22 Dicembre 2014 10:41
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Confesso che sono un compratore di libri da Amazon, non che i miei librai abituali, e non, abbiano a potersene lamentare ma le mie esigenze sono sempre più spesso al di là delle loro scorte.
Forse, anche per colpa di Amazon stesso, le librerie diminuiscono in numero, dimagriscono (vedi ultimamente il leggendario Foyles) e scompaiono i mitici librai che facevano gli ordini sapendo cosa i loro clienti abituali avrebbero cercato, tra le novità e le ristampe o che riuscivano a procurare, per vie e conoscenze note solo a chi aveva appreso il mestiere dal padre o dal nonno, un libro altrimenti introvabile.
Sta di fatto che Amazon, che si é dimostrato utile oramai in numerose ricerche, mi bombarda di mail quotidianamente dalle sue varie ramificazioni nazionali dalle quali ho acquistato, proponendomi libri scelti dai suoi automatismi.
Amazon UK, oggi mette tra gli altri, due libri che segnalo (non alla lettura, che non li conosco, ma come fenomeno editoriale) perché mi sembrano delineare i costumi del nostro Paese da un'angolatura che, con il pretesto del ciclismo sembra spaziare su problematiche storiche e sociali che evidentemente interessano qualcuno anche fuori dai nostri confini.
- Fallen Angel: The Passion of Fausto Coppi (Yellow Jersey Cycling Classics)
Voted the most popular Italian sportsman of the twentieth century, Fausto Angelo Coppi was the campionissimo - champion of champions. The greatest cyclist of the immediate post-war years, he was the first man to win cycling's great double, the Tour de France and Tour of Italy in the same year - and he did it twice. He achieved mythical status for his crushing solo victories, world titles and world records. But his significance extends far beyond his sport.
Coppi's scandalous divorce and controversial early death convulsed a conservative, staunchly Roman Catholic Italy in the 1950s. At a time when adultery was still illegal, Coppi and his lover were dragged from their bed in the middle of the night, excommunicated and forced to face a clamorous legal battle. The ramifications of this case are still being felt today.
In Fallen Angel, acclaimed cycling biographer, William Fotheringham, tells the tragic story of Coppi's life and death - of how a man who became the symbol of a nation's rebirth after the disasters of war died reviled and heartbroken. Told with insight and intelligence, this is a unique portrait of Italy and Italian sport at a time of tumultuous change.
- Road to Valour: Gino Bartali - Tour de France Legend and World War Two Hero
ROAD TO VALOUR is the inspiring, against-the-odds story of Gino Bartali, the cyclist who made the greatest comeback in Tour de France history and still holds the record for the longest gap between victories. Yet it was his actions during the Second World War, when he secretly aided the Resistance, rather than his remarkable exploits on a bike, that truly cemented his place in the hearts and minds of the Italian people.
Based on nearly ten years of research, and including fascinating new interviews, this is the only book written that fully explores the scope of Bartali's wartime work. A breathtaking account of one man's unsung heroism and his resilience in the face of adversity, this is an epic tale of courage, comeback and redemption, and the untold story of one of the greatest athletes of the twentieth century.
PS - Noto che non mi riesce di linkare le pagine di Amazon, che portano alcuni commenti al testo, ripulite da qualche riferimento personale che compare inesorabilmente.
