Peter D'Epiro

Peter D'Epiro studied at Queens College in New York (BA and MA) and Yale University (PhD). His third book, What Are the 7 Wonders of the World?, written with Mary Desmond Pinkowish, is a handbook of cultural information presented via 101 highly readable essays. His next book, Sprezzatura, also coauthored with Ms. Pinkowish, is a survey of Italian civilization in 50 brief essays, from the ancient Romans to the present. His latest work, The Book of Firsts, is a mini-course in Western civilization, from Caesar Augustus to the Internet, in the form of 150 essays focusing on the earliest appearance of various institutions, religious movements, artistic styles, inventions, innovations, and historical nightmares. The three books, comprising more than 1500 pages of adventures in high culture, are a distillation of "must-know" information that used to be taken for granted in the better institutions of higher learning. In short, these are the "basics" that you won't find anywhere else at a comparable price.