The book Beyond the Godfather: Italian American Writers on the Real Italian American Experience, is a collection of essays written by writers of Italian descent. The book is in response to the wide popularity of The Godfather. The popularity of this book and movie has overshadowed the culture of Italians. As a result, these essays were compiled in order to give an overview of the styles of writing of the Italian Americans.

There are three main sections of the book: Memories and Memoirs, Italian American Literature and Identity Politics. Memories and Memoirs are full of anecdotes from Italian American everyday lives. In Louise DeSalvo’s story, “Finding My Way,” he discusses his education experience growing up. From this essay, it is apparent the importance of family as well as education in the life of this Italian American. The Italian American Literature section mainly discussed the different types of styles of writing. This is used to show the diversity in terms of its culture. Lastly, Identity Politics discusses the role that Italian Americans have in the United States. In the essay, “Italian Americans and American Politics,” Michael Barone discusses the influential role of Italians in the U.S. government, and the prominent figures, such as Fiorello LaGuardia, that were present in society.

The purpose of this book was to respond to the stereotypes of Italian Americans that was created by The Godfather. Although Mafia is an aspect of Italian Americans, the book highlights other aspects of their culture. Most notably, it shows the power that Italian Americans have in America. However, this power is through respectable positions in government and not through illegal ways. In addition to this, the importance of family is evident through the essays written, which is mirrored in the movie.