza to the Mafia to soccer • A comprehensive look at the centuries-long struggle to unify Italy • The power and glory of the Renaissance

Fairies have been revered and feared, sometimes simultaneously, throughout recorded history. This encyclopedia of concise entries, from the A-senee-ki-waku of northeastern North America to the Zips of Central America and Mexico, includes more than 2,500 individual beings and species of fairy and nature spirits from a wide range of mythologies and religions from all over the globe.

Italian immigrants of the early 20th century experienced an inevitable, and often emotionally painful, cultural transformation after arriving in America. Worlds turned upside down. Lives changed forever. Greg Casadei captures what that process was like in this touching tale about his family's "Americanization." He also provides insights and lessons that his experiences provided along the way. The Americanization of Greg's family began with his grandparents in Sassofeltrio, Italy in the early 1900s. It ended with the January 2010 passing of his father in Tucson, Arizona. In between lies a rich story of fear and faith, hardships and overcoming, respect and toughness, risk taking and rewards, family and friends, love and togetherness, separation and crumbled foundations, death and despair, and the gradual unraveling of a once tight-knit family. Through historical facts, anecdotes and humor, Greg provides a vivid picture of what it was like growing up in an Italian family in America. You'll laugh, cry and want more as Greg recounts stories about colorful family members and their lives in Sassofeltrio, Oakwood, Michigan, and Tucson, Arizona. After turning the last page, you'll understand why the Americanization of Greg's family was so painful, but why he wouldn't have traded the experience for anything.

Every culture has in its folklore and mythology beings of immense size and strength, as well as other preternatural humanoids great or small who walk among us, serving the divine or fulfilling their own agendas. This book catalogs the lore and legends of more than 1,000 different humanoid species and individual beings, including the Titans, Valkyries, Jotnar, yōkai, biblical giants, elves, ogres, trolls and many more.

"Here there be dragons"--this notation was often made on ancient maps to indicate the edges of the known world and what lay beyond. Heroes who ventured there were only as great as the beasts they encountered. This encyclopedia contains more than 2,200 monsters of myth and folklore, who both made life difficult for humans and fought by their side. Entries describe the appearance, behavior, and cultural origin of mythic creatures well-known and obscure, collected from traditions around the world.

A freshly brewed introduction to the caffeine subculture. For hot beverage novices and budding baristas, here is an essential introduction to the world of coffee and tea, from a basic history of each product, to advanced tips and tricks for blending, brewing, and using syrups and milk, to recipes from around the world. • Includes information on different types of beans and teas, available brewing equipment, and little-known secrets to making fabulous coffee- and tea-based drinks • Written by food and beverage writers who are experts in the field • Contains the finest recipes from worldwide barista champions

Pasta is easy to prepare, healthy, and inexpensive. This guide contains sections dedicated to each kind of pasta, with more than 100 recipes dedicated to each kind of pasta, ranging from the standard to the more complex pasta dishes.