Blood of My Blood; The Dilemma of Italian-Americans

by Gambino, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781550711011
• ISBN10: 1550711016
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-01-06
• Publisher: Guernica Editions

Summary

Since its publication in 1974, Blood of My Blood has become the most highly esteemed book on the subject. It is also rare in that it has been a popular best-seller and is widely used as a college text.

Author Biography

Richard Gambino is Professor Emeritus at Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY), and holds a PhD in philosophy from New York University. He was appointed to the United States Bicentennial Commission by President Gerald Ford in 1975. He served, by appointment of Governor Mario Cuomo, on the New York State Council on the Humanities from 1984 to 1992. In 1988, he was awarded New York City' s Leonardo Da Vinci Award by Mayor Ed Koch. He was a full-time visiting professor at SUNY/Stony Brook for seven semesters in the mid-1990s. In 1999, HBO made a fictionalized feature film based on his non-fiction book, Vendetta, about the largest lynching in U.S. history, starring Christopher Walken, Ed Hermann and Bruce Davison. His play about Walt Whitman, Camerado, was performed in the Hamptons on Long Island, and his play, The Trial of Pius XII was performed there twice. Both plays were very well received by audiences. In 2009, the New York State Press Association gave Gambino a First Place Award for years of his special features newspaper writings. The citation with the award sums up what he attempts in all his writings: "In an age of instant messaging and short attention spans, this is a refreshing display of real writing, style, substance and organization. His dry, wry wit and universal commentary are engaging and educational."

Table of Contents

The Family System	1	(41)
Reasons for Leaving	42	(35)
Receptions in the New Land: Work, Bread, and Fire	77	(51)
L'Uomo di Pazienza---The Ideal of Manliness	128	(32)
La Serieta---The Ideal of Womanliness	160	(23)
Sex	183	(29)
Religion, Magic, and the Church	212	(33)
Childhood and Education	245	(29)
The Problem of the Mafia Image	274	(39)
Attitudes Toward Outsiders, Authority, and Politics	313	(39)
What It Means to Be Italian-American in Today's United States	352	(25)
Index	377