While there are historical accounts of the German Americans, Jewish Americans, and Irish Americans who fought in the Civil War, much less is know about the contributions of Italian Americans--the focus of Alduino (history, Anne Arundel Community College) and Coles' (history, Longwood U.) text. The authors present an overview of the early Italian American experience followed by chapters on prominent and lesser-known officers--Giuseppe Garibaldi, Edward Ferrero, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, Francis Barretto Spinola, Alberto Maggi and Enrico Fardella; the Garibaldi Guard; Italian Americans in the Union Navy; and Italian soldiers in the Confederate Army. The appendices contain a collection of 40 letters written by one soldier to his wife, an excerpt from the 1891 book Hospital Life in the Army of the Potomoc, and a list of enlistments. Academic but accessible to the general reader. Annotation 2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
