Isle of the Displaced: Italian-Scots Memoirs of Internment During the Second Wor
01 Nov, 2023
A must for Scots Italians
This is one of only a few books that covers the history of Italia emigres and in particular Scots Italians. Though their war time treatment is recognised as harsh and disproportionate, partly owing to Churchill's humiliation at Mussolini's axis allegiance, there is little of consequence and lots of erroneous references in some books. Most Scots Italians were not fascists but may have served Italy in WW1 ( my grandfather) others were born here and keen to enlist for UK but were treated as a threat to the state. Joe Pieri was born in Italy but raised in Glasgow and had first hand knowledge of the Arandora Star tragedy (my uncle) and the abuse and imprisonment (and ultimate shame) of Canadian based internees (my father). His writing style is easy and natural and he went on to pen several books on Scots Italians that are often a reference for PHDs and various documentaries.