The photo quiz last Thursday was harder than I realized. But with additional clues, two people did pretty well.  If you’ve been waiting for the answers–you can see them by going back to the Thursday Travel Photo page from last week. All the names are revealed, plus added info about each place pictured.

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Check the captions–I’ve added clues.  And here’s an additional photo for #3.

Reconstruction work makes it easier to see the beautiful form of this castle designed by a King.

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NEW PRIZES

The Ohio State Reformatory

Exciting news, particularly for Shawshank Redemption fans.  The Mansfield Ohio Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has decided to sweeten the pot with additional Shawshank prizes. You can shop for Shawshank souvenirs and your purchases will help save the movie’s famous Oak tree.

Now the Shawshank package includes:

• A fan t-shirt
• A carry bag
• Two Tickets to the Ohio State Reformatory where the movie was filmed
• A coffee mug
• A movie poster

Total estimated Value: $78.00

AND

Oka b Shoes

Another winner will get his or her choice of OKA b shoes, which range in price from $20 to $40. And they DO have men’s styles!!

ENTER before Feburary 1 2012

• by commenting,
• tweeting @pen4hire,
• mentioning Vera Marie Badertscher on Google+ or,
• best bet–subscribe by e-mail to A Traveler’s Library.

If you already subscribe, just tell me that in an e-mail (if you have not done so already). Everyone is eligible for one of these prizes–even if you have won a daily prize. All entries throughout the month of January will be counted.

See Who Won

January Winners so far are listed here.

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Destination: Sicily

Book: The Honoured Society: The Sicilian Mafia Observed, by Norman Lewis (Original-1964 with postscript added in 1984; reviewed edition 2003.)

If you were playing word-association, Sicily-Mafia might be your first reaction.  The Honoured Society  seems to me to be a perfect addition to a library of travel literature– if you read it along with Seeking Sicily– to understand that region of Italy. You will find many of the same themes in the two books.

Norman Lewis is best known as an outstanding travel writer. (See my review of Naples ’44). But his first wife was Swiss-Sicilian, and her father, an exile from Sicily, belonged to the Mafia. Thus began Lewis’ interest in the honoured society. His book benefits from personal experience and meticulous research in addition to Lewis’ skills as a wordsmith. Think how much he enhances the following paragraph, which could have been a dry list of facts.

“In this world one occasionally stumbles upon a place which, in the physical presence, and the atmosphere it distills, manages somehow to match its reputation for sinister happenings.  Such a town is Corleone.  A Total of 153 murders took place between 1944 and 1948 alone.” (This in a town of 18,000.)

Like John Keahey, in Seeking Sicily, Lewis traces the characteristics of Sicilian history back through its many conquerors.

Like Keahey, Lewis says, “Sicily is not Italy.”  He goes on, “nor–with the exception of the spas, the palms, and the mimosas of its eastern seaboard–is it even recognizably a Mediterranean country.”

Although the Mafia’s first appearance may not be clearly marked in a timeline of history, there is no question that the Spanish Inquisition, while Sicily sat under the thumb of Spain, played a large part. Since the Inquisition not only punished, but confiscated property, the aristocrats enthusiastically joined the Inquisition, both to enrich themselves and to protect their property. For 300 years, in the 15th-18th centuries, property was taken in this way.  The Mafia became the protector of the poor by the only avenue open to them–vendetta.

Part of the delight of reading Lewis lies in his ability to make amazing and detailed connections. He traces the fatalism and vendettas of the Sicilian culture back to African tribal rituals and to the desert tribes of Arab lands. Remember the horse’s head at the beginning of  The Godfather? African tribal rituals included depositing of a beheaded dog or sheep on an enemies doorstep.

“Without realizing it, they have killed each other as far back as anybody can remember, and still kill each other, not so much out of bloodthirsty sentiment, but from economic necessity.  There has never been enough to go around, so the vendetta becomes a device for keeping down the population.”

The Mafia’s survival has depended upon an agility in adapting to economic circumstances.  In the early days, serious money could be made in manufacturing phony religious relics and selling the seats in church and devotional candles. But land was the real base of operations.Feudal systems survived in Sicily long after the Middle Ages died in the rest of Europe. The land-holding aristocracy utilized the Mafia as protectors of the land and enforcers and later to ensure votes for conservative politicians. A rupture developed when the land-holders decide it is in their best interest to support Mussolini who set out to destroy the Mafia.

