Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Ciao, America: An Italian Discovers the U.S.

Ciao, America: An Italian Discovers the U.S.
reviewed on + 102 more book reviews


This is a laugh-out-loud funny book and I loved it! It's a humorous look at an Italian correspondent's year-long stay in Georgetown in DC ... and I really mean humorous. He is writing for a European audience, explaining things that to us Americans are common knowledge. Perhaps I found this so funny because I have traveled in Europe and am familiar with some of the customs he mentions ... or perhaps it would be funny to anyone, I'm not sure.

This book was written in 1995 with an additional chapter added in 2000. It's obvious that the author has a genuine love for America. It was great to get that feeling throughout the book, especially in the current international atmosphere where the US seems almost to be Public Enemy No. 1. However I would like to know how this book would have turned out if Severgnini had written it post-9/11.

Regardless, it was a quick read, full of laughs, and will be passed on to someone else to enjoy shortly. I may even give it to my mom ... she's not a big reader, but the chapters are short and the humor is excellent so she may like it!