La Storia: Five Centuries of the Italian American Experience (Paperback)

by Jerre Mangione (Author) "Nearly five centuries before modern Italy became a nation and Italians began migrating to the Americas in large numbers, Italians were adventuring under the sponsorship..." (more)
Key Phrases: emigration fever, New York, Italian American, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The core of this gripping, panoramic chronicle is the mass emigration of Italians to the U.S. between 1880 and 1924. Their road to assimilation was marked by hard work, family solidarity, tradition-laden weddings and joyous festivals, but also by poverty, miserable housing, dangerous working conditions and marriages that "often seethed with tensions" despite a public image of unity and warmth. Mangione ( Mussolini's March on Rome ) and Morreale ( A Few Virtuous Men ) trace discrimination against Italian Americans, arguing that politicians and the media fanned prejudice after WW II by resurrecting the Mafia image of the 1890s. They discuss Italian Americans' awareness or denial of their heritage, providing cameos of Sacco and Vanzetti, Fiorello LaGuardia, Frank Sinatra, Don DeLillo, John Ciardi, Francis Coppola and dozens more. Early chapters discuss Italian adventurers (such as Columbus) and Italians who fought in the American Revolution and the Civil War; a later one touches on intermarriage and divorce, which have contributed to the decline of immigrant culture. A magnificent saga that illuminates a century of accomplishment and struggle. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-- The richness and variety of the Italian immigrant experience in America are captured here. Portraying the journey from the harshness and poverty of rural Italy and Sicily to the teeming ghettos of New York, Boston, and other American cities, the authors tell of the five-and-a-half million Italians who made the voyage. Utilizing newspaper articles, diaries, and novels to record first-hand recollections, their stories provide a microcosm of the immigrant experience, in general, and a record of the many contributions of Italian-Americans to the cultural mosaic of the United States. A rich source of materials for understanding the multicultural experience.
- Richard Lisker, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (September 15, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060924411
• ISBN-13: 978-0060924416
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #258,467 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding...Meaningful in a very personal way..., July 11, 1999

By	D. Gugghiermu Tassone "thedom" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is outstanding, November 5, 1998

By A Customer

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.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Review of La Storia, February 8, 2000

By	"spomoni" (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

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.