"Avoiding the jargon that often accompanies treatments of language, form, and meaning, Viscusi admits personal experience as well as analytic skill into the toolbox he uses to explore particular texts and social issues. The result is a book that is not only an important look at the role of language in creating and sustaining both the tie to Italy and American self-construction, but also an astute meditation on how cultures can be connected through language."

Robert Viscusi is Professor of English and Executive Officer at The Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities, Brooklyn College, The City University of New York. He is the author of many books, including Max Beerbohm, or, The Dandy Dante: Rereading with Mirrors and Astoria: A Novel, winner of a 1996 American Book Award.