Download or read book Were You Always an Italian?: Ancestors and Other Icons of Italian America written by Maria Laurino and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2001-06-17 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "One of the best books about the immigrant experience in America....unique and gracefully written."—San Francisco Chronicle Maria Laurino sifts through the stereotypes bedeviling Italian Americans to deliver a penetrating and hilarious examination of third-generation ethnic identity. With "intelligence and honesty" (Arizona Republic), she writes about guidos, bimbettes, and mammoni (mama's boys in Italy); examines the clashing aesthetics of Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace; and unravels the etymology of southern Italian dialect words like gavone and bubidabetz. According to Frances Mayes, she navigates the conflicting forces of ethnicity "with humor and wisdom."