New allies popped up with World War II. Because the Mafia were anti-Mussolini, the United States army enlisted them to help defeat the Italians. Imported American gangster Lucky Luciano was given authority, and the brotherhood’s business practices turned to controlling the black market  (with American support) and, after the war, to Luciano’s favorite business–heroin. The traditional Mafia leaders in Italy would not support his other business–prostitution. That was not honourable in their eyes.

I was amazed to learn that after the war when Sicily struggled with the question of their relationship to a newly independent Italy, the Mafia leaders favored becoming the 49th state of the United States. (Hawaii and Alaska had not yet joined the U. S.)

The Mafia power through alliances that had lasted for centuries began to crack in the 1960′s and the postscripts to the book describe the rather pessimistic scene in the early 1980′s.  Today, according to John Keahey, in Seeking Sicily,  the Mafia has been reduced from a powerful organization that dominates Sicily to more or less independent outlaws, no longer supported by church, state and journalists. However, a website called Mafia Today recently ran an article stating that the Sicilian Mafia is the most successful business in Italy today in the face of economic disaster for  legitimate business. It seems it will never end. At least the Mafia wars no longer threaten travelers and it is once more safe to book your travel to Sicily.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our week in Sicily.  If you’d like to read some contemporary travel experiences on the island, check Hecktic Travels blog for their series on Sicily; Travel Solo for top things to do in Sicily and Joe’s Trippin’ about Southern Sicily.

More reading on Sicily:

 I Siciliana by Adrian Cole–travels with the Mafia in Sicily.

The same author writes about Norman Lewis in Italy and Spain in Tender Beginner: A Twentieth Century Witness. He says of Lewis’ relationship to Sicily:

“…a life-long attachment to the island, its people and its problems, and in the tradition of the greatest of writers, what is left after the descriptions and the anecdotes and the details is a sense not just of place, but more importantly of the human relationships which underwrite the whole endeavor of being a traveler, and dependent on the generosity of strangers. “

Is Mafia the first thing YOU think of when you hear Sicily? Would it concern you enough that you might not travel to Sicily?

Disclaimers: The links to Amazon make it easier for you to purchase books, however because A Traveler’s Library is an affiliate of Amazon, we earn a few cents for every purchase–even though it does not cost you any more.  All Pictures here come from Flickr with Creative Commons license. Click on picture to learn more.

CONTEST OVER! The Giveaway prize today goes to one person who comments, subscribes, tweets or mentions us on Google+. It is a copy of On the Road to Babadag: Travels in the Other Europe by Andzej Stasiuk, a stylish travel book about middle Europe.  (You can comment on this post or on an earlier post. Just do it before Monday, January 30, 3:00 a.m. MST. This is your next to last chance to win. See complete rules here.)

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Now on to a great book for your trip to France and a Giveaway book on another country…..

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Destination: China/America

Book: The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee

By Brette Sember

Chinese New Year is January 23 this year,  and brings in the year of the dragon, which sounds bold and flavorful like Szechuan Chinese food. What better time to explore China and think about whether American Chinese food is in fact Chinese at all. Jennifer 8. Lee does just this in The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, one of the most in-depth, well-researched food history books to be found. It’s also simply a lot of fun because Lee takes the reader on a journey not only across the U.S. and China, but to many other parts of the world as she tackles three main questions.

• Is Chinese food from China and what is the history of American Chinese food?
• Where did the fortune cookie come from?
• And where is the best Chinese restaurant in the world?

So Where is Takeout Really From?

Lee details her experiences as she travels through tiny villages and big cities in China (which she makes incredibly real – you can see and smell where she takes you), searching for the roots of the food we in America call Chinese. One of the most fascinating portions is when she seeks out the origins of General Tso’s Chicken. It turns out there was a General Tso and Lee visits his home village where she learns about what the general liked to eat and even has the dish prepared for her there, only to find it is not the same in the least. She shows the reader that nearly everything we think of as Chinese food and even Chinese traditions are American creations (in fact, she shares that most American Chinese restaurants have two menus – one for the American customers and one for the workers and other Chinese immigrants, “real” Chinese food Americans would like not take well to.)

I was fascinated also by her behind-the-scenes look at the workers in Chinese restaurants, who are part of an almost underground network and travel across the country on special buses. She also takes the reader on the journey of a Chinese immigrant who is coming to America to work. And PF Chang’s? It’s not Chinese at all and in fact Chinese people would never eat there because the huge warrior statues are traditional in graveyards and no one would ever eat near one.

