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An Italian Grows in Brooklyn
by Jerry Della Femina Charles SopkinA funny, touching, and bitter memoir about myths and misconceptions of being Italian American. Within a thirty-year span in the early 19th century, the Delia Femina family nearly empties their Italian village near Naples and migrates to Brooklyn's Gravesend neighborhood in the United States. The Italian's inability to let anyone leave the family meant the family moved intact to the United States as they kept their village habits and customs.
The Italian Home for Children
by Christopher F. SmallAs it ravaged the world, the influenza epidemic of 1918 devastated Boston's congested North End and left hundreds of orphans in its wake. Touched by this crisis, a Roman Catholic priest and a group of Italian Americans founded the first home for Italian children in Massachusetts. Franciscan Sisters devoted 24 hours a day to providing the children with a safe, loving, and spiritual environment. In addition, the home provided educational support for its residents. Over time, the changing needs of children mandated that the agency change the nature of its services from custodial care to treatment. In 1974, in response to the changing political and social climate, the agency became the Italian Home for Children. Today, it is a nonprofit, nonsectarian residential treatment facility with a capacity for 61 children of all races, nationalities, and religions. The images in The Italian Home for Children document milestones in the organization's history: the devastating influenza epidemic, the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Christmas plays, a visit from Joe DiMaggio, trips to Canobie Lake Park in the summer, the Tony Martin benefit performance at Boston Garden, and the home as it is today--a refuge for children in the most severe crises.
Italian Hours
by Henry JamesIt is a great pleasure to write the word; but I am not sure there is not a certain impudence in pretending to add anything to it. Venice has been painted and described many thousands of times, and of all the cities of the world is the easiest to visit without going there. Open the first book and you will find a rhapsody about it; step into the first picture-dealer's and you will find three or four high-coloured "views" of it. There is notoriously nothing more to be said on the subject. Every one has been there, and every one has brought back a collection of photographs. There is as little mystery about the Grand Canal as about our local thoroughfare, and the name of St. Mark is as familiar as the postman's ring. It is not forbidden, however, to speak of familiar things, and I hold that for the true Venice-lover Venice is always in order. There is nothing new to be said about her certainly, but the old is better than any novelty. It would be a sad day indeed when there should be something new to say. I write these lines with the full consciousness of having no information whatever to offer. I do not pretend to enlighten the reader; I pretend only to give a fillip to his memory; and I hold any writer sufficiently justified who is himself in love with his theme.
Italian Oakland (Images of America)
by Rick MalaspinaOakland, the other city by the bay, was a magnet for Italian immigrants in the early decades of the 20th century. Some relocated from San Francisco after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire; many more came to Oakland predominantly from Italy's northern regions of Piedmont, Liguria, and Lombardy in search of opportunity and prosperity. These pioneers worked hard, typically at backbreaking labor, to build new lives. They raised a generation of children who succeeded in their own right and contributed in various ways to their community and nation. As they established new roots and adopted new ways, congregating largely in north Oakland's vibrant and bustling Temescal neighborhood, these Italian Americans also nurtured their Old Country customs and traditions--many of which, along with rare glimpses of bygone days, are portrayed in this charming trip through time.
Italian Staten Island (Images of America)
by Andrew Paul Mele James P. MolinaroThe great wave of European immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries brought more than four million Italians to America. It was one of the greatest mass emigrations in world history, and many settled in Staten Island. Following the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964, the island experienced another great influx of Italian immigrants, this time from the other boroughs of New York City. This new wave was responsible for doubling the island population by the year 2000. Italian Americans are evident in every avocation and in each corner of Staten Island society, with achievers in education, business, government, medicine, and sports and entertainment. Italian Staten Island chronicles the traditions, culture, and heritage of Italian Americans through more than 200 photographs.
