The Italian American Experience in New Haven (SUNY Series in Italian/American Culture) [Hardcover]

Anthony V. Riccio (Author), Philip Langdon (Afterword), Mary Ann McDonald Carolan (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0791467732 | ISBN-13: 978-0791467732 | Publication Date: July 6, 2006

A compelling social history of a vibrant immigrant community, told through interviews and photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As he lovingly did in his book on Boston's North End in Portrait of an Italian American Neighborhood, Riccio narrates the history of New Haven through the stories and photos of the Italian-Americans who lived in and helped build the city. Be it the Annex, Wooster Square or Legion Avenue, Italians had lived and worked there since the first wave of immigration in the late 19th century. Riccio divides the story into chapters that encapsulate moments in history: "The Journey to America: Life on the Ships," "A New Life in New Haven," "The Depression in New Haven," "Highways and Urban Renewal: New Haven Changed Forever." The oral test to get citizenship in the U.S. was a terrifying ordeal, as many of these stories attest, and in one, a gentleman sweating profusely, is asked by the judge, "What flies above the court house?" The judge expects the answer to be "the American flag," but the nervous gentleman aptly replies, "pigeons." Even among Italians, there was a division between northerners and southerners (a large portion of whom hailed from Campania), with the minority of northerners looking down on the majority who came from the mezzogiorno. These are not always your stereotypical portraits of big happy Italian families, but instead, stories of the struggles Italian-Americans endured—and in several ways their stories are the stories of so many of those who immigrated to this country. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Anthony V. Riccio is Stacks Manager at the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University. He is the author of Portrait of an Italian-American Neighborhood: The North End of Boston.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 452 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (July 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791467732
• ISBN-13: 978-0791467732
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #577,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliantly written and highly recommended work that is as entertaining as it is informative, August 7, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Italian American Experience in New Haven (SUNY Series in Italian/American Culture) (Hardcover)

The Italian American Experience In New Haven: Images And Oral Histories by Anthony Riccio (Stacks Manager at the Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University) draws upon personal interviews as well as family and archival photographs to present a richly complex and fully realized history of the life and experiences of Italian immigrants who settled in New Haven, Connecticut in the 19th and 20th centuries. Not only is the daily pulse of life in the Italian-American community revealed in the life stories of ordinary men and women, the reader will discover how this immigrant community was affected by such landmark events as the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Great Depression, and World War II. Also revealed are the hardships of Italian immigrant women who labored under terrible (and often hazardous) conditions in New Haven's shirt factories. The integrations of historic photographs with the reported interviews transform The Italian American Experience In New Haven from just another ethnic American history into a compelling social history showcasing a vibrant, vigorous, colorful community. The result is a brilliantly written and highly recommended work that is as entertaining as it is informative.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book About New Haven Ever Written, August 15, 2006

By 

Frances Calzetta (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Italian American Experience in New Haven (SUNY Series in Italian/American Culture) (Hardcover)

Anthony Riccio captures the love , the sorrows, the hardships and the industrial and political life of New Haven in a way that no one before him has. How and why the Italians left the old world of a cruel Italy , an Italy only for the wealthy, is made patently clear in this book. The advantages and opportunities offered by a New America were varied and plentiful. Fortunately the Italian immigrant came here with an important work ethic and a desire for a family life which was rich in expectations and ambitions. Life was not easy for the first generation, but they 'made it' as we say in America. Their children achieved in the 1st 100 years in America what others took generations to do. Anthony allows the storytellers to say things in their own words so that the full flavor of their New Haven experience would be felt and understood by the readers. Anthony Riccio adds his own scholarly touch to the preface and to the beginnings of each and every chapter. The book is both a scholarly and authentic documentary of the Italian people who made a significant contribution to the growth and development of New Haven. They are an inspiration to all of what it takes to be successful . Read the book. If you read nothing else all year, this is the book to read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Italian memories, January 9, 2007

By 

F. Mitchell "Jet Jock" (Stark, NH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Italian American Experience in New Haven (SUNY Series in Italian/American Culture) (Hardcover)

I bought the book Italian American Experience in New Haven for my cousin who was born and raised there and is now elderly. As a child I spent many happy days at my Aunt and Uncles home, with my cousin.When the book arrived I flipped through it and found myself enjoying immensely the stories of people I didn't even know, but also finding it brought back many long forgotten memories of my own. I gave it to my cousin and he was so happy to read of and see photos of places that were from his own youth.
My only wish is that more families could have been included----my family lived on 29 Chapel street and I remember the pushcart man with the clams on the half shell and the little bakery at the corner. I would love another book that covers that end of town and includes more stories---maybe a contributory book where all the older Italians could send in their stories and photos to be made into another book.
The book is an escape to a happy, warm, loving, safe time of life. Pure pleasure for any Italian to read because it is like sitting at the kitchen table talking over a cup of coffee.
I highly recommend the book.