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Title: To Be Avoided
Review: As opposed to the general consensus of the other reviews on this book, I found Levey's Florence to be SUB-PAR compared to other works on the same topic. His understanding of Florentine history is poor and often down right insulting (his remarks that the vibrant political life in the early communal period was like the "mafia" is a fine example). His insistence on the greatness of Sienese art and on Northern Renaissance Art are wholly inappropriate in a book on Florence. It would be like writing a book on the history of the British Empire and constantly making a point to discuss imperial Russia or Rome. Let's focus on the topic at hand and save the other comments for other books. Mr Levey announces his lack of ability as a historian at the beginning of the work and he is certainly accurate. A much better read is Florence by Gene Adam Brucker.
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