Other fun stories unfold as she explores the origin of chop suey (which in Chinese literally means “odds and ends” and was never meant as an actual name of a dish, just as a description of something someone made) and also the history of Chinese take out as well as the great kosher duck debacle that deeply affected the Jewish community’s relationship with Chinese restaurants.

Good Luck Cookie

When tackling the fortune cookie, Lee investigates its roots in California where Chinese immigrants landed and uncovers an actual court case over its origins. The conversations Lee has with the people with first hand memories of the story are transforming. She visits a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco (I’ve actually been there and it is as Lee describes, a closet of a room off a dark alley in Chinatown) and describes the way people use the fortunes in the cookies to pick lottery tickets, which resulted in a statistical improbability.

Around the World with 8. Lee

As if all the globetrotting Lee did to explore Chinese food across America and its origins in China were not enough, she undertakes to find the best Chinese restaurant in the world (outside of China) and goes to Peru, France, Singapore, England, Japan, Australia, Dubai, Korea, Canada, Brazil, Jamaica, Iran, Maritus, and India (carefully sharing her experiences and impressions). Her conclusion will surprise you, but I’ll let you take the journey with her yourself.

Brette Sember is a monthly contributor to A Traveler’s Library, bringing together her love of travel and of food. See more about her and how to get in touch with her on the Contributor’s Page.

Fortunately, we have two Chinese-themed books to give to a lucky person today. (Get it???) All you have to do is subscribe (or if you are already subscribed tell me you want that extra chance); tweet with @pen4hire in the message; mention A Traveler’s Library on Google Plus; or comment on a post. But the action must take place before 3:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 18 in order to count for this drawing.  And what’s the lucky prize? The adventure Romance, Song of the Silk Road and Culture Smart! China. 

Disclaimers: The two giveaway books were provided by the publishers for reviews. It is A Traveler’s Library policy to explain to you that the book cover and title  links to Amazon are affiliate links. Anything you buy through those links, although it costs you no more, will earn a few cents for Brette Sember or for A Traveler’s Library. Thank you! All of the photos here are from Flickr with a Creative Commons license. Please click on the photo to learn more.

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Destination: Seville, Spain

Book: The Blind Man of Seville by Robert Wilson (2003)

Seville Plaza de Espana

How can such a distressing and dark mystery novel keep propelling me through its pages? Partly because it is set in the city of Seville, known for its joyous celebration of life. Robert Wilson captures the spirit of Seville throughout The Blind Man of Seville. Perhaps his best depiction comes in his description of Feria de Abril:

“…where everybody was beautiful and happy.  Where the girls flounced in their figure-hugging trajes de flamenca with flowers and tortoiseshell combs in their hair while their men struck poses in grey bolero jackets and flat-brimmed hats. … The air was full of incense of enjoyment–music, food and tobacco.”

But also because Wilson is a skilled story-teller. Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón, investigates the gruesome, tortured death of a prominent businessman as the man is forced to watch something on a video tape.  The “something” is so terrifying that he struggles to escape the images and ends up causing his own death.

Maria Luisa Parque, the Expo Park Lake

The 2001 investigation of this and a similar death leads Falcón back to a period when the powerful of Seville were jockeying to cash in on the World’s Fair, Expo ’92.  The inspector expects to find his father, a famous painter, involved with the victims in some way.  HIs detective work takes a double track–solving the murders and answering personal questions. The search for the truth about his father intensifies when he discovers a box of diaries the artist kept during the Spanish Civil War and then during their lives in Tangier during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Both detective and artist are involved with seeing–and making other people see.

“You can’t teach people to see,” his father had said.  ”They will only see what they want to.  The mind is always interfering with vision…If you can’t rely on your own eyes, whose can you?”  

