Tourists, armchair travelers and history buffs will delight in this fluid tale of Sicily's secrets. Critically acclaimed author Howard A. DeWitt highlights art, culture, economic issues, governmental changes, colorful mobsters and Sicily's contrarian intellectual ferment. By combining history with tourist favorites the stage is set for a colorful Mafia influenced Sicily with a hatred of Rome. This is a cultural journey through myth and reality in the heart of the Mediterranean. The reader is taken beyond the usual tourist sites, beautiful scenery and DeWitt encourages the traveler to throw out itinerates. He takes the reader beyond the usual tourist sites into a world of unique cuisine, beautiful scenery and people The engrossing narrative has erudite page turning tales of Sicilian wines now popular in a world market, pizza that defines the island and the organic "slow food" movement hampering McDonald's and Starbucks. The tourist friendly cities notably Palermo, Taormina, Agrigento, Cefalu and Syracuse provide a window into Sicily. Churches, ruling peoples and key leaders are important to the island demonstrating Sicilian's have overcome invaders to establish a multicultural civilization. Today Arab influences in local markets are as dominant as European influences. The Mafia controlled city of Corleone is he role model for Mario Puzo's Godfather, and it continues to play to criminal stereotypes. Literary figures Leonardo Sciascia and Andrea Camilleri highlight the intellectual development of a long neglected island. The role of the Mafia runs through the narrative with two women: Teresa Principato, the first mafia prosecutor and Letizia Battaglia whose photojournalism chronicled Mafia violence setting the stage for how and why the mob murders of prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino's led to anti-Mafia successes. The U. S. tourists who are infamous for being rude are, a chapter on Generoso Pope Jr. an Italian who made the National Enquirer a household word in the U. S. and an in-depth analysis of American and Sicilian attitudes on the Obama-Trump years adds interesting insights into the Sicilian mind. DeWitt's exploration of this misunderstood island offers a much-needed look at what makes Sicily a wonderful tourist destination. Sicily's Secrets: The Mob, Pizza and Hating Rome explore the island's soul with touches of history, food, the Mafia and politics. The term Sicilitudine suggests Sicily has a culture apart from Italy and Sicily's greatest writers Leonardo Sciascia and Andrea Camilleri highlight local intellectual brilliance. The realities of past history help the tourist to understand the forces shaping Sicily today.
About the Author: Howard A. DeWitt is Professor Emeritus of History at Ohlone College, Fremont, California. He received his B. A. from Western Washington State University, the M. A. from the University of Oregon and a PhD from the University of Arizona. He also studied at the University of Paris, Sorbonne and the City University in Rome. Professor DeWitt is the author of twenty-five books and has published over 200 articles and more than 200 reviews in a wide variety of popular and scholarly magazines. He is the author of four books on Filipino history, his books A Blow To America's Heart: England Reacts to 9-11 in 2002 and The Road to Baghdad were groundbreaking examinations of early terrorism. He has written three books on California History and The Fragmented Dream: Multicultural California is a tour de force in ethnic history. An eclectic scholar and popular writer, DeWitt is a recognized authority on rock and roll history. He wrote the first book on Chuck Berry, which was published by Pierian Press under the title Chuck Berry: Rock N Roll Music in 1985. DeWitt's earlier brief biography, Van Morrison: The Mystic's Music, published in 1983, received universally excellent reviews. On the English side of the music business DeWitt's, The Beatles: Untold Tales, originally published in 1985, was picked up by the Kendall Hunt Publishing Company in the 1990s and is used regularly in a wide variety of college courses on the history of rock music. Kendall Hunt also published Stranger in Town: The Musical Life of Del Shannon with co-author Dennis M. DeWitt in 2001. In 1993's Paul McCartney: From Liverpool To Let It Be concentrated on the Beatle years. He also co-authored Jailhouse Rock: The Bootleg Records of Elvis Presley. His two books on Sixto Rodriguez combine popular culture, film criticism and biography.