A Venetian Bookshop

[Progenitor A]

In May we took my daughter, her two sons and her husband to Venice for a 4 day break
Whilst there we found this gloriously eccentric bokshop on Calle Longa S.M Formosa. It is called Libreria Acqua Alta and is a series of basement caverns connected together. Books are piled anyway anyhow - even in piles outside where the rain and elements ruin them. There is a series of steps connected by a platform that you can climb up and view the canal on the other side of a high wall- the steps and platform are simply stacks of heavy books

My Son-in-law found for me and purchased a delightful book called 'How Green Were The Nazis'.
Seriously.
It is not, unfotunately about how they fuelled their bombers with lead-free petrol, nor adjusted the engine exhausts of their V1 rockets to cause the minimum climate-change emisions of CO₂, but they certainly did have 'forward looking policies' to protect the environment in general. I am still reading it so will raise any interesting points I discover

On the inside my son-in-law comented that he looked for the complemanry volume but unfortunately could not find it - 'How Fascist Are the Greens'

[adamadamant]

Hmmm.... I find it hard to think that the Nazis cared about the environment, considering the havoc they wrought on it over the period of WW2.

[marchesarosa]

Don't you remember this spoof inspired by that book title that I posted years ago, nay?

Our listeners have looked at the Bookseller's list of odd titled tomes and had a go at writing the first few paragraphs of these intriguing books.....

The winning entry was written by TIM SANDERS



How Green Were The Nazis?

The sound of creaking leather from their collective greatcoats broke the silence as the assembled Wehrmacht officers leaned forward to examine the huge table map of the Spreewald, the vast forest area standing between the XI SS Panzer Corps and the Red Army.

The problem was clear - vast stretches of gorse in the forest (ulex europeus) were in flower and it was the nesting season of the rare inversely-spotted bark-spitter. "Well, gentlemen" General Busse announced to his colleagues "there is no way we can attack them through the forest - the damage to the environment would be too great. Our panzer tanks still emit excessive CO2 and the electric hybrid version is still on the drawing-board."

The other officers grunted in assent. There were those amongst them who could still recall the terrible Battle of the Somme in 1916 - how entire woods were destroyed, how the crash of the shells broke the noise abatement regulations as far away as Camden and how the noxious exhaust from the infernal English tanks caught the back of the men's throats. No, that was the carbon footprint to end all carbon footprints. Never again!

"However" the General continued, "I have developed a strategy that I believe you will find is sufficiently eco-friendly. The XI Panzer will move forward by bicycle on the left flank, the SS Mountain Corps will take the right flank using public transport - there is still a regular bus service from Lűbben after 10 o'clock- and we will send a small diversionary unit through the forest. But I must spell out one important message for them: keep to the paths and no shooting!".

www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/misc/titles_listener_suggestions_20070312.shtml