Amore

Discussing Italian American singers and songs, a passion that helped him persevere through a traumatic time in his life, Rotella (Stolen Figs and Other Adventures in Calabria) cleverly divides his book into 40 chapters, each devoted to the background of a specific song and singer. Sharing anecdotes rather than exploring history or cultural context in depth, he begins with the iconic Enrico Caruso, moves to the 1930s heartthrob Russ Columbo, and focuses on the bobby-sox, big-band superstars Frank Sinatra and Louis Prima. The author spends the majority of the book on the prominence of Italian American singers during the 1950s, dedicating space to Vic Damone, Al Martino, Dean Martin, Joni James, Connie Francis, Tony Bennett, and Frankie Laine. He even includes rock acts such as Frankie Valli and Bobby Darin and oddly offers chapters about Elvis Presley and Sammy Davis Jr., who idolized their Italian American counterparts.