Bread and Respect: The Italians of Louisiana [Hardcover]

A. Margavio (Author), Jerome Salamone (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2002

Using vignettes, family histories, and census as well as other historical records, this book examines how Italian culture shaped the lives of the immigrants to Louisiana and, in turn, how experiences in Louisiana modified the Old World values and culture the Italians brought with them.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Margavio, A. V. is a Pelican Publshing author.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (August 31, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589800230
• ISBN-13: 978-1589800236
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,137,947 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent regional/ethnic history, November 19, 2002

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Bread and Respect: The Italians of Louisiana (Hardcover)

About 70,000 Italians entered the Port of New Orleans in the first thirty years of the 20th century, most of them in response to widespread poverty in Sicily and the demand for labor among Louisiana planters. Land ownership was rare in Sicily and conditions were crowded and unpleasant in the northeastern urban slums of the U.S., but in Louisiana the immigrants settled mostly in rural areas and quickly became the principal food producers for the state. They often were not welcomed, however, by those who came before, as in the infamous lynching of a dozen Italians who had been arrested but not charged following the murder of New Orleans Police Chief David Hennessey in October, 1890. Margavio and Salomone, both professors of sociology, have done an excellent job in depicting the gradual assimilation of Italians and their culture, from muffalettas and Roman Candy in New Orleans to Nick La Rocca's Original Dixieland Jazz Band and the activities of the Societa Italiana di Mutua Beneficenza Cefautana. There are today hundreds of thousands of Italian-Americans living in Louisiana and this book should be of interest to most of them.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be Turned into a Video Documentary!, July 21, 2004

By 

Valjean (Salem, Ma United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread and Respect: The Italians of Louisiana (Hardcover)

Margavio and Salomone's enlightening masterpiece chronicles the history of Italian-Americans who immigrated to Southeastern Louisiana during the late 1800's, where they were not welcomed warmly. The title "Bread and Respect" refers to the two main goals of this group of immigrants, whose plight has been ignored in popular and educational literature in favor of examinations of the Italian immigrants who established homes in New York and Boston. Unfortunately, such examinations of Italian immigrants to the Northeastern U.S. are often disseminated to the masses as works of fiction that are woven from some realistic elements (ie: the Godfather). This book, on the other hand, is an objective examination of a group of immigrants who endured the predjudices of an entire state and managed to carve their culture into the heart of New Orleans.

For entertainment value alone, this book should be turned into a filmed documentary. Margarvio and Salomone take us through several vignettes that are, in and of themselves, indicative of real life sucess stories. These case studies, if you will, illustrate the pains and triumphs of an immigrant group that fell prey to mass lynchings and false accusations in the 1890's. There is a little known fact that the treatment of Italian immigrants in Lousiana almost led to the brink of war with Italy, prompting King Umberto to recall his diplomats to the U.S..

Moreover, the educational value of such an anthropological study is priceless. I am not suprised by the reviewer who states her family's astonishment over the fact that there were massive groups of Italian immigrants in Louisiana. Recently, an associate of mine from North Boston, seemed to be in awe of this fact saying "I didn't know there were THAT many Italians in Louisiana...I thought they all went to Boston and New York". I was not suprised by these comments, having recently read George Takaki's "A Different Mirror", an acclaimed study of ethnic groups in America, which makes no mention of the plight of Italians in Louisiana.

There were not only Italians who immigrated to Louisiana, but their story is the story of a true hard-fought battle. That story is chronicled in "Bread and Respect". This book should be required reading for every upper-level Anthropology and Sociology student in the United States.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rini Family Best Seller, January 15, 2004

By 

Vanessa M. Rini (Frederick, MD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bread and Respect: The Italians of Louisiana (Hardcover)

I was looking for a gift for my Dad's birthday in July, and I saw this title recommended on OSIA's website. I ordered a copy for my Dad and myself. After I finished my copy I left it with my Uncle to read. My Dad an my Uncle have been telling all our family about THE BOOK. I was actually in LA & my Dad introduced me to his cousins by saying SHE'S THE ONE THAT FOUND THE BOOK. Dad and all his relatives can't stop talking about it. I grew up in Maryland and it was interesting to me from a historical and cultural perspective about my roots. I remember hearing my parents and grandparents talk about the people and places. It was interesting listening to my Dad & his family who grew up in New Orleans talk about the book, because they not only knew the people but it seems like they were related to them or had a relative who was; they had been to the places described; and they or their parents had been involved in many of the events. It provides a wonderful family history for me to pass down to my daughter.