In The Italian/American Experience: A Collection of Writings, sociologist Louis J. Gesualdi presents a collection of writings to correct the inaccurate and negative popular beliefs regarding the Italian American experience.In a book of less than 100 pages, Gesualdi argues very persuasively that past research has failed to understand the lives of southern Italians and Italian Americans, resulting in misconceptions regarding the achievements of Italian Americans in comparison with other white ethnic groups.The book is powerful in that it confronts findings regarding the role of culture in explaining differences among ethnic groups.The strength of this book is that Gesualdi's pride and passion for all things Italian disproves the beliefs that white ethnic groups do not think of themselves in terms of their ethnicity.Another stregth of the book is that Gesualdi includes research ideas for studying Italian Americans in the twenty-first century, an annotated bibliography of articles and books on Italian Americans, a list of organizations and journals that specialize in Italian American culture, and a brief directory of leading researchers in the discipline of Italian American studies. He has created a wonderful source for anyone interested in studying ITalian Americans, and has provided a framework for examining the role of race and ethnicity in the lives of white ethic groups.[T]his is a valuable book on ethnicity.

Because of its brevity, this would be a good book to assign to undergraduates and graduate students in race and ethnic relations classes, Whiteness studies, and Italian American studies. Also, the book is accessible to non-academics as well, and would be appropriate for Italian Americans who are interested in a short history of the Italian American experience. Gesualdi has written a book that should make all Italian Americans proud of their heritage, as it tackles some of the most negative generalizations and beliefs regarding Italian Americans, past and present.