Fred L. Gardaphe directs the Italian-American Studies Program at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is author of Italian Signs, American Streets:The Evolution of Italian American Narrative, LeavingLittle Italy: Essaying Italian American Culture, DagoesRead: Tradition and the Italian/American Writer, and Moustache Pete is Dead!: Italian/American Oral TraditionPreserved in Print.

Introduction Part One Romancing the Gangster Chapter 1 Origins of an Archetype Chapter 2 The Gangster as Culture Hero: Mario Puzo and Francis Coppola Part Two Realizing the Gangster Chapter 3 The Truth about Gangsters: Gay Talese and Ben Morreale Chapter 4 Rough Boys: The Gangsters of Martin Scorsese and Michael Cimino Part Three Reinventing the Gangster Chapter 5 The Gangster as Cultural Critic: Giose Rimanelli and Frank Lentricchia Chapter 6 Female Masculinity and the Gangster: Louisa Ermelino Chapter 7 The Gangster as Public Intellectual: Anthony Valerio and Don DeLillo Chapter 8 Two Versions of the Gangster as Contemporary Trickster: David Chase and Tony Ardizzone Chapter 9 Looking for a Few New Men: Chazz Palmenteri and Richard Vetere Chapter 10 From Macho to Zero: Redesigning Italian American Masculinities Conclusion

The gangster, in the hands of the Italian American artist, becomes a telling figure in the tale of American race, gender, and ethnicity - a figure that reflects the autobiography of an immigrant group just as it reflects the fantasy of a native population.
From Wiseguys to Wise Men studies the figure of the gangster and explores its social function in the construction and projection of masculinity in the United States. By looking at the cultural icon of the gangster through the lens of gender, this book presents new insights into material that has been part of American culture for close to 100 years.