John Maggio
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
In postwar America, Italian Americans seem finally to have arrived. They move to the suburbs, attend college and enter the middle-class. Italian American crooners define American cool, with Frank Sinatra leading the pack. But even as he skyrockets to fame, he is haunted by accusations of Mafia ties, an albatross Sinatra cannot escape from. Can Italian Americans ever fit into 1950s America, or will the specter of organized crime always bring them down?...
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
A brief history of the Italian Risorgimento provides the context for the great flight from the mezzogiorno region, as well as the roots of the first generation's distinctive psychology. Through the travels of Italian migrant workers, we understand the transnational nature of these Birds of Passage. By the late 19th century, Italians begin to put down roots. Little Italy's spring up in urban areas throughout the U.S. But the first generation holding...
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
At the turn of the 20th century, over 4 million Italians immigrate to America to start new lives. Although mistrustful of government institutions, parents send their children to public school to succeed in America. Leonard Covello is forced to give up his old world ways and adapt American mores, including changing his name; Arturo Giovannitti, a new immigrant to America, leads the largest labor strike of 1912, where Italian Americans push for better...
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
A second generation of Italian Americans begins to enter the labor movement, politics, sports and entertainment. Fiorello LaGuardia beats Tammany Hall, the Irish Political machine in New York, to become Mayor and represent the little guy. Joe DiMaggio, the son of a fisherman in San Francisco, becomes a powerhouse, who breaks the record for consecutive hits and becomes an All-American hero. But with the outbreak of World War II, Italians' loyalty to...
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
The Italian Americans reveals the unique and distinctive qualities of one immigrant group's experience, and how these qualities, over time, have shaped and challenged America. Unlike other immigrant groups, many Italians did not come to America to stay. At the turn of the 20th century, most came to work, earn money to support their families, and eventually return home. Nearly half of the first generation Italian immigrants did return to Italy. For...