Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The entrance to the Christian church in Venice is adorned with statues of fat, swollen putti, or angels, who celebrate the primal urge to life. The church was rebuilt after the World War II bombing.

#2 I first visited Mistra, a ruined medieval city in Greece's southern Peloponnese, in 1978. I was obsessed with the town's beauty, and it led to an enduring interest in its most important figure, the Neoplatonist philosopher Georgios Gemistos Plethon.

#3 The Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini, Italy, is the final resting place of Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, a mercenary commander who lived for years under a death sentence. He transformed the church into one of the most striking Renaissance temples.

#4 The Tempio Malatestiano, built by Sigismondo Malatesta, is a perfect work of art. It is the artistic epic that allows civilization to endure and begin anew. For Pound, manly risk is almost inseparable from the creation of the artistic tour de force.