This important collection reveals as never before the quality, extent, and variety of the Italian American contribution to American literature. Bringing together fiction and poetry as well as academic essays and newspaper articles from the 1800s to the present, this volume covers a wide field of cultural experience. Including many previously unpublished pieces as well as classic works, and enhanced by an insightful and entertaining introduction by Regina Barreca, Don't Tell Mama highlights both the unity and the diversity of the Italian American experience. Spanning Italian American writing by 90 authors since 1800, this anthology consists of essays, poems, and fiction and nonfiction excerpts. The authors included range from the well known (e.g., David Baldacci, Don DeLillo, Evan Hunter, Ray Romano) to those many readers will be unfamiliar with, including a fair number of academics. Although most of the pieces are reprints, several authors have contributed original pieces; most notable are Wally Lamb's "Food and Fatalism" and Josephine Hendin's "Who Will You Marry Now?" Editor Barreca's (They Used To Call Me Snow White, But I Drifted) introduction and her brother's counterintroduction are informative and personal. They also consider the unifying theme of the works included the transforming nature of the immigrant experience and the resulting need to craft communities. In the end, this is a mixed bag: a bit academic for public libraries and a bit too popular for academics. There are not many books of similar scope, but Bill Tonelli and Huston Smith's The Portable Italian-American: The Landmark Collection of the Best Italian-American Writing is coming from Morrow in March. Interest in Italian Americans is high, so buy as warranted. Neal Wyatt, Chesterfield Cty. P.L., VA Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. This anthology gives heartwarming, humorous insight into what really goes on around the kitchen tables in Italian American homes. Everybody Loves Raymond 's Ray Romano, The Tonight Show 's Jay Leno, and She's Come Undone author Wally Lamb are among nearly 100 people who bring to life their families and experiences in this delightful collection. Topics range from stereotypical dramatic Italian mothers to common rites of passage done up Italian style--this means lots of relatives, loud music, and massive amounts of food. Romano writes about the Italian wedding, informing readers that the Chicken Dance, Hokey Pokey, and conga lines are things an attendee can't escape or talk his way out of. "You're in. It's over," he writes. "You better have a strong bladder, because you're going to be cha-cha-ing until the song is done." We can all relate to that. Shedding new light on social and political lives of Italian Americans, these short pieces show us in a funny way that there is more to being Italian than pasta, booming voices, and Tony Soprano. Stephanie Sherrod Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Regina Barreca is a professor of English and feminist theory at the University of Connecticut. She is the editor of seven books, including The Penguin Book of Women's Humor , and the author of four others. She writes frequently for the New York Times , Chicago Tribune , and the Hartford Courant .