The Italian Summer
by Roland MerulloFore, bella! From the author of critically acclaimed Golfing with God comes a charming narrative of a hole-in-one trip through Italy -- a glorious summer of golfing, eating, and learning how to slow down and enjoy life. In the summer of 2007, Roland Merullo was feeling a little burnt out by the frantic pace of his life in the United States and decided to rent an Italian villa near the shore of Lake Como. He arrived in Italy with his wife and two young daughters, hoping the Mediterranean air would teach him to appreciate the more relaxed, Italian way of living: a focus on food, family, and fun. An avid golfer and golf writer, Merullo also set out to enjoy one of Italy's lesser-known treasures: excellent golf on some gorgeous courses. With his customary wit, keen eye, and down-to-earth style, Merullo shares this fascinating account of his summer in Italy, offering detailed and often humorous descriptions of wonderful meals, colorful characters, rounds of golf at some of the most beautiful courses in Europe, and precious time spent with family. The Italian Summer brings to life the myriad joys of Italian existence in a way that all lovers of food, wine, travel, and the proverbial "good walk spoiled" will savor.
The Italian Woman: A Catherine De' Medici Novel (Catherine de Medici #2)
by Jean PlaidyFrom an author who “excels at blending history with romance and drama,” a novel based on the life of the powerful queen, Catherine de’ Medici (The New York Times).When Catherine de’ Medici was forced to marry Henry, Duke of Orleans, her heart was not the only one that was broken. Jeanne of Navarre once dreamed of marrying this same prince, but, like Catherine, she must comply with France’s political needs. And so both Catherine’s and Jeanne’s lives are set on unwanted paths, destined to cross in affairs of state, love, and faith, driving them to become deadly political rivals.Years later Jeanne is happily married to the dashing but politically inept Antoine de Bourbon. But the widowed Catherine is now the ambitious mother of princes, and she will do anything to see her beloved second son, Henry, rule France. As civil war ravages the country and Jeanne fights for the Huguenot cause, Catherine advances along her unholy road, making enemies at every turn.“Plaidy has brought the past to life.” —Times Literary Supplement
The Italians
by John HooperA vivid and surprising portrait of the Italian people from an admired foreign correspondentHow can a nation that spawned the Renaissance have produced the Mafia? How could people concerned with bella figura (keeping up appearances) have elected Silvio Berlusconi as their leader--not once, but three times? Sublime and maddening, fascinating yet baffling, Italy is a country of seemingly unsolvable riddles.John Hooper's entertaining and perceptive new book is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to understand contemporary Italy and the unique character of the Italians. Digging deep into their history, culture, and religion, Hooper offers keys to understanding everything from their bewildering politics to their love of life and beauty. Looking at the facts that lie behind the stereotypes, he sheds new light on many aspects of Italian life: football and Freemasonry, sex, symbolism, and the reason why Italian has twelve words for a coat hanger, yet none for a hangover.Even readers who think they know Italy well will be surprised, challenged, and delighted by The Italians.
Italians in Chicago: 1945-2005 (Voices of America)
by Dominic CandeloroThe stories of Chicago's Italian communities are an important part of the rich and diverse mosaic of Chicago history. As a rail center, an industrial center, and America's fastest growing major city, Chicago offered opportunities for immigrants from all nations. Italians in Chicago presents an intriguing narrative record of the earliest beginnings of Italian communities in the city, going back to the 1850s. It explores the lives of ten significant members of the Chicago Italian-American community.This book is a collaborative, cumulative effort, and gives glimpses and echoes of what occurred in the Italian-American past in Chicago. Including vintage images and tales of such individuals as Father Armando Pierini, Anthony Scariano, and Joe Bruno, and groups such as the Aragona Club and the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society, this collection uncovers the challenges and triumphs of these Italian immigrants.
Italians in Chicago: 1945-2005 (Images of America)
by Dominic CandeloroThe stories of Chicago's Italian communities are an important part of the rich and diverse mosaic of Chicago history. As a rail center, an industrial center, and America's fastest growing major city, Chicago offered opportunities for immigrants from all nations. Italians in Chicago presents an intriguing narrative record of the earliest beginnings of Italian communities in the city, going back to the 1850s. It explores the lives of ten significant members of the Chicago Italian-American community.This book is a collaborative, cumulative effort, and gives glimpses and echoes of what occurred in the Italian-American past in Chicago. Including vintage images and tales of such individuals as Father Armando Pierini, Anthony Scariano, and Joe Bruno, and groups such as the Aragona Club and the Maria Santissima Lauretana Society, this collection uncovers the challenges and triumphs of these Italian immigrants.
