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With writings that span more than thirty-five years, American Woman, Italian Style is a rich collection of essays that fleshes out the realities of today’s Italian American women and explores the myriad ways they continue to add to the American experience. The status of modern Italian-American women in the United States is
noteworthy: their quiet and continued growth into respected positions in the professional worlds of law and medicine surpasses the success achieved in that of the general population—so too does their educational attainment and income.
Contributions include Donna Gabaccia on the oral-to-written history of cookbooks, Carol Helstosky on the Tradition of Invention, an interview with Sandra Gilbert, Paul Levitt’s look at Lucy Mancini as a metaphor for the modern world, William Egelman’s survey of women’s work patterns, and Edvige Giunta on the importance of a selfconscious understanding of memory. There are explorations of Jewish-Italian intermarriages and interpretations of entrepreneurship in Milwaukee. Readers will find challenges to common assumptions and stereotypes, departures from normal samplings, and springboards to further research.
American Woman, Italian Style: Italian Americana’s Best Writings on Women offers unique insights into issues of gender and ethnicity and is a voice for the less heard and less seen side of the Italian-American experience from immigrant times to the present. Instead of seeking consensus or ideological orthodoxy, this collection
brings together writers with a wide range of backgrounds, outlooks, ideas, and experiences. It is an impressive postmodern collection for interdisciplinary studies: a book and a look about being and becoming an American.
'"An important collection that brings together many of the foundational,
interdisciplinary essays that helped to establish Italian American
women's studies."
Each piece in this rich book make it clear that the history of Italian women in America represents a subject worthy of extensive scholarly investigation. Taken as a whole this anthology shows that Italian American women have had a history worthy of serious attention.---—Hasia R. Diner, New York University
This collection brings together an impressive body of scholarship on a very fertile (and yet, as the editors point out in their introduction, still largely untapped) field of study in history, sociology, art history, literature and psychology. The essays are of the highest caliber and reflect on the experiences of Italian-American women in fields as varied and far-flung as cooking, working, aging, sculpting, writing, bringing up children, and dealing with men in a plethora of circumstances. It simply represents necessary reading for all interested in US history, Italian diaspora, Italian-American issues, and gender/women's studies.---—Maria Galli Stampino, University of Miami
From candid chats with the neighborhood ladies, to portraits of a breathtaking array of artists,
to the importance of work, family and - oh yes!- the handing down of traditional recipes, Carol Bonomo Albright and Christine Palamidessi Moore have put together a feast of Italian-American writings. The fact that it's women centered makes it especially delicious.
Essays explore the lives of today's Italian American women and describe their contributions to the American experience.
Carol Bonomo Albright is editor in chief of Italian Americana and former vice-president of the American Italian Historical Association. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Christine Palamidessi Moore is the author of two novels, The Virgin Knows and The Fiddle Case, and is senior editor and web editor at Italian Americana. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.