Italy '50s

Roth ( Paris in the Fifties ), who died in Rome in 1962, was, with his wife, Beulah, an ardent Italophile. And this photo album has its pleasures, including souvenirs of la dolce vita--a Neopolitan fruit dealer who proudly wields a melon knife, a horse that wears a jaunty cap to shield its face from the elements, and a demure cavalcade of nuns gathering in a field near Verona. Stargazers will also enjoy Roth's snaps of Ava Gardner, Romy Schneider and other luminaries. But large portions of the book are generic, showing boys and dogs tussling, signorinas doting on kittens, and the requisite street musicians, statuary and architectural wonders, much as we've seen them before. Nearly 40 pages document Italian artists in singularly frontal, unresourceful shots; though of some historical interest, their appeal is surely limited. The same is true of the volume as a whole: though noting the sights of his adopted home, in his photos Roth remains foremost a tourist, fondly collecting a superficial smattering of cultural cliches. (June)