The World from Italy: Football, Food, and Politics

As Negus is an Australian, his perspective is similar to those of other English-speakers, but definitely not the same as a lot of Americans who have written about Italians and life in Italy. I enjoy his metaphor of Football, Food, and Politics, and find it to be true, at some levels, perhaps more than one might think. The fact that I read it in 2003, and it was written during the 1999 calcio season was interesting, as it was before I was aware of much in Serie A, and it is fun to look back and compare to today. I appreciate that Negus is observant of the Italian culture without being too 'precious' about it, and without being patronizing, which is how I found "As the Romans Do" by Alan Epstein, or by the modern day Tuscan Industry, Frances Mayes, who both find everything very simple because they have buckets and buckets of cash. I would put Negus's book in the same league as those of Tim Parks, who has lived in Italy for probably 20 years. Much like Tim Parks's book on Serie A, Negus has his feet on the ground, and is observant. These men make excellent points, and do so in a credible way.