Audiobooks by Joseph Luzzi

Botticelli's Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance

A true historical “detective story” full of insight about how we look at art―and the artists and eras that produced it Some five hundred years ago, Sandro Botticelli, a painter of humble origin, created work of unearthly beauty. An intimate associate of Florence’s unofficial rulers, the Medici, he was commissioned by a member of their family to execute a near-impossible project: to illustrate all one hundred cantos of The Divine Comedy by the city’s greatest poet, Dante Alighieri. A powerful encounter between poet and artist, sacred and secular, earthly and evanescent, these drawings produced a wealth of stunning images but were never finished. Botticelli declined into poverty and obscurity, and his illustrations went missing for four hundred years. The nineteenth-century rediscovery of Botticelli’s Dante drawings brought scholars to their knees: this work embodied everything the Renaissance had come to mean. Today, Botticelli’s Primavera adorns household objects of every kind. This book is essential to explain not only how and why this artist became iconic but why we still need his work―and the spirit of the Renaissance―today.

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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A Grand Tour of Italy

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Joseph Luzzi (Narrator)

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The President's Book Club: What Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and FDR Read for Guidance

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Joseph Luzzi (Narrator)

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The Power of Literature in a Time of Crisis

One Day University presents a series of audio lectures recorded in real-time from some of the top minds in the United States. Given by award-winning professors and experts in their field, these recorded lectures dive deep into the worlds of religion, government, literature, and social justice.As we've seen increased participation in online dance parties, workouts, and other gatherings, a little-mentioned growing community is that of reading groups. As the pandemic deepens and all of us feel the desire to escape, it is logical that these communities would expand. But what is it about literature that brings people together during terrible circumstances? How does a catastrophe shape our understanding of the power of great literature?Given during the COVID-19 pandemic, this audio lecture discusses the importance of literature and community throughout the world and addresses how these groups better us as people.This audio lecture includes a supplemental PDF.

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Joseph Luzzi (Narrator)

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8 Books That Changed the World

One Day University presents a series of audio lectures recorded in real-time from some of the top minds in the United States. Given by award-winning professors and experts in their field, these recorded lectures dive deep into the worlds of religion, government, literature, and social justice.Professor Joseph Luzzi uncovers the mysteries of 8 books that, in one way or another, changed our world. He explores the creative processes behind these masterpieces, traces their impact, and helps reveal their remarkable riches: The Bible, The Odyssey by Homer, The Divine Comedy by Dante, Hamlet by Shakespeare, To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. Joseph Luzzi is a literature and Italian Professor at Bard College, and was previously a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the Scaglione Prize for his teaching. He is also the author of the audio course, The Art of Reading. Professor Luzzi previously taught at Yale University, where he was awarded a Yale College Teaching Prize. This audio lecture includes a supplemental PDF.

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Joseph Luzzi (Narrator)

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In A Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love

In the aftermath of a heartbreaking tragedy, a scholar and writer uses Dante's Divine Comedy to shepherd him through the dark wood of grief and mourning, a rich and emotionally resonant memoir of suffering, hope, love, and the power of literature to inspire and heal the most devastating loss. Where do we turn when we lose everything? Joseph Luzzi found the answer in the opening of The Divine Comedy: "In the middle of our life's journey, I found myself in a dark wood." When Luzzi's pregnant wife was in a car accident, and died forty-five minutes after giving birth to their daughter, Isabel, he finds himself a widower and first-time father at the same moment. While he grieves and cares for his infant daughter, miraculously delivered by caesarean before his wife passed, he turns to Dante's Divine Comedy for solace. In a Dark Wood tells the story of how Dante helps the author rebuild his life. He follows the structure of The Divine Comedy, recounting the Inferno of his grief, the Purgatory of healing and raising Isabel on his own, and then Paradise of the rediscovery of love. A Dante scholar, Luzzi has devoted his life to teaching and writing about the poet. But until he turned to the epic poem to learn how to resurrect his life, he didn't realize how much the poet has given back to him. A meditation on the influence of great art and its power to give us strength in our darkest moments, In a Dark Wood opens the door into the mysteries of Dante's epic poem. Beautifully written and flawlessly balanced, Luzzi's book is a hybrid of heart-rending memoir and critical insight into one of the greatest pieces of literature in all of history. In a Dark Wood draws us into man's descent into hell and back: it is Dante's journey, Joseph Luzzi's, and our very own.

