Luigi Barzini (1908-1984) was the author of an incomparable set of books on the United States, Europe, and Italy, includingnbsp; Americans are Alone in the World , andnbsp; The Italians . He served as a foreign correspondent for Corriere della Sera, and later as a liberal deputy in the Italian Parliament. He was described by the late Cyril Connolly as "a philosopher and master of the English language."