Italians in Chicago: 1945-2005 (Images of America)
by Dominic CandeloroMore than 25,000 Italian immigrants came to Chicago after 1945. The story of their exodus and reestablishment in Chicago touches on war torn Italy, the renewal of family and paesani connections, the bureaucratic challenges of the restrictive quota system, the energy and spirit of the new immigrants, and the opportunities and frustrations in American society. Drawn from scores of family albums, these intimate snapshots tell the story of the unique and universal saga of immigration, a core theme in American and Italian history.
Italians in Detroit (Images of America)
by Armando DelicatoPeople of Italian descent have been present in Detroit since Alfonso Tonti, second-in-command to Antoine Cadillac, participated in the founding of the city in 1701. By the close of the 19th century, the trickle of Italian immigrants had become a torrent, as thousands rushed to the growing industrial center. Settling on the lower east side, the community grew rapidly, especially north and east into Macomb County. Italians in Detroit did not remain in a "little Italy," but mingled with the diverse population of the city. Through a combination of hard work and strong family and community ties, the Italians of Detroit have achieved their dreams of a better life. They have met the challenges of living in a new land while nurturing the culture of the old country. The challenge that remains is to nurture a love ofheritage among young Italian Americans as the immigrant generation fades.
Italians in Haverhill
by Patricia Trainor O’malleyItalian immigrants became permanent residents of Haverhill in the 1870s. The original Genoese first drew their relatives and friends from their home area to join them. Over the next few decades, they were joined by families from the central province of Abruzzi and from the towns and villages around Naples. Immigrants from parts of southern Italy, such as Calabria and Apulia and Sicily, settled here. All of the Italians, whether northern or southern, brought with them their culture, their vitality, their love of music, and their close family ties. Using over two hundred thirty vintage photographs, Italians in Haverhill takes a photographic walk through the exciting history of these immigrants. The images bring back to life representatives of more than two hundred families, whose descendants still live in the area. Here are the fruit sellers and shoe workers, the mothers and their children, the ball players and the musicians, the lawyers and doctors, and the bankers and civic leaders who make up the rich heritage of this important ethnic group.
Italians of Northeastern Pennsylvania (Images of America)
by Stephanie LongoEvery Labor Day weekend, hundreds of thousands of people flock to Courthouse Square in Scranton for the largest ethnic festival in northeastern Pennsylvania: La Festa Italiana. The Italians of this region have been proudly celebrating their heritage since their arrival in this country with traditional festivals, including La Corsa dei Ceri in Jessup and Dunmore's procession in honor of St. Rocco. Using vintage and recent photographs, Italians of Northeastern Pennsylvania shows how the Italian immigrants to this area, some of whom arrived with little more than the clothes on their back, became well-respected community leaders. Through hard work and dedication, they have made northeastern Pennsylvania into an area that defines the term "ethnic pride."
Italians of San Joaquin County (Images of America)
by Ralph A. Clark Pacific Italian AllianceItalians were among the first European settlers in California, as fishermen from Italy arrived in the 1830s. After gold was discovered in 1848, immigrants from all over the world came for the opportunity that California presented. For the Italians, they encountered a terrain and climate so similar to their homeland that many stayed on to make California their new home. In San Joaquin County, the Italian influence remains profound, with the immigrants and their descendants helping develop the area's cultural, agricultural, and business climate into what it is today. The legacy of the Italian pioneers has enriched San Joaquin County in immeasurable ways. Every aspect of life here has been touched, molded, and made better by this industrious group who came to a distant land to make a better life.
Italians of Stark County (Images of America)
by J. A. MusacchiaImages of America: Italians of Stark County focuses on Italian immigration into Stark County beginning in the late 1800s. At the time, Stark County's urban hub of Canton and the surrounding communities were in the middle of a thriving expansion driven by industry, transportation, and manufacturing. Along with this growth came the need for labor, with immigration filling many of those needs. Italians came to Stark County to work in the steel mills, in the coal mines, and on the railroad, as well as to start their own small businesses. Once established, Italian families began to replicate the community foundations from their native land, and in turn these foundations reinforced embedded values: family, food, religion, music, and freedom.
