"Rome has always been a source of both inspiration and fascination to me. From my first moments in the city, I have been charmed by its beauty, history, and people, so much so that the idea of living here quickly took hold and never uprooted.

Moving to Italy was a dream finally fulfilled after a twenty-year long love affair with the city, and from the beginning of my residence it has been my intention to write about Rome and its inhabitants.

I have been noting with painstaking persistence all the things that seemed to me remarkable about the city, especially the differences in the ways of being, thinking, feeling that contrast Rome and the Romans from their American and European counterparts.

I have tried to portray the city as it is lived everyday, an experience that is deeper, more varied and ultimately more incredible than a trip to the city of whatever duration.

For it is in the daily interaction with the people that the true nature of the city emerges -- maddening, frustrating, challenging, yet ultimately sweet, sensual, and satisfying. It forces you to adapt to its rhythm, way of life, values and priorities. And in the end it pleases you because of its slower, more human pace, a life focused on the enjoyment of the present, which lures you into a completely different way of being."

Alan Epstein

Since 1995, Alan Epstein, following the cumulative advice of his own books, has lived happily in the heart of Rome, with his wife, Diane, and their two sons, who attend Italian public school. He is the founder of As the Romans Do, a cultural association that offers customized guided tours, corporate travel retreats, seminars in Rome and Italy. Alan is the author of How to Be Happier Day by Day: A Year of Mindful Actions, (which became a Publishers Weekly bestseller after it was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show) and has been translated into nine languages; How to Have More Love in Your Life: Everyday Actions for Nourishing Heart and Soul; and Anything Is Possible: Real-Life Tales and Universal Lessons (all Viking/Penguin), and As the Romans Do: The Delights, Dramas, and Daily Diversions of Life in the Eternal City (William Morrow, April, 2000). His books elaborate on the extraordinary possibilities inherent in everyday life, both in America and Italy.

A native of Philadelphia, he received his Ph.D. in European History from New York University and has gone on to become an author, private tour guide, and commentator on Italian life and customs.

Alan Epstein has appeared as a guest on countless talk shows and has given hundreds of radio interviews. Alan reports on the pleasures of Italian life, and has been a regular Europe correspondent for American radio. He has been featured in: People Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Oprah Winfrey Show.

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Books Seen on the Show -- Featuring As the Romans Do