More than 25,000 Italian immigrants came to Chicago after 1945. The story of their exodus and reestablishment in Chicago touches on war torn Italy, the renewal of family and paesani connections, the bureaucratic challenges of the restrictive quota system, the energy and spirit of the new immigrants, and the opportunities and frustrations in American society. Drawn from scores of family albums, these intimate snapshots tell the story of the unique and universal saga of immigration, a core theme in American and Italian history.
Dominic Candeloro is a former professor of history and past president and executive director of the American Italian Historical Association. He has studied and participated in Chicago's Italian community for the past 30 years. He currently serves as the curator of the Florence Roselli Library at Casa Italia (Stone Park, Illinois). This is his fourth Arcadia Publishing book on Italians in Chicago.