Passage to Liberty

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.