The Italian Americans

Maria Laurino strips away stereotypes and nostalgia to tell the complicated, centuries-long story of the true Italian-American experience. Looking beyond the familiar caricatures fostered by popular culture, she tells the stories of Sicilian workers imported to replace the labor of freed slaves, the grim realities from which most immigrants came, the lynchings of Italian Americans, and the first uses of the word "mafia." Laurino shows how Italian Americans dominated the fishing industry in San Francisco, helped save the city after the Great Fire, and were interned or restricted as "enemy aliens" during World War II. Readers will meet the celebrated NYPD officer who battled "The Black Hand"; sex-symbol Rudolph Valentino, who attracted both adoration and scorn; and Rosina Bonavita, the real-life "Rosie the Riveter." Laurino brings to light the significance of Italian American roots to generation-defining authors and poets like Diane DiPrima, and examines how Italian Americans' focus on family and community has influenced American politics. From anarchist radicals of the early twentieth century to Nancy Pelosi and Andrew Cuomo; from traditional artisans to rebel songsters like Frank Sinatra and Lady Gaga, this book explores and celebrates the rich history and ongoing vitality of Italian American life.--From publisher description.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.