Italians of the Monterey Peninsula
by Mike VentimigliaSince the early 1900s, Monterey was known for its fishing, mostly for salmon and the abalone that was plentiful in Monterey Bay. The migration of the Sicilian Italian community is credited for reaping what was called the "Silver Harvest." The Silver Harvest is the name that was given to the fishing of sardines in Monterey, which mostly was done by the Sicilian Italians who established the working fabric in the sardine industry for nearly five decades. Most of that generation is gone, and only a few are memorialized in books. It is this author's attempt to capture the working class that made Monterey the "Sardine Capital of the World."
Italo Calvino: Letters, 1941-1985 - Updated Edition
by Italo CalvinoThe first collection of letters in English by one of the great writers of the twentieth centuryThis is the first collection in English of the extraordinary letters of one of the great writers of the twentieth century. Italy's most important postwar novelist, Italo Calvino (1923-1985) achieved worldwide fame with such books as Cosmicomics, Invisible Cities, and If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler. But he was also an influential literary critic, an important literary editor, and a masterful letter writer whose correspondents included Umberto Eco, Primo Levi, Gore Vidal, Leonardo Sciascia, Natalia Ginzburg, Michelangelo Antonioni, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Luciano Berio. This book includes a generous selection of about 650 letters, written between World War II and the end of Calvino’s life. Selected and introduced by Michael Wood, the letters are expertly rendered into English and annotated by well-known Calvino translator Martin McLaughlin.The letters are filled with insights about Calvino’s writing and that of others; about Italian, American, English, and French literature; about literary criticism and literature in general; and about culture and politics. The book also provides a kind of autobiography, documenting Calvino’s Communism and his resignation from the party in 1957, his eye-opening trip to the United States in 1959-60, his move to Paris (where he lived from 1967 to 1980), and his trip to his birthplace in Cuba (where he met Che Guevara). Some lengthy letters amount almost to critical essays, while one is an appropriately brief defense of brevity, and there is an even shorter, reassuring note to his parents written on a scrap of paper while he and his brother were in hiding during the antifascist Resistance.This is a book that will fascinate and delight Calvino fans and anyone else interested in a remarkable portrait of a great writer at work.
Italy, Land of Searching Hearts: The Story of Arthur and Emma Wiens, and the Need for the Gospel in Italy
by Evelyn Stenbock-DittyA True Story from the forgotten mission field of Europe. "Italy is one of the most neglected mission fields in all Europe. Art Wiens has had a lifetime of service there and he is one of my heroes." George Verwer, Operation Mobilisation. "Art and Erma Wiens are the true prototype of those who have led the way in missionary work in Europe... will help in the understanding of the challenge of Europe as a mission field."
It's $5 Extra for Cerebral Palsy
by Anthony M. Aversano Marie A. LacerraMarie A. Lacerra was born with severe Cerebral Palsy before the days of "accessibility," "normalization," and laws protecting the rights of people with disabilities. However, despite a world which was not ready for her, Marie was blessed with family and friends who were ahead of their time and not afraid to show the world who Marie was. Finally released from the prison of unintelligible speech by modern technology, Marie is now able to tell her stories --stories much like the ones we tell everyday: filled with love and laughter, tears and loss, hope and courage. With the help of a special "word hunting" computer, and a deep desire to communicate, her inspirational stories reveal the power of the human spirit and paint a vivid picture of the prejudice and difficulties a person with Cerebral Palsy must face.
It's a Helluva Town: Joan K. Davidson, the J.M. Kaplan Fund, and the Fight for a Better New York
by Roberta Brandes GratzA history of the J.M. Kaplan Fund and its role in shaping New York City, from World War II to the present.The J.M. Kaplan Fund was established in 1945 by Jacob M. Kaplan, and would go on to play a critical role in New York City's cultural and urban life. Kaplan's long leadership of the Fund (1945-1977) was marked by determined advocacy, including the effort to save Carnegie Hall from destruction, support for institutions like The New School for Social Research and the South Street Seaport Museum, as well as to bolster the cause of union democracy, the arts, and the co-operative movement. Since the 1970s, the Fund has been led by Kaplan's daughter, Joan K. Davidson, who has led the Fund to its current place as a forceful presence in New York City's civic life, supporting the Westbeth Artists Housing, Greenmarkets, and more.
