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There has been an odd reluctance on the part of historians of the Italian American experience to confront the discrimination faced by Italians and Americans of Italian ancestry. This volume is a bold attempt by an esteemed group of scholars and writers to discuss the question openly by charting the historical and cultural boundaries of stereotypes, prejudice, and assimilation. Contributors offer a continuous series of cultural encounters and experiences in television, literature, and film that deserve the attention of anyone interested in the larger themes of American history.

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Introduction: Invisible People: Shadows and Light in Italian American Writing; F.Gardaphé
Darker Aspects of Italian American Prehistory; W.J.Connell
´Between White Men and Negroes´: The Perception of Southern Italian Immigrants Through the Lens of Italian Lynchings; P.Vellon
´Utterly Faithless Specimens´: Italians in the Catholic Church in America; P.R.D´Agostino
Perversions of Knowledge: Confronting Racist Ideologies Behind Intelligence Testing; E.G.Messina
Frank Sinatra and Notions of Tolerance: The House I Live In; A.J.Tamburri
What Luigi Basco Taught America About Italian Americans; D.L.Candeloro
Affirmative Action for Italian Americans: The City University of New York Story; J.V.Scelsa
The Changing Roles of Italian American Women: Reality vs. Myth; S.Tardi
Prejudice and Discrimination: The Italian American Experience Yesterday and Today; S.J.LaGumina
´Good Enough´: An Italian American Memoir; J.Detore-Nakamura
Stereotypes Sell; But We´re Not For Sale; G.Valle
Shark Tale: ´Puzza da cap´´: An Attempt at Ethnic Activism; J.Krase
If Defamation Is Serious, Why Don´t Italian American Organizations Take It Seriously?; L.Loschiavo
Transacting Guido: Contested Meanings of an Italian American Youth Subculture; D.Tricarico

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"From its bold introduction, through its superb research on racism and intelligence testing, to its intensely challenging concluding essay, this stylish collection is by turns deeply historical, movingly, impressively interdisciplinary, and productively combative. United in their themes, but not outlook, the selections offer constant surprises and much food for thought." - David Roediger, Babcock Professor of History, University of Illinois and author of How Race Survived U.S. History

"This is one of those very rare books that narrate an important and forgotten story - the experience of American anti-Italianism - and recount it in a rigorous and touching manner, combining historical, sociological and personal perspectives. Italian-Americans must know this story to be aware of how painful it had been for their parents and their grandparents to be accepted and recognized in America. Italians must know it to learn how painful the discrimination, prejudice and stereotyping they are now too often inflicting on immigrants are." - Maurizio Viroli, Professor of Politics, Princeton University

"At first blush, anti-Italianism seems like a comic punchline, the premise of a Sopranos or Jersey Girls episode rather than the subject of a serious book. Yet behind the wisecracks about gangsters and ´Guidos´ lay a long and complex history - a history of pervasive exclusion and persistent stereotyping, of defiant bravado and habitual self-deprecation. As the contributors to this path-breaking collection show, the history of anti-Italian prejudice has much to tell us not only about the Italian American experience but also about the past and future of America as a whole." - James T. Campbell, Edgar E. Robinson Professor of United States History, Stanford University and author of Middle Passages: African American Journeys to Africa, 1789-2005

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