Presentation and book signing by Lawrence DiStasi

Meet Lawrence DiStasi, a native of Bridgeport now living in California. He has been a major figure in the movement to transform Una Storia Segreta (the secret story/history about 600,000 Italian immigrants who were branded ‘enemy aliens’ during WWII) from a suppressed story into an accepted and acclaimed public narrative. Di Stasi is an accomplished author who has written 4 other books and spoke about the wartime story in The Italian Americans, the 4-hour documentary that aired on PBS recently.

His last new book, BRANDED: How Italian Immigrants Became ‘Enemies’ During World War II, thus fills a great need in the history of the World War II home front. This thoroughly documented history relates in one continuous narrative the details of the restrictions, internment, and evacuation of Italian enemy aliens in the United States during World War II. Called a “gold mine of personal narratives, records from National Archives, and a variety of newspaper sources,” BRANDED fills a large gap in the WWII story that has come to be known as Una Storia Segreta.

Must register and prepay.

Members $15; Non-Members 20