Journey of the Italians in America »

Brooklyn native Vincenza Scarpaci is a writer and teacher. She graduated from Hofstra University in New York in 1961 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and went on to obtain her Ph.D. in history from Rutgers University in 1972. She has worked as a consultant, grant writer, and volunteer coordinator in addition to her considerable teaching experience at the university level. Her work has been published in journals and encyclopedias across the globe. She resides in Eugene, Oregon.

Between the years 1880 and 1914, nearly four million Italian immigrants arrived in the United States. While the Italian population was initially clustered in the industrial Northeast, the growing number of immigrants began fanning out across the country in search of work or adventure, transforming the communities and landscapes they came into contact with along the way as dramatically as they themselves were changed by the American experience.

In "The Journey of the Italians in America," Scarpaci embraces the contradictions of the Italian American legacy, considering the multifarious ways in which Italians became an essential part of American history without generalizations. Every aspect of life, ranging from religion, the struggle for citizenship, anti-Italian prejudice, World War II, Columbus Day parades, Italians in popular culture, and of course, food, all come to life in this insightful and candid photographic journey.

Drawing from both private and public photograph collections, the author explores the traditions, history, and legacy of Italians in America. The photographs, some dating to the 1800s, represent more than one hundred years of Italian American life, each telling the intimate story of an Italian family, individual, or business. From agrarian family homesteads in Italy to prosperous commercial enterprises in New York City, the photographs, accompanied by insightful, detailed captions, capture the complex and nuanced chronicle of an ethnic group as diverse as it is influential.

Savannah Schroll Guz - Library Journal

Primarily a photographic record accompanied by extensive captions and short chapter introductions, this fascinating historical account by Scarpaci (coauthor, Little Italies in North America) is divided into nine chapters, from embarkation and arrival to assimilation and ethnic resurgence. The book does not dodge contentious issues, like organized crime and the lionization of Columbus. Its many rare illustrations, including period photos, sheet music, advertisements, and document facsimiles, tell individual stories of survival, persistence, ingenuity, and community with more immediacy than any essay. Multi-paragraph captions are highly informative, even poignant, often including individual stories and direct quotations. Highly recommended for Italian and American history collections.