READING RECOMMENDATIONS

Here are a few of our favorite books related to each of the places where you’ll be traveling.

AUSTRIA:

The Age of Insight
By Eric R. Kandel
Nonfiction
New Yorker review

At the turn of the 20th Century, five hours away from Innsbruck, Austria, Vienna was the cultural capital of Europe. This book, written by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, takes the reader to Vienna in the early 1900s when leaders across the arts and sciences were starting a revolution that forever changed what we understand about the connection between the mind, brain, and art.

GERMANY:

Munich
By Robert Harris
Historical fiction, thriller
New York Times review

If you’ll be spending some time in Munich, you might want to pick up a copy of Robert Harris’s thriller, Munich, which describes the days leading up to the Munich Accord. The novel portrays the historical events that occurred with a focus on two lesser known characters who had intimate perspectives of the ongoings at the time.

ITALY:

Black Run: A Rocco Schiavone Mystery
By Antonio Manzini
Mystery
GoodReads reviews

This mystery is the first in a favorite European crime fiction series set near where we’ll be traveling in the Italian Alps. The book follows Deputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone on a case in an alpine ski town. Antonio Manzini is known for being a keen observer of human characters. This, along with a good dose of humor and dash of irony, come through in his writing about the series’ hero, Deputy Police Chief Schiavone.

The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915-1919
By Mark Thompson
History
The Guardian review

Skiing in the Dolomites? If you’re ready for a much heavier read than Black Run, Mark Thompson describes how fascism started in Italy as a result of World War I. You’ll be reading about the many Italians who fought in the Dolomites, from Mussolini to writers like Ungaretti and Gadda, after Italy declared war on the Habsburg Empire in 1915.

Let us know if there are other books you recommend reading before the trip too!