Customer Reviews

La Storia: Five Centuries of the Italian American Experience

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a great book! It chanced to catch my eye in recently and I've found it hard to put down.

This book eloquently ties together the *entire* experience of the Sicilian immigrant before, during and after their arrival. Although it is light on the parallel history of Sicily (Sammartino's Sicily is an EZ read) the focus on the American aspect makes it that much more unique.

Yet, there is excellent treatment of what the hollow term "Italian" meant to a peasant from Sicily - not much. Once they came to the US, they were effectively lumped together with everyone from what had only recently been joined (and by force at that) into a nation. The authors also provide context to the socio-economic misery effectively inflicted upon the southern regions to the direct and exclusive benefit of northern regions.

Also demystified is the pervasive myth of the Mafia, originally perpetuated by northern Italians as reasons why their welcome in the South quickly wore out - the Sicilians were regularly maligned as genetically inferior, lazy, unintelligent and all part of the Mafia. With the constant perpetuation of the "secret-society" angle - it's has all the chracteristics of a great meme. The roots are detailed including how and who profited from this wicked myth including: opportunistic northernern Italians, sensationalist meida, ignorant Americans and isolated criminals interested in making themselves bigger than life.

It's a bitter irony that so many southern Italians immigrants and their descendants became successful in America while their own homeland refused to give then any opportunity. Armed with the facts, Italians and Italian-Americans have a chance to separate the fact from fiction.

I'm a 3rd generation (Sicilian-Calabrese) American originally from Chicago, and the book rang true again and again. My experiences, the stories that I'd heard from family and friends, the make-up of the neighborhood I grew up in and how the media often portrays Italians.

I recommend this book for all Italians, Italian-Americans and especially those of southern Italian descent. I'd even recommend this book to people that have friends and family that are Italian or have any interest in the culture.

Bravissimo to the authors for writing a detailed, well researched treatise on what for many of us has been unwritten until now.

A book of this sort was long overdue. Perhaps I am not familiar enough with works in this area, but it was refreshing to see a well researched, serious account of the early Italian American experience. As a second generation Sicilian, I can testify that the anecdotes regarding family traditions, etc are authentic. In addition, the book lends tremendous insight into the connection between current Italo-American customs and beliefs and their genesis and roots back in Sicily. This book is also a monument to the many and varied contributions that Italian -Americans have made to this country. It should serve as a wake-up call to all Italian-Americans that we have let assimilation rob us of our unique identity as Italians and as Americans. This book is a "must read" for all Italian-Americans and anyone who thinks (from thier exposure to shamefully biased and opportunistic gangster films) that they have even the vaguest notion of what it means to be an Italian American.

Did you know the largest mass lynching in American history was of Italian Americans?

I minored in Italian American studies as an undergrad. As you may imagine, there isn't that much literature out there that comprehensively covers "the Italian American experience", so La Storia was a recurring staple of the curricula for more than a few of my classes.

The information contained in this book is for the most part helpful, a great introduction from the beginnings of Italian Americana to the late 20th century. Many people today (regardless of heritage) do not know enough about Italian culture, although it is a huge part of the fabric of America. Also discussed is the political and economical history of 19th century Italy (something many Americans know nothing about), providing a nice starting point from which to put the Italian American experience into perspective. Although the authors mention the well-knowns like Al Capone and Fiorello Laguardia, what's great about La Storia is Mangione's and Morreale's inclusion of so many important personages of Italian heritage that have become lost in the sands of time.

My issue with this book is not its length but its density. So much information is crowded into every chapter, it's hard to retain all of it (and Mangione's excruciatingly wordy prose doesn't help). There are also some statistics and information nuggets that are uncited, but to the casual reader this won't be of any concern whatsoever.

La Storia is essentially the Bible of Italian American studies; a great cultural and historical overview, and a great introduction to the field. Ultimately, if you know next to nothing about Italian Americana, if you would like to enrich your knowledge, or if you just want to learn more about your cultural heritage, I recommend you buy this book.

I thought the book was generally good. However, I thought the authors were more defensive about Ialians than they should have been. I do not think the book can be used as "history" because it is not objective enough. There are also errors in the book. For example Joe Montana played football for the San Fransisco 49ers, not the Giants. Giants are baseball. They left out Willie Mosconi, perhaps one of the best billiards players in the world. For a book, in my opinion, to be used effectively as history, it has to be objective and dispassionate. This is very unfortunate because the authors had a wonderful opportunity to really "lay it out there" and let the facts speak for themselves. Nonetheless, I have sent this book to at least five friends and family because it is good reading socially and not for professional academic use.

So before time to give it, I had time to read it. What a history!! This should be required reading for EVERY person in America with Italian heritage! Learn, see what drove them here. Mostly concerned with around turn of century, tells where they came in ( I love the history of Ellis Island) but tells the awful conditions they were subjected to once here (most became the lowest in the pecking order of society) and how pitiful the women were. Why the Mafia gained power in America. You won't be sorry.

I love this book. It offers an extensive history of the Italian American experience. This book is used as the textbook for a course I took, and I found myself consumed by it. Something I really appreciate about how this book is written is that while it is about Italian-Americans, it is also about what they left behind in Italy, and why. The context provided is concise, but very informative. Topics covered in La Storia include the Risorgimento, conditions emigrants endured, anti-Italian discrimination, westward expansion in the U.S., the mafia, anarchism (Sacco & Vanzetti), the image of the Italian-American, hollywood, and politics.
This is a great read (albeit a long one), and I highly recommend it. The only reason I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 is that this book is mostly for those of Southern Italian and Sicilian extraction. Those who originate from Northern Italy may feel excluded.

La Storia provides an excellent historical record, as well as an in-depth discussion of the social consequences faced by immigrant Italians and their children. It is OUTSTANDING reading not only for Italian Americans (especially those of Southern Italian descent), but also for those wishing to better understand an often marginalized group of people who have contributed to this country in fascinating and tremendous ways. I have given this book as a gift to several friends.

Enjoyed it immensely. Covers the Sicilian immigrant experience with a focus on America very well. If you enjoy this book you undoubtedly will also appreciate Eleven Days in August, a delightful book by Amatore Mille that covers his relationship with his southern Italian grandparents.

All throughout grade school, High school and college I was always a bit disturbed that history classes spoke so little about the italian influence on the exploration of the New World. From reading this book you get a true picture of what the italians contributed to the early exploration of America. My parents are both immigrants from Sicily and they have told me a little about the trials and tribulations they and family members went through when they first arrived. Once I complete the book I will be sure to give a final review of the whole story. I want to take this opportunity to find out if the book is printed in Italian. My parents would love to read the story about their past experiences. Please send me an e-mail. Thank You

As a second and third generation Italian American and a scholar, I found the book warmed my heart but saddened my soul. The following example is telling. The unwarranted praise for Columbus glosses over his (mis)deeds from the first page. Yes, he wrote how "kind and trusting these people are" but then wrote that those qualities would make them easy to enslave. (He does mention slavery later on, but such "negative press" is glossed over. A fault throughout the book.) As for protecting the people from sailors - all I can say is read Columbus's actual diary yourself. The book is unbalanced and inaccurate in many areas, but I do not have the time to review all of those errors here, although some are pointed out by other reviewers. This book will reinforce some biases held by many Italian Americans, including most of my relatives (many of whom loved the book), perhaps dispel a few held about Italian Americans by others, but it falls short - more by sins of omission and a lack of dimension and complexity. I was sorely disappointed by that, even though the nostalgic sentiment I felt as Mangione provided a framework for the stories of my grandparents, was appreciated, the book did not do justice to its overly ambitious title.