Italians in America; Our Contributions: The Italians in America

From Christopher Columbus through Garibaldi up to Martin Scorsese, there is nary an aspect of American life that has not been influenced by Italians. Beginning with the explorers from Italy who helped to discover and settle the New World, the main focus of the History Channel's Italians in America is on the tremendous influx of immigrants at the start of the 20th century, a chapter in Italian-American history at once glorious and tragic. Believing that the streets of New York were paved with gold and fleeing from political oppression back home, the Italian immigrants often found themselves unwelcome. Like other groups, they tended to cluster together in neighborhoods where New World ideas were slowly assimilated into Old World traditions. The program does an admirable job of showing how the majority of Italian immigrants adapted well to life in the United States and how many of them became American household names: Sinatra, LaGuardia, Coppola, Ferraro, Perry Como, Dean Martin, and many, many others. Recommended. Aud: H, P.Virtually identical in format to the History Channel set, Our Contributions: The Italians in America also examines the contributions of Italians to American culture, politics, history, and society. From Columbus to Robert Loggia, from Joe DiMaggio to Geraldine Ferraro, their achievements are presented here through the use of archival newsreel footage, paintings, and sculptures, but primarily through interviews with prominent contemporary Italian-Americans, such as author Gay Talese, music educator Robert Spiotto, and comedian Pat Cooper, who describe what it was like for their ancestors to arrive at Ellis Island full of hope and promise, only to be met in most cases with indifference, disdain, and mistrust. The narrator, John LaBarca, keeps the pace moving quickly, educating viewers about many well-known Italian-Americans, but keeping the history lectures to a minimum. Informative, entertaining, and insightful, this is also recommended. Aud: H, P. (J. Carlson)