Passage to Liberty: The Story of Italian Immigration and the Rebirth of America

Passage to Liberty recaptures the drama of the 19th and 20th century immigration to America through photos, letters, and other artifacts -- uniquely replicated in three-dimensional facsimile form. In the tradition of Lest We Forget, Chronicle's bestselling interactive tour through the African American experience, the text uses the stories of individuals and families -- from early explorers, through the wave of 19th century impoverished families, to contemporary figures -- to recapture the rich heritage the Italian people carried with them over the waves, and planted anew in the American soil.

Among the topics covered here are:

• The roots of American democracy in Roman history
• The migration of 15 million Italians, 1880-1920
• Catholicism in Italian-American culture
• Food, music, and other Italian cultural traditions
• The Mafia: myth and reality
• Cultural icons: DiMaggio, Sinatra, Madonna & more

As vibrant and packed full of history as previous volumes in this extraordinary series, Passage to Liberty is a splendid and loving tribute to the Italian-American experience.