For this book, the authors have selected 500 images related to the rich history of Italian Americans from the Library of Congress's holdings of photographs, maps, posters, letters, films, and sound recordings. The book's narration is supported by never-before-seen images and offers a fresh and original perspective on the whole experience of Italians in America, from Columbus until today. It shows the accomplishments of well-remembered individuals such as Fiorello LaGuardia, Vince Lombardi, Martin Scorsese, but goes deeper to rediscover people like Giacomo Beltrami, who reached the sources of the Mississippi in 1823 and Joe Petrosino, the first Italian American police officer to lose his life fighting organised crime. Through photographs of Lewis Hine and others, we see how Italians lived in slums in Eastern cities, in fields and mines in rural America; finally, we see how Italians portrayed America through the works of artists like Carlo Gentile, who photographed south-western Native Americans in the 1870's, and Athos Casarini futurist painter and illustrator for Harper's Weekly. AUTHOR: Linda Barrett Osborne is a fourth generation Italian American. A former senior writer and editor with the Library of Congress's Publishing Office, she is the author of several books on American history. Her latest book is Miles to Go for Freedom - Segregation and Civil Rights in the Jim Crow Years. Paolo Battaglia is an Italian author of illustrated history books such as Un Italiano nella Cina dei Boxer (2000) a photographic account of the Boxer rebellion in China; Frammenti di Guerra (2005) the photographic history of World War II in northern Italy, and New York In and Out (2008) on a 1912 photographic journey to New York. SELLING POINTS: ?For the first time Italian-American history is seen through the collections of the Library of Congress, truly the preserver of American memory ?The book is co-authored by an Italian and an Italian-American who shared their different perspectives on a long and multi-faceted history ?Over 500 images, many of them never before published, ranging from the first map ever using the name "America" to the portraits of Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe from Look magazine ?Not the usual history book about an ethnic group, which displays only a gallery of success and accomplishments. Images from the Library of Congress show the range and diversity of Italian Americans themselves and of the lives they led in the United States ?A book for Italian Americans who cherish their heritage but also for American history enthusiasts and people interested in Italian culture who will discover many unknown contributions of Italy to American life ?2013 is the Year of Italian Culture in the United States ILLUSTRATIONS: 500 colour
