National Book Award Non Fiction Winner
American in Italy
by Herbert Kubly
Summary
A first-person account of postwar Italy by an American writer who traveled the peninsula on a Fulbright fellowship in the early 1950s. Kubly mixes reportage, memoir, and cultural criticism, observing the collisions between Catholic tradition, communist politics, rural poverty, and the new American influence pouring in through cinema and aid. The result is a sympathetic portrait of a country reinventing itself in the shadow of fascism and war.
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Historical Context & Significance
The book was praised for its "emotional journalism," as Kubly focused on the poverty and resilience of the Italian people rather than just the tourist landmarks.