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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
A Story About Pizza by Erica D'Arcangelo traces the life of Pietro D’Arcangelo, starting as a boy from Lanciano, Italy, who immigrates to America with his family in search of a better life. The journey begins with a very difficult ship voyage to New York, with Pietro, his parents Anna and Justino, and his brothers. In Windber, Pennsylvania, they settled in a coal mining town. Pietro grows from a schoolboy into a laborer, breaker boy, and coal hauler. He suffers abuse from the mine foreman and witnesses the rise of labor unions. Over time, he helps build the family’s house, opens a market, and pioneers D’Arc’s Pizza. Alongside his wife, Nicolette, and his mother, Pietro creates a community staple. His son Emery carries on the family legacy and Pietro's deep love for Italian food, as well as the business that outlives him.
Erica D'Arcangelo’s A Story About Pizza is a fantastic family biography that perfectly mixes their family patriarch's American foundation story and its evolution into a generational business. The writing is simple and straightforward, and we get a real sense of grit as we follow the difficulties, dreams, and triumphs of Pietro and his family as they build a legacy from scratch. I love the ending of each chapter with a family recipe. Pizzelle cookies were loved so much by my youngest that we actually went out to an Italian cookware shop in London to buy a pizzelle iron. For me, the standout is the ravioli recipe, where I improvised and used my grandmother's Chinese dumpling press to shape them, which is quite a cool cross-cultural experience in itself. In my wildest dreams, I would not have imagined that, and now it looks like it might become a tradition. With strong family bonds at its core, this biography is a touching and motivational testament to perseverance and the power of unity...with homemade focaccia bread! Very highly recommended.
