of una storia segreta : The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment during the World War II

Book Review by Natalie Martinez

Lawrence DiStasi, author of una storia segreta : The Secret History of Italian American Evacuation and Internment during the World War II, writes how the Italians were treated during World War II. He organizes the book with an compilation of stories written by other Italian authors write about their experiences during World War II. He explains in the introduction that the history of the Italians is not well known. Not many people know that during World War II, the Italians were put into internment camps, relocated, or put on restrictions. He believes this is because not a big percentage of the people put in internment camps were Italian and because of the small number they do not deserve acknowledgement. The main purpose of his book as stated in the introduction is to gain acknowledgement from the government and of the world that Italians were mistreated ( just as the Japanese were) during World War II.
DiStasi begins the book with a story written by him explaining the history of the Italians and the personal accounts of Prospero Cecconi who was one of the 257 Italians interned. Like this story and the many stories of the whole book, the accounts have a similar recurring theme. The theme begins with the news that the Japanese bombs Pearl Harbor. At the onset of this event, the nation goes on national security alert. Because Italy was Allies with the enemy during World War II, Italians were considered enemy aliens. Although this was true, the Italians in America who were born here or naturalized and therefore considered American were forced to relocate, strictly restricted, and put into internment camps without sufficient if any no presence incriminating evidence. Distasi does a great job revealing the history of the Italians and the nature of the event through his compilation method because each story written by other authors brings a different facet of the event making the picture look very true and clear to the reader. Distasti includes stories written by all types of people including women, men, lower class, and of the upper class. The book has many amazing memorable stories that touch the heart. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the influence and history of World War II.