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Rick Adamson (Narrator)

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In a Dark Wood: What Dante Taught Me About Grief, Healing, and the Mysteries of Love

A story of love and grief. 'I became a widower and a father on the same day' says Joseph Luzzi. His book tells how Dante's 'The Divine Comedy' helped him to endure his grief, raise their infant daughter, and rediscover love. Where do we turn when we lose everything? In 2007, Joseph Luzzi's wife Katherine was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when she was involved in a fatal car accident. Their daughter, Isabel, was delivered by emergency C-section and somehow survived, even while her mother could not. In the days when his life changed irrevocably and the years of heartache that followed, Luzzi turned to a man who had been an unassuming part of his life since college: Dante. A memoir of grief and healing divided into three parts, the book trace's Luzzi's journey through Dante's 'The Divine Comedy' and his journey through a world without Katherine. The first part, "The Underworld," follows Luzzi's descent into grief and his examination of Dante's accounts of early exile. In the second, "Purgatorio", Luzzi explores how Dante found the will to carry on and how he himself began to find hidden opportunities in everyday life. The last part is called "Squaring the Circle," referring to Dante's metaphor for coming face-to-face with God and the mysteries of love; in it, Luzzi shares his gratitude towards family members who set aside their lives in his time of need, as well as his experience of meeting the woman who would become his wife and mother to his daughter. Luzzi tells his story of personal loss and digs deeper into Dante almost simultaneously, allowing the poet to guide his thinking and forging connections between life in the Inferno and the long life of grief. His memoir is both a personal odyssey and a reminder of the power of great literature in the darkest of times.

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Rick Adamson (Narrator)

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The Art of Reading

Esteemed professor Joseph Luzzi addresses the place of classic literature in the modern world with this riveting series of lectures. Advocating "the art of reading" as a way to answer essential questions of day-to-day life, Luzzi delves into the works of such literary titans as Plato, Shakespeare, and Virginia Woolf. By doing so, he tackles such age-old questions as "How do we fall in love?" and "How do we confront evil?" ** Please contact Customer Service for additional content**

Joseph Luzzi, Professor Joseph Luzzi (Author), Joseph Luzzi, Professor Joseph Luzzi (Narrator)

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The Blessed Lens: A History of Italian Cinema

Professor Joseph Luzzi, the director of Italian studies at Bard College and an award-winning author, offers a comprehensive look at Italian cinema from its inception in 1895 through its major periods and influences. Having altered the landscape of Italian art and society, as well as inspiring filmmakers the world over, Italian cinema proves a fascinating study. Major focuses of the course include neorealism, the Spaghetti Western, the Italian giallo, and Italian-style comedy. ** Please contact Customer Service for additional content**

Joseph Luzzi, Professor Joseph Luzzi (Author), Joseph Luzzi, Professor Joseph Luzzi (Narrator)

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In Michelangelo's Shadow: The Mystery of Modern Italy

The director of Italian studies at Bard College, Professor Joseph Luzzi, leads a comprehensive overview of Italian culture. Beginning in the fabled realm of Renaissance art and concluding with the sweeping transformations of present-day Italy, Professor Luzzi examines the Italian mystique and answers a number of intriguing questions: Is there a distinctly "Italian" way of looking at the world? To whom do Italian Renaissance treasures truly belong? Could the United States as known today exist without the contributions of Italian culture? ** Please contact Customer Service for additional content**

Joseph Luzzi (Author), Joseph Luzzi (Narrator)

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