Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide (Insiders' Guides)
by Dario Castagno, Robert Rodi

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Book Reviews of Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide (Insiders' Guides)

Book Review: Get me a ticket to Tuscany!
Summary: 5 Stars

I discovered a little gem in this book. Most travel guides are written by professional authors who don't normally live in the area they're describing. Dario Castagno is a professional guide who has an intimate knowledge of Tuscany in general and Chianti in particular, with a love for the region that shines from the pages. I thought his narrative drew wonderfully evocative pictures of the region. Dario's beautifully written and detailed description of the fierce local competition and raging emotions of Sienna's "Pallio" - a bareback horse race held every year in July and August - is a case in point.

As if being informative isn't enough, the book's also highly entertaining. In between the lush descriptions of towns and countryside there are autobiographical anecdotes and stories involving the American tourists he's guided around the place. Being a Brit I found myself alternately amused or bemused at their antics, most of whom seemed to express a total disregard and unwillingness to learn about the country they were in and the assumption that the whole world is like the USA.

Then I remembered how many of my own countrymen behave abroad!

It's not often I'm moved to write a review but this is one of those occasions. If I wanted to be picky I could say that some illustrative photos wouldn't have gone amiss but it's only a minor detraction.

If you want a travel guide that not only informs at a very high level but can also be read purely for pleasure then this is the book for you.

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