BOOKS
BOOKS
Michelangelo at Midlife
and Rick Steves books & TV
Travel, history, music, poetry, the arts, personal life events, humor, and the shared universe of Big Ideas… all find expression in Gene Openshaw’s work.
His most recent book, which combines them all, is…
MICHELANGELO AT MIDLIFE: CHASING THE TOMB OF JULIUS II
A traveler’s quest for Michelangelo’s most troubled masterpiece.
FROM FLORENCE TO PARIS TO ROME, a man crisscrosses Europe in search of Michelangelo’s most notorious work: the Tomb of Pope Julius II. Along the way, he teams up with an intriguing Italian woman who opens his eyes to the artist’s troubled inner life and the personal struggle they all share—an acute midlife crisis…
Michelangelo at Midlife is typical of Gene’s work: ambitious, operatic, and hard to classify. It’s a hybrid, weaving two stories together, one fictional, one nonfiction. “Michelangelo’s story wrapped in a 21st century novel,” as one reviewer put it. At your local bookstore, you may find it variously shelved under “Biography,” “Art,” “Travel Literature,” or just plain “Fiction.”
The core of the book is Michelangelo’s story—his 40-year struggle to complete what he hoped would be his magnum opus. Incredibly, this is the only non-scholarly book (that is, “readable”) about the much-talked-about but little-known Tomb of Julius II.
But that’s just the start. Gene himself described how the book evolved as he wrote it: “It began as a purely nonfiction account. But I wanted it to have a sense of ‘place,’ so I added a modern traveler following in Michelangelo’s actual footsteps. Next, that traveler became fictional, to add a dramatic layer. Then I realized the traveler—though highly fictionalized—was kind of like me, and, suddenly, whoa! this is my story!”
The book kept growing. An array of colorful graphics (by Dave Hoerlein) and elegant design (by Sandra Hundacker) transformed the book from a story of words to one also told visually. Taken together, all those elements aim for an emotional impact that’s greater than the sum of the parts. With its evocative travelogue, colorful images, and history detective story, Michelangelo at Midlife is a fast read for lovers of the arts with a romantic streak.
“A delightful combination of art history and light drama… told with intelligence… conveyed with impressive emotional poignancy… filled with humor and tinged with an ironic acknowledgement of the travails of life. This is an entertaining treat.” -- Kirkus Reviews
“Like a trip to Italy: edifying, informative, and unpredictable.” -- BookLife Reviews
Michelangelo at Midlife is available wherever you get your books—in print, e-book, or audiobook. Consider supporting your local brick-and-mortar bookstore (rather than Amazon) by ordering it directly from them.
RICK STEVES BOOKS
Gene and travel guru Rick Steves met in 7th grade and have been collaborating off and on ever since.
Together they’ve written numerous books and TV shows, with Gene specializing in making Europe’s history, art, and culture accessible to the traveler. Their guidebooks (to Paris, Rome, London, etc.) are some of the best-selling in the English language. The full-color art book “Europe’s Top 100 Masterpieces” is a breezy overview of Western art with full-color, full-page illustrations. “Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler” is still going strong after four decades.
For PBS TV, Rick and Gene have co-authored a number of specials, such as “Fascism in Europe,” and the ambitious six-hour documentary covering the entire history of the “Art of Europe.” Gene has also produced dozens of audio tours, where Rick guides travelers through historic sites.
The adventures of Rick and Gene traveling across Asia are documented in Rick’s published journal, “On the Hippie Trail.” With Gene as the editor, the book was a New York Times Bestseller and a 2025 honoree by the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation. In 2026, the paperback was released, also hitting the NYT Bestseller list.
MICHELANGELO NEWS (Oct 11-18)
The Sistine Saga, Part II: Beginnings
In October 1508, Michelangelo laid down the first hopeful brushstroke on the Sistine Ceiling.
He’d already put in nearly 6 months on the project.
The Ceiling was vast—some 5,000 square feet—and 60 feet up. So first he had to erect scaffolding—ingeniously stretching, not floor-to-ceiling, but from wall-to wall. Assistants scraped off the Ceiling’s old paint (depicting a starry blue sky) and laid down primer. Meanwhile, Michelangelo sketched the hundreds of figures he had in mind.
Finally, the Ceiling was prepped, and Michelangelo could begin.
He was working in fresco—that is, painting on plaster that’s still wet (or “fresh”), allowing the paint to soak in, locking in the colors when the plaster dries.
The process was laborious: mix the plaster, trowel it on, then lay on a big paper “cartoon” to create the scene’s outlines. Michelangelo had to work quickly, to finish before the plaster dried. If he got it wrong—fftt—they’d have to scrape off the plaster and start all over again.
Michelangelo began with Noah’s Flood. He divided this scene into 8 sections, each small enough to finish in a single day.
He immediately ran into a cascade of problems—poorly-mixed plaster, cold weather, a leak in the roof, a salty crystal fuzz. Time and again, he had to scrape everything off and start over. What he thought would take days took months.
It was hard work, but by early 1509 the Flood was finally done. All in all, it had taken him nearly 9 months to complete this, the Ceiling’s first scene.
That’s 112 square feet down…
… 5,000 to go.
Next week’s episode: What did I get myself into?