Michael Immerso traces the history of the First Ward from the arrival of the first Italian in the 1870s until 1953 when the district was uprooted to make way for urban renewal. Richly illustrated with photographs culled from the albums and shoeboxes in the private collections of hundreds of former First Ward families from all across the United States, the book documents the evolution of the district from a small immigrant quarter into a complex Italian-American neighborhood that thrived during the first half of this century.

MICHAEL IMMERSO is a writer, publicist, and social activist who frequently serves as a media consultant for nonprofit organizations.

NewarkÆs Little Italy helped rekindle many fond memories of my childhood growing up in the Old First Ward. The story of NewarkÆs First Ward offers a rare portrait of an Italian immigrant neighborhood. Like other Little Italys across America, the First Ward shaped the lives of several generations of Italian Americans, many of whom went on to become outstanding citizens who have made significant contributions to our nation and the fabric of the American dream.

The publication . . . has sparked a wave of pride among Italian Americans.

Cultural historian and curator Michael Immerso has written an excellent history of Coney Island entitled Coney Island: The People's Playground. His book contains over 100 vintage photographs which help to evoke the atmosphere of this beloved resort. Immerso's narrative uses personal accounts, contemporary sources and archival literature to flesh out the story of Coney Island. It is an excellent tribute to working America's first Disneyland.

This is a scholarly study, but Immerso includes enough material on the amusements, foods, and unusual characters inhabiting the boardwalk to make it interesting to anyone who has visited the island. Cultural and urban historians should consider this concisely written, thoroughly researched, and profusely illustrated work on 'America's playground' required reading.

ItÆs a story that twines the American dreams of immigrants, postwar follies of urban planners, and appreciation of what was lost in the rush to the suburbs.

àit offers not only a comprehensive overview of the park's history but also a look into the way late 19-th century American viewed recreation and leisure.

Michael Immerso has made a significant contribution not only to those of Italian-American heritage, but also to all those who care about ethnic and urban history. NewarkÆs Little Italy makes me especially proud as a journalist whose family ærootsÆ are firmly planted in the neighborhood.

Coney Island: The People's Playground is all at once a scholarly examination of America's pursuit of leisure and a detailed history of amusement and amusements.

NewarkÆs Little Italy, through an extraordinary collection of photographs and accompanying story, makes one feel what it meant to be alive in a community that has now vanished.

Michael Immerso has drawn a loving, finely detailed, and richly illustrated portrait of everyday lives of Italian immigrants and their children and grandchildren in NewarkÆs First Ward. Through story and image Immerso wants us to hear the cries of peddlers and eel mongers again, to feel the excitement and pride on Eighth Avenue when DiMaggio comes for dinner, and succeeds in a work of deep respect for the memory of Italian Newark.

Re-creates a visual history of an era and a way of life long lost.

Part history book, part pop culture examination, part sociology report, Coney Island: The People's Playground by Newark native Michael Immerso is an enjoyable asàwell, an amusement park. à Whether the reader is someone who visited the long-ago Coney Island in their youth or someone who never set foot on the famed boardwalk, Coney Island: The People's Playground is as fascinating as it is informative, as educational as it is amusing.