Profiles of Italian Americans: Achieving the Dream and Giving Back

The large majority of the twenty million Italian Americans are law-abiding, hard-working, and accomplished. Yet the image of Italian Americans is often distorted by stereotypes portrayed in popular media. Profiles of Italian Americans: Achieving the Dream and Giving Back counters those stereotypes with brief sketches of Italian Americans who have achieved success and enriched the lives of others. Included are the well known, such as Fiorello LaGuardia, Mayor of New York, and the less known, such as Betty DellaCorte, founder of the first shelter for victims of domestic violence. The collection features A.P. Giannini, who sifted through the rubble following the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and established the bank known today as Bank of America, as well as Frances Xavier Cabrini, who founded orphanages, schools, and hospitals for the poor throughout the United States. These thirty-two profiles illustrate a range of Italian American contributions in the arts, business, education, law enforcement, media, medicine, the military, philanthropy, public service, research, science, and sports. This book celebrates with unabashed pride the impressive legacy of Italian American culture.