The Lanzis: The Boundless Shades of Life, is the story of the Lanzi family, bursting with reality, painful, beautiful and remorseless. The author, Giancarlo Gabbrielli, takes you to Tuscany and into the period that followed the Great War, during the time of the rise of Fascism and finally into the specter of World War II. Well-known events are seen through new eyes, in an original and refreshingly appealing way. The story portrays 'real' people as they are seldom characterized in American literature, real, raw and full of emotion. The Lanzis: The Boundless Shades of Life chronicles a proud family who resist the pressures of an autocratic Regime. They find love amidst the hatred of a savage world while they endeavor to maintain a healthy, balanced perspective on their friends and their enemies. 'Hold your friends close and your enemies closer' becomes their way of life. This is also the poignant story of a young boy, sexually coming of age, and his innocence set against the backdrop of the war.