The Book of the Courtier, Baldassare Castiglione's classic account of Renaissance court life, offers profound insight into the refined behavior which defined the era's ruling class. The courtly customs and manners of Italy to a great extent characterized the Renaissance, which elevated art and expression to new heights. Baldassare Castiglione published this book with the intention of chronicling the manners, customs and traditions which underpinned how courtiers, nobles, and their servants, behaved. Although ostensibly a book of etiquette and good conduct, Castiglione's treatise carries enormous historical value. He derived his observations directly from the many gatherings and receptions conducted by society's elite. Conversations with the officials, diplomats and nobility of the era further enhanced the accuracy of this book, imbuing it with an authenticity seldom seen elsewhere.

Though many of the rules deal with matters of etiquette--such as whom should rise for whom in mixed company--many concern far deeper matters that touch on personal philosophies about judgment, honor, success and conscience. As a peek into the manners of a bygone age, this is an intriguing work. As a peek into a great mean in his formative years, this is an extraordinary one.He was an American Founding Father and the new nation's first president, but before that, GEORGE WASHINGTON(1732-1799) was an excruciatingly correct child with a passion for propriety. At the age of 14, he copied out 110 rules for elegant deportment from a work created by Jesuits in the 16th century as a guide for young gentlemen of quality, and through these rules, which he took greatly to heart, we can see the beginning of the man Washington would become taking shape.

Your choices, charm, and chutzpah can revitalize your community. In her first book, Bogorad reminds us that we are all social beings, who need to socially interact to thrive as individuals and to sustain strong communities. She shares with us the theory that social isolation leads to victimization and weakens our communities. And she warns us that social cannibalism may consume us if we continue to ignore our need and our obligation to socially interact with each other. If you are a person whose community has been weakened by incivility, victimization, and/or addiction, the ideas within her book may help you strengthen your community. Or if you are a person, who has minimal contact with other people, her ideas may provide you with a reason to increase the quantity and quality of your interactions. Or if you are a person, who lives in a community without incivility, victimization, and addiction, the contents of her book may help you understand those of us whose social environment is not as perfect as yours. But no matter who you are, reading her book will cause you to wonder about the importance of civility and the costs of incivility. Remember: We all need a village. And ponder: What we do not say does hurt us, and our polite interaction with others strengthens us and our community. according to Bogorad.