After a decade together their ardor had cooled. It was then, in 1900, that Bernhard Berenson (he later dropped the "h" in his first name) and Mary Costelloe married, placing imprimatur on a symbiotic partnering that lasted until her death in 1945. The civil ceremony in Florence's Palazzo Vecchio united an unusual pair. He was a polylingual bon vivant; she spoke grade school Italian, which remained virtually unimproved throughout her 50+ years in Tuscany.

Art historian, critic, and, as he preferred, connoisseur, Berenson was a Lithuanian Jew who established an impressive reputation as an authority on Italian Renaissance painting. "The Drawings of the Florentine Painters" and "The Venetian Painters of the Renaissance" are among his better known works.

A widow with two children and also a writer, Mary was a Philadelphia Quaker who addressed her husband archaically. Reporting to him on their home's refurbishment, she wrote, "So thee sees the main things (except the electricity) are done." When construction went awry: "Thee wd. rage at the way the red fire-place is put up."

For Berenson, she was sometimes a catalyst, often a goad who collaborated with him on his written work, and patiently assisted in endlessly revising his lists of Italian paintings. They shared a penchant for extravagance, acquisition, and a tendency to overlook each other's infidelities.

In A Legacy Of Excellence William Weaver has rendered a graceful drawing of privileged turn-of-the-century life. His perspective is the Villa I Tatti in the vineyard strewn hills between Florence and Fiesole. Once the Berenson's home, it is now the Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies. Recent color pictures as well as archival photographs enhance this well documented history, while exquisite reproductions of Berenson's art collection add to its luster. When first leased by the Berensons, I Tatti was modest compared to its imposing villa neighbors. Previous tenants eschewed modern conveniences; there was only one bath, no electricity or telephone. Mary engaged 40 workmen to begin rudimentary improvements, hoping to provide Bernard with a salubrious atmosphere in which to study and collect. Apparently she succeeded. He amassed photographs and books - his Fototeca eventually held 300,000 items, his library 50,000 volumes. Works by Giotto, Sasseta, and Lorenzo Lotto were included in his art collection.

With an income derived largely from commissions on art sales, Berenson was employed by the English art dealer Lord Duveen to give his seal of approval to the Renaissance paintings Duveen sold to monied Americans, notably Frick, Kress, and Mellon.

Weaver, a thorough author as evidenced in Marino Marini, overlooks a significant aspect of Berenson's connoisseurship: the substantial sums he earned in the picture trade later brought Berenson's impartiality into question, resulting in the downgrading of many of his attributions.

Nonetheless, when the villa's 20th century owner, a wealthy English eccentric, died childless, the cash strapped Berensons obtained a loan to purchase the estate only through the intervention of an American friend.

Once they owned the villa, Mary engaged architects to plan further refurbishing, as well as the building of magnificent formal gardens. In years to come I Tatti would be visited by Edith Wharton, Walter Lippman, Yehudi Menuhin, Adlai Stevenson, Gertrude Stein, who, as Mary put it, swam in a nearby artificial lake "clothed only in her own fat," plus a host of that era's literati and glitterati.

Often separated during World War I, Mary stayed at the villa while Bernard worked and romanced in Paris, where he had become friends with Matisse, Gide and Proust.

Postwar unrest in Italy presaged the rise of fascism, which Bernard vehemently and vocally opposed. His stance caused him to be considered untrustworthy by many Italian intellectuals and some influential Americans. Expulsion from Italy seemed probable, but it did not occur.

In late summer of 1944 war again reached Florence. Bernard wrote in his diary, "Our hillside happens to lie between the principal line of German retreat along the Via Bolognese and a side road...We are at the heart of the German rearguard action, and seriously exposed." Miraculously the villa was unharmed by its German occupants.

