Bøker av David Downie

Roman Roulette: Murder in the Catacombs, the Second Daria Vinci Investigation.For Commissioner Daria Vinci, it was supposed to be a night off, attending a benefit concert for the Institute of America in Rome. But little did the wealthy, distinguished guests know that beneath their feet, in the ancient catacombs, a very different kind of gathering was being held. One that would end in murder. In Roman Roulette, the second Daria Vinci investigation, the glamorous and high-principled police commissioner of DIGOS, Italy' s FBI, must investigate what at first seems a simple case of suicide. In doing so, she attracts the attention of her boss, the Questor of the Province of Rome, who has his own reasons for wanting her off the case. Now, Daria Vinci must solve the murder in 36 hours, while risking her career and, possibly, her life.

Its jaws open wide, a firefighting seaplane skims the glittering Gulf of Portofino on Italy's jagged Ligurian coast, scooping up a lone swimmer named Joe Gary. The super-rich, retired Italian-American has mob connections and a dirty political past. Has he been snatched by accident or murdered? Red Riviera, Commissioner Daria Vinci's first investigation, is a wild ride from the tangled trails of the Cinque Terre to glamorous Portofino to roistering Genoa. It's a Riviera made red by riotous bougainvillea and spilled blood. Half-American, Daria Vinci is an outsider, the unlikely rising star of Genoa's secretive Special Operations Directorate DIGOS. In Red Riviera, she must face down a Fascist police chief, the CIA's local mastermind, a former World War Two Spitfire fighter pilot, and a plucky hundred-year-old marquise whose memory is as long as it is vengeful, in order to solve her case.

For decades, David Downie and Alison Harris have been exploring Burgundy—they walked clear across it in 2006—reporting on their finds for top magazines and newspapers worldwide. This is the third Terroir Guide they have collaborated on and perhaps the most detailed and personal of any so far. Burgundy is one of France’s great food and wine regions. Many of the world’s most sought-after wines are produced there; so, too, are some of the most underrated, underpriced white wines in France. Each of Burgundy’s five wine districts is thoroughly explored in this guide, with recommendations on which wines to buy and which wineries to visit. Wine terminology is explained in a way that anyone can understand. On the food side, Burgundy still has a surprising number of luxurious restaurants, as well as dozens of country auberges visitors dream of discovering. Downie leads you to just such places, as well as to specialty food shops where you can taste the region’s terroir firsthand. Burgundy’s lush scenery distills the essence of French terroir, and each of its subregions has a distinctive character where the architecture and art reflect this storied diversity.

An accessible introduction to climate change that outlines key scientific, economic, and political issues, reviews how the global community has addressed the issue to date, and discusses the options being explored for further action.