It's a Jungle Up There: More Tales from the Treetops
by Margaret D. Lowman Edward Burgess James Burgess Ghillean T. PranceDrawn to the mysteries of tropical rain forests and fascinated by life in the treetops, Meg Lowman has pursued a life of scientific exploration while raising her two sons, Edward and James Burgess. This book recounts their family adventures in remote parts of the world (Samoa, West Africa, Peru, Panama, India, Biosphere 2, and others), from the perspectives of both kids and parent. Together they explore tropical rain forests, encounter anacondas and piranhas, eat crickets as hors d'oeuvres, discover new species, and nurture a family ethic for conservation. The chapters of the book focus on field biology questions, the canopy access methods developed to answer the questions, and conservation or education components of each expedition. Lowman enumerates the challenges and joys of juggling parenthood and career, and the children reflect on how their mom's work has affected their lives. A rollicking, inspiring book,It's a Jungle Up There is an upbeat portrayal of how a parent's career can imprint children, and how children in turn can influence the success and trajectory of their parent's career.
It's a Long Road to a Tomato: Tales of an Organic Farmer Who Quit the Big City for the (Not So) Simple Life
by Deborah Madison Keith Stewart Flavia BacarellaA new edition of longtime farmer Keith Stewart’s deeply personal and highly acclaimed book on the hows and whys of running a small organic farm in 21st century America—updated with five new essays, a foreword by Deborah Madison, and gorgeous new woodcuts by Flavia BacarellaKeith Stewart, already in his early forties and discontent with New York’s corporate grind, moved upstate and started a one-man organic farm in 1986. Today, having surmounted the seemingly endless challenges to succeeding as an organic farmer, Keith employs seven to eight seasonal interns and provides 100 varieties of fresh produce to the shoppers and chefs who flock twice weekly, May to December, to his stand at Union Square Greenmarket in Manhattan—the only place where his produce is sold. It’s a Long Road to a Tomato opens a window into the world of Keith’s Farm, with essays on Keith’s development as a farmer, the nuts and bolts of organic farming for an urban market, farm animals domestic and wild, and the political, social, and environmental issues relevant to agriculture today—and their impact on all of us.
It's a Long Story: My Life
by David Ritz Willie NelsonThe definitive autobiography of Willie Nelson "Unvarnished. Funny. Leaving no stone unturned." . . . So say the publishers about this book I've written. What I say is that this is the story of my life, told as clear as a Texas sky and in the same rhythm that I lived it. It's a story of restlessness and the purity of the moment and living right. Of my childhood in Abbott, Texas, to the Pacific Northwest, from Nashville to Hawaii and all the way back again. Of selling vacuum cleaners and encyclopedias while hosting radio shows and writing song after song, hoping to strike gold. It's a story of true love, wild times, best friends, and barrooms, with a musical sound track ripping right through it. My life gets lived on the road, at home, and on the road again, tried and true, and I've written it all down from my heart to yours. Signed,Willie Nelson
It's a Long Way from Penny Apples
by Bill Cullen[From the back cover] "Tis better to be born lucky than rich. ... There are many tragic stories in Ireland of those who have succumbed to the despair of abject poverty, those who were unable to save themselves or their loved ones from the harsh realities of oppression. But It's a Long Way from Penny Apples is a different view of the Irish experience, one man's journey out of the grinding poverty that held an entire generation of Irishmen in its thrall. Born and bred in the rough inner city slums of Summerhill in Dublin, Bill was one of fourteen children. Through hard work and determination, Bill went from selling flowers and newspapers on the street to owning the biggest Ford dealership in Ireland, and eventually became a multimillionaire. Bill Cullen's story is an account of incredible poverty and deprivation in the Dublin slums--and incredible success. It highlights the frustration of a father and mother feeling their relationship crumble as they fight to give their children a better life. It's a story of courage, joy, and happiness--of how a mother gave inspiration and values to her children, saying to them, "The best thing I can give you is the independence to stand on your own feet." "The story of a Dubliner reflecting with stunning honesty on his city and his past. With characters that leap off the page, it combines blunt realism with the everyday humor of Northside Dublin life. An incredible book." --Bertie Ahern, T.D., Taoiseach (prime minister) of Ireland