By Marjorie Kehe

John Hooper, Rome correspondent for The Economist and The Guardian, has lived in Italy for more than 20 years – long enough, he says, to understand that Italians today don't want to see their country change too much. Yet many of them are also deeply frustrated by its lack of progress.

Can a country unwilling to let of its traditions – everything from the primacy of its cuisine to the dominance of its churches – learn new ways? Hooper recently answered questions from Monitor books editor Marjorie Kehe on his new book, The Italians, an exploration of the country's character and contradictions.

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Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/