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Past
Book Club Selections
View Archived Book Club Selections
FALL
2005 SELECTIONS:
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Cipango!
(The Story)
By Anne Paolucci
Marco Polo's description of Cipango,
(Renaissance Italian for "Japan"), inspired Columbus
to cross an ocean to find it as we learn in this
short but powerful biography of the greatest navigator
of the Renaissance by noted Columbus scholar Anne
Paolucci.
She starts with Columbus'
early life in Genoa where he
began sailing at age 15 and ends
with his tragic fourth and last
voyage when a storm sank almost
his entire fleet of 32 ships.
The facts are enhanced by excerpts
from Paolucci's award-winning
play, also named Cipango!
A "must-read" for adults and
teens. [$14.95; paperback;
144 pages; Griffon House; to
order call: 302/677-0019]
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Feeling
Italian: The Art of Ethnicity in America
By Thomas J. Ferraro
How are Italian Americans different from
today's Italians and yesterday's immigrants? And
are they losing their ethnicity? Feeling Italian explores
how Sinatra's music, Coppola's Godfather,
Madonna's Italian background and other cultural
phenomena have shaped the Italian American identity. [$21.00;
paperback; 256 pages; NYU Press]
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I’m
staying with my boys…:
The
heroic life of Sgt. John Basilone
By
Jim Proser
Medal of Honor winner
John Basilone didn't have time
to write his autobiography. He
died on the sands of Iwo Jima when
he was only 29 years old. Today,
exactly 60 years after his death,
author Jim Proser, tells Basilone's
story in his own voice, based on
hundreds of hours of interviews
with people who knew him well.
This is the only family-authorized
biography of Basilone and features
many never-before-published family
photographs. A documentary,
based on this book, is available
to OSIA members at a discount. [$19.95;
paperback; 354 pages; Lightbearer
Communications Company]
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ALSO WORTH READING:
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Vita
By Melania G. Mazzucco
Winner of Italy's prestigious Strega literary
award, this novel follows two cousins who arrive
on Ellis Island in 1903 with 2,000 other southern
Italians. Mazzucco's inspiring immigrant story
follows the pair as they take on this often harsh
new world and try to make it their own. [$25.00;
hardcover; 448 pages; Farrar Straus Giroux]
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Odyssey
of an Etruscan Noblewoman
By Rosalind Burgundy
Etruscan scholar Burgundy brings the ancient
world to life through fictional heroine, Larthia,
an Etruscan noblewoman, living 500 years before
Christ. To escape her society's taboos for women,
she disguises herself as a man, becomes a scribe
and faces many life-threatening adventures. [$22.99;
paperback; 347 pages; Xlibris Corporation]
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When
One Stood Alone: John J. Sirica's Battle
Against the Watergate Conspiracy
By
Donald J. Farinacci, J.D.
Author Farinacci vividly describes how
Judge John J. Sirica, the judge that presided over
the Watergate trial, defeated the criminal conspiracy
led by President Nixon to cover up his administration's
role in this infamous episode that eventually led
to Nixon's resignation. [$17.84; paperback;
109 pages; Xlibris Corporation]
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*Reflects list price. Discounts may apply through
amazon.com.
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