From the author of VALI MYERS--A MEMOIR.

Complimenting his VALI MYERS--A MEMOIR (2006), Gianni Menichetti's ANIMAL LOVES OF MY LIFE is a magical collection of stories--biographies, really--of foxes, donkeys, goats, pigs, cats, dogs, chickens, birds, a flying fox, and a particular monkey, among others, and they are stories told with great love, pathos, and humor.

Having lived in the Valley of Il Porto, the wild "kingdom by the sea" above Positano since 1971, Gianni continues to care for a large and much loved family of animals, many of whom are descended from those written about in these pages. Vali Myers herself is a constant presence throughout the book, which is enlivened with illustrations--drawings and photographs--by Vali, Gianni, Joanna Pallaris, and others.