While Mary wanted the villa and its 75 acres left to her children, Bernard was adamant that their beneficiary be his alma mater, Harvard University. Although Mary persistently derided his dream of "a lay monastery of leisurely culture" as "a wayside inn for loafing scholars," he bequeathed the villa and grounds, his library, and works of art to Harvard.

Initially, the University was somewhat daunted by his demanding bequest. Native Florentines viewed their new neighbors unenthusiastically, dismissing them as more "anglo-beceri" (becero literally meaning boor), as earlier Tuscan based English and American cliques were known. That was to change with the disastrous flooding of 1966.

Members of the national and international art communities selflessly responded when an irreplaceable portion of the world's art history was jeopardized. I Tatti became a focal point of that aid. Art experts performed herculean salvaging tasks - delicate glass negatives from the Uffizi's Gabinetto Fotografico had to be rescued from the muck. It took over a week for the 30,000 slides to be bathed then laid out to dry.

An air-lift of enormous drying-machines organized by Harvard's Renaissance art historian saved countless books and documents from the Biblioteca Nazionale. I Tatti housed as many art experts as possible; others were guests only long enough for a hot bath.

The Center's dedication to minimizing the flood's devastation altered its image in the minds of many Florentines who had previously viewed it with a shrug. Strangers became colleagues and friends. Today, fifteen students are nominated annually to study at I Tatti, while according to a stipulation in Bernard's will, the library is open free of charge "for all students of Italy and other countries." Scholars from dissimilar backgrounds walk together along impeccably raked gravel paths, where they "speak the same language; the language of the Italian Renaissance." Bernard Berenson's dream came true.

As the author of the recently published Geoffrey Scott and the Berenson Circle, I can tell you that this history of the Villa I Tatti is an exceptionally beautiful book about a most fascinating place. William Weaver, the most important of today's translators of Italian fiction and a great stylist, has written an exciting history of a most exciting place. It would make an ideal gift for any Italophile.

The newly married art historians Bernard and Mary Berenson made their home at the Villa I Tatti near Florence in 1900. In the following years Mary, supervised the rebuilding of the villa and the creation of its elegant gardens. The Berensons pursued their work at I Tatti over a period of nearly six decades, and here they entertained a remarkable circle of friends :art historians ( Kenneth Clark, John Walker, John Pope-Hennessy), writers (Edith Wharton, Alberto Moravia), political thinkers (Walter Lippman, Gaetano Salvermini), musicians (Yehudi Menuhin) and countless other visitors from every part of the world. At I Tatti Bernard Berenson assmbled a choice collection of Renaissance art, including works by Giotto, Sassetta, Domenico Veneziano, and Lorenzo Lotto. He also formed a prodigious art historical research library and photograph collection. When he died in 1959, he bequeathed the house, its contents, and the gardens to Harvard University as a Center for Renaissance Studies. This book documents the colorful life the Berensons led at I Tatti, the rich intellectual atmosphere they fostered there, and the spirit that continues and is nurtured by the Harvard Center. Berenson was associated with the famous art dealer, Baron Joseph DUVEEN (1869-1939) who noticed, early in life, that Europe had plenty of art and America had plenty of money, and his entire astonishing career was the product of that simple observation (S.N. Behrman, Duveen). The American plenty has been well invested in I Tatti, as the superb photographs by David Finn show. William Weaver has lived for many years in Italy, reporting on the Italian cultural world for American and British publications. This book has also a detailed alphabetical index, showing the quality of the research made by the author. Jan A. MORTELMANS.

What a marvelous book to have. Not many of us have the opportunity to see the wonderful collections that were displayed in the gardens of the White House during the Clinton years. This is the one way we can see them! Beautifully pictured with full color photos and great descriptions! A lovely book to have as an historic record of what Scuplture in America was like in the 20th-Century! You may or may not like the Sculptures that were shown - but this book has them all!

