Soul of an Immigrant

At thirteen years old, Constantine Panunzio sailed away from his home in Molfetta, Italy, and arrived alone in Boston in 1902. What follows is a harrowing, triumphant account of a boy who knew no English, had no money, and possessed only his wits and relentless drive to survive in a country that did not want him. He scrubbed floors, picked crops, slept in boarding houses and on the streets, all while teaching himself a new language and eventually earning an education that would lead him to become an administrator of a social service agency in Boston. But Panunzio's story transcends personal success. During World War I, he served as head of the YMCA on the Italian front, witnessing firsthand the human cost of war. Later, as an advocate for immigrant rights, he boldly criticized the post-war hysteria that led to the deportation of thousands of aliens in 1919-1920. This is not merely a memoir of one man's climb from poverty to respectability; it is an essential document of the immigrant experience in America, told in the raw, determined voice of someone who lived it.