A Season with Verona Author:Tim Parks Is Italy a united country, or a loose affiliation of warring states? Is Italian football a sport, or an ill-disguised protraction of ancient enmities? After twenty years in the Bel Pasese, Tim Parks goes on the road to follow the fortunes of Hellas Verona football club, to pay a different kind of visit to some of the world's most beautiful citie... more »s, and to get a fresh take on the conundrum that is the national character. A book that combines the tension of cliff-hanging narrative with the pleasure of travel writing, and the stimulation of a profound analysis of one country's mad, mad way of keeping itself entertained.« less