As in A Small Death in Lisbon, the book that led me to add the four Seville-based Falcón novels to my TBR pile, Wilson zigzags between the present and the past. Eventually the time periods meet in Falcón’s home, where  his deceased father lived and painted in  Seville. Robert Wilson populates his novels with psychologically complex and unique characters and labyrinthine plot twists that gain veracity from the grounding in history.  Falcón, while definitely having his roots in the noir detectives of Dashiell Hamett and Raymond Chandler, stands out as a true original. While it is fashionable these days for detectives to be flawed but basically decent, you rarely come across the combination of courage and quirky neurosis that make up this Spanish detective. He even goes to a shrink, for goodness sakes. As in the Lisbon book, the city’s geography plays a major role. In an e-mail replying to a question I asked, Wilson wrote:  ”Place has always been important to me. It has always been the initial inspiration to write. It is only by seeing a place and feeling its atmosphere and breathing its air and smells and watching its people that a novel starts to germinate in my mind.” The carefully mapped out movements on real streets and across real parks, the bull fight, the activities of Semana Santa and Feria April, the meals described–all add verisimilitude and contribute to the enjoyment of a traveler and reader.

Virgin's gown Semana Santa Float

I have been told repeatedly that I will never understand Spain until I go to a bullfight, and Robert Wilson in The Blind Man of Seville  takes five pages to portray a bullfight in which Falcón’s young nephew Pepe is hoping to distinguish himself. Personally I will forever identify Spain with Semana Santa and one a.m. crowds packed along city streets to cheer for the adored La Macarena. When we visited Spain in 2002, I accidentally scheduled our stay in Seville over Easter week–during  parades and crowds simultaneously pious and rowdy who were cheer an image of the Virgin Mary like they cheer their soccer teams. For all its beauty, Seville, particularly at Semana Santa can make you doubt reality. Javier Falcón gets tangled in such a crowd.

The paso bore down on their awestruck faces, the Virgin towering above them, her whole body shuddering from right to left under the straining costaleros.  Earsplitting, discordant trumpets suddenly blasted out the passion.  The sound in the confines of the narrow street reverberated inside Falcón’s chest and seemed to open it up.  The crowd gasped at the glorious moment, at the weeping Virgin, at the height of ecstasy…and the blood drained rapidly from Falcón’s head.

We gave you an article using A Small Death in Lisbon as a guide to the Portugese City, and this book could do the same for Spanish Sevilla. BBC viewers will get to see a four-part series based on the Falcón novels in 2012 according to this Sky Atlantic site. (Fingers crossed that it will be picked up by PBS in the U.S.) And yes, I have added Wilson’s other three Falcón books to my travel library. Today’s prize to one person who comments, subscribes, tweets or mentions us on Google+ is a copy of  Margaret Coel’s mystery The Perfect Suspect, set in Denver. I reviewed this Catherine McLeod Mystery here. (To win, you can comment on this post or on an earlier post. Just do it before Tuesday, January 17, 3:00 a.m. MST. If you already subscribe by e-mail and want an extra entry as a subscriber, be sure to tell me that in the comments. See complete rules here.) Disclaimers: The publisher gave me The Perfect Suspect to review. I purchased a used copy of Blind Man of Seville through Amazon, and you can do the same by following the links to titles. Although it costs you no more, it makes me a few cents to pay the postage when A Traveler’s Library mails prizes. Thanks.  All photos here, being 10 years old, are not terrific quality, but they are my own, so please do not use them without permission.

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Reach for the sky in 2012

Okay, I know I said I was off this week, but I could not resist sharing with you this photo that we used for our Christmas Card this year. So Happy New Year to you wherever you are in the world from Tucson, Arizona. See more Travel Photo Thursday pictures from everywhere in the world at Budget Travelers’ Sandbox.

This photo is the property of Vera Marie Badertscher. Please do not reproduce without permission.

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Well we did it–4 founders up in Seattle, some big donor sponsors, and lots of donors of prizes, including Hotel Monteleone, Interlink Books and MacMillan Audio.  And YOU who bid on prizes.  The bidding closed last night at midnight, but we had hit 100% before that.  THANK YOU EVERYONE.

Now on to SHOPPING….

don’t forget the great discounts offered ONLY to readers of A Traveler’s Library.  All the details are in the post I did called Ten Perfect Gifts for Travelers Who Read, but here’s a short take:

• Lonely Planet  wants to give you 20% off on ANY books you buy at their store.
•  OKA b shoes (the shoes that love you) is offering 15% off on any pair of OKAb s you purchase at their Web Store.
•  Interlink Books matches Lonely Planet and chips in 20% off any books you choose from them.
• Through a Dog’s Ear , will calm your dog with music and when you purchase two particular CDs, they’ll calm your wallet with a g-normous 25% off.

(Be sure to check out the fine print link on the 10 Perfect Gifts page for all these deals from A Traveler’s Library, but trust me,  these are seriously good deals from really fantastic companies!!)

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