"La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language" by Dianne Hales
Broadway Books, Crown Publishing, Random House | 2009 | ISBN: 0767927702 9780767932110 0767927699 | 260 pages | PDF/epub/mobi | 1 MB

This is the story of how a language shaped a nation, told against the backdrop of one woman's personal quest to speak fluent Italian. For anyone who has been to Italy, the fantasy of living the Italian life is powerfully seductive. But to truly become Italian, one must learn the language.

Dianne will give a presentation and talk about her book as well as her experiences with Italy and the Italian language. After, there will be an interview-style Q&A session lead by the Executive Board of La Societa Italiana. There will also be time for audience questions, mingling and book signing! Of course, refreshments will be served.

Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: My Italian Brain and How It Grew
Confessions of an Innamorata
The Unlikely Rise of a Vulgar Tongue
To Hell and Back with Dante Alighieri
Italian's Literary Lions
The Baking of a Masterpiece
How Italian Civilized the West
La Storia dell'Arte
On Golden Wings
On Golden Wings
So Many Ways to Say "I Love You"
Marcello and Me
Irreverent Italian
Mother Tongue
Bibliography