This is a beautiful book. The works are shown from different angles,instead of just one frontal photo, so the reader gets the details of the work, with a good accompanying text. I accidently discovered this sculptor, and findto my surprise that some of his work is more appealing than some of the more famous artists of this genre. There is a great deal of detail, in fact, a whole chapter devoted to his fountains, particularly,The Fountains of the 4 rivers. I wish I had this book before I went to Rome and saw it in person. Any lover of sculpture will not be dissapointed with this purchase.

The work of this medieval sculptor rivals anything produced by Michaelangelo or Bernini centuries later. The prolific photographs and details of his work contained in this volume help illustrate the richness of his sculpted pieces. The views from many different angles make one eager to examine it in person, in the round. Biographical information about Claus Sluter, his times and the political influences give clues about the freedom given Sluter to create so individualistically. Sluter's work is part of the medieval world in which art had a powerful message to convey and his did so in an effective and appealing way. The early reform movement, Modern Devotion, is discussed in connection with Sluter. Other superlative works of art were inspired by this movement which appealed both to the intellectuals and common man of the day. I appreciate being able to read this book and highly recommend it.

This is just a great book . Fantastic photograghy and great writing. It made feel like I was there ! This book is just great!!! If your wanting a good book on Egypt you should get this one . This book you get more than your moneys worth !!!!

Biographer Robert Beebe David provides the reader with a straightforwardly narrated account in Finn Burnett, Frontiersman, the biography of an extraordinary pioneer of the American frontier. In the upper Plains and northern Rockies, Finn Burnett was at first a staunch battler against Indians, but later befriended them, including famous individuals such as Washakie, the Shoshone chief, and Sacajawea, known for her role in the Lewis and Clark expedition. Part of the Stackpole Books "Frontier Classics Series", Finn Burnett, Frontiersman is very highly recommended reading for students of American frontier history.

Ever felt obliged to stop by an art museum while on vacation just because you were in the area, but then you weren't quite sure what to do once you got there? If so, this may be the book for you. David Finn's easy-to-read text presents many thoughtful ideas on how to really get something out of your next trip to a museum. The book is filled with copious photographs of artwork and art museums (some in color, some black and white, all reproduced with the high quality you'd expect from Abrams) that do an excellent job of complimenting the points made in the text. It's a book you'll want to read cover-to-cover at least once, and then come back and sample bits over and over again - just the way you may end up visiting your local art museum once you've read this fine book

The Joy I Seek is a boldly and empathetically illustrated presentation of fragments from the classic poem "Endymion: A Poetic Romance," by John Keats. Forty-four semi-abstract yet powerful and emotional color paintings by David Finn present and unforgettable representation of the poem's core themes of love between a man and a woman, the joy of human sexuality, and the bittersweet fleetness of life itself. A heartfelt and soulful presentation that wraps love, sex, and death into an explosion of literary and visual high art. Book I 777-781: Wherein lies happiness? In that which becks/Our ready minds to fellowship divine,/A fellowship with essence, full of shine/Full alchemized, and free of space. Behold/The clear religion of heaven!

I was a former student of Chester Finn's at Vanderbilt and a big fan of his writing. This along with Senator Lamar Alexander, is an extremely well written and interesting book. Gives a perspective that many should consider. I highly recommend it.

Don McNay...

David Wilkie and John Finn present the methods and tecnology of remote sensing in a clear, readable form that lives up to its subtitle "A guide for first-time users". Both authors come to this technology from a background in resource management which provides them good insight into the specialized needs of biologists and planners. The discussion focuses on distinguishing vegetation types (and in some cases individual animals) rather than rocks and minerals, as in several other well-known texts. Discussions of sensor technology merge seamlessly with practical issues such as the statistical basis of sampling designs and the relative merits of aerial videography. Throughout, an effort has been made to compare all of the many platforms, services, and sensor types in straightforward tables showing their strengths and weaknesses. In short, the authors present the technology as a useful tool for people interested in environmental issues, rather than as a high-tech novelty of interest to electronic engineers. I have recommended the book to all of my graduate students.