Waiting For Yesterday: Pages From a Street Kid's Life (VIA Folios)

WAITING FOR YESTERDAY: Pages from a Street Kid's LifebyMICHAEL PARENTIBook Review by Alexander Vavoulis When Michael Parenti writes about his life as a street kid, the reader is pleasantly surprised because he goes beyond the subtitle; you discover detailed descriptions of a public school in the New York Italian Harlem neighborhood where he lived,interesting facts about World War I and World War II, of stereotyping of ethnic groups, about demographic changes in a big city, and of a young man (the author) who is not submerged by his environment, and more. Waiting for Yesterday, is an intriguing title to a very interesting book by a prolific writer. Interspersed among personal everyday encounters, are his gems of observations with depth and with historical references that enriches the prose. For example, how can you not appreciate his observation of his Italian grandmother and that of an African-American grandmother of a friend? The hidden similarities that bind us are of greater essence than the highly visible superficial differences that so command our attention and divide us. . .Too bad we cannot readily live with that awareness, finding reassurance in our similarities and enjoyment in our differences. Waiting for Yesterday has a special message about education in a democratic society: In writing about being a student at an institution of higher education, he says: It is not open only to the offspring of affluent families. My accomplishments were not entirely mine. The "self-made man" is an iconic image in America. But I really cannot claim to be self-made. I was able to afford to attend the City College of New York (CCNY) because it was a tuition-free school. . .So I amgreatly indebted to progressive individuals of generations before, whose names I do not even know, who fought for the principle of free higher education, the idea that a worker's child cancan get a degree. . ." The above two examples are just a small part of a book which provides beautiful prose as well as poignant analysis of city life in the way the author remembers it. In one sense "Yesterday" willnever come, but it comes because the author has done us a service in writing this important book.It's impressive that this literary artist actualized his potential given the obstacles inhis environment (where a young man can be easily submerged). He has integrated his experience and knowledge toward a full life to become an very important American writer. I highly recommend this book.February 12, 2015Dr. Vavoulis is a Professor Emeritus at California State University, Fresno. He is an Honorary Board Member of The Sword of Zeus Project, President of the Fresno Free College Foundation for 20-years and founder of KFCF-FM, a listener-Sponsored radio station.

Having read most of MIchael Parenti's body of work and having frequently assigned his books as course texts, I eagerly anticipated this narrative. My already high expectations were surpassed by thiswonderful memoir which covers his early years. The format is a series of deeply affecting vignettes about street life, school, religion, family, Italian-American ethnic identity and above all, the people Parenti encountered. Along the way we obtain a clear sense of his early experience of class and culture among the working class poor of Italian East Harlem in the 1930s and early 1940s.Parenti readily acknowledges that these formative experiences did not necessarily register at the forefront of his consciousness and only upon later reflection did they assume a deeper, political meaning. Surely there's an important lesson for us there. For me, one of the all too rare qualities in a memoir is when the reader is moved to muse about his or her own shaping experiences, including reinterpretations that offer a fresh perspective. I found myself engaged in such reflection long after finishing the book and feeling grateful for the prompts.For all his considerable accomplishments, Parenti wisely observes that "like every other 'self-made' person, I could not have done it had there not been others before me who provided resources and channels that made it all possible." It's my sense that Parenti's unrelenting work on behalf of social justice has been informed, at least in part, by that insight and appreciation. Sharing this memoir is of a piece with that life. I feel limited by only being able to award it five stars and hope a sequel covering the next stage of his life is already underway.

Great read. A personal experience / history of NY. Always clear-eyed, with gentle humour and no hint whatsoever of narcissism. Just what you would expect from one of the best historians around.

Michael Parenti's touching memoir adds a whole new dimension to his extensive body of work. He writes with wonderful texture about his Italian-American boyhood in New York; it is a story of a city as well as of a man. I loved it.

A great book that takes you on a journey and teaches you as you explore Parenti's journey. I see the interelatedness in my times gone by. Wow and discovering history I had not known. A must buy for the intellectual, knowelege seeker, those wanting to view a beautiful work of art and for those like me voyeurs of life. The deep thinkers our parents were who could connect a needless medical procedures of the day,tonsillectomies to illness. The books make me miss my parents and the old and wise and of course the simple ole days

This is a great book. Fan of Parenti or not you will enjoy this book. Its very touching and honest. I will always treasure it.

A slice of life from the little know Italian neighborhod in East Harlem. Author Michael Parenti has written a succinct autibiography of his life in this immigrant/working class neighborhood and how it helped form his worldview. A great read for anyone interested in the Italian-American experience. Highly recommended.

...Poignant and a beautifully written memoir are the words that come to mind !!! ( brings be back to my chilshood in Brooklyn !)

My husband loved it and so have both people he gave copies to.

Michael Parenti is one of the USA's most prolific progressive writers on politics, history and culture, and the author of such excellent books as Democracy for the Few, Blackshirts and Reds, and The Assassination of Julius Caesar.In this beautiful little book Parenti - who turns 80 this year - presents us with a memoir giving snapshots of his life as a working-class kid growing up in Italian East Harlem. Parenti is not only politically astute but also a very skilful writer, and in this book he manages to seamlessly weave together the intensely personal with the political. The result is a delight to read and combines his wry sense of humour, deeply poignant reflections on the passing of time, and insightful commentary on class and ethnicity in 20th century and contemporary America.Parenti explains: "I entitle this endeavour Waiting for Yesterday because even though yesterday has already been lived, we often seek to revisit it with fresh understanding. We rummage through a mute past hoping to extract fragments of experience and feelings that we can weave together in an engaging way".Parenti muses on his working-class neighbourhood, family, school, religion and Italian-American ethnic identity, and combines this with discussion of larger issues such as the immigrant experience, ethnic stereotypes, the "seemingly indelible mafia stigma", and the performance of the Italian military in both World Wars. He also describes how on a visit to Mezzagra in Italy in 2004 he tried unsuccessfully to pay homage to Mussolini by urinating on the spot where il Duce was executed by partisans. There are also accounts of acquaintances with sobriquets like "Frog Eyes" Martino, Sonny "Pish" Pisciatelli and the chronically tumescent Tony "Bone" Bonatelli.A highly engaging and evocative memoir that will have you laughing and crying simultaneously.

This bitter-sweet autobiography accompanies us in the Italian-American experience unveiling the root of Michael Parenti’s courage and wit. It’s one of those books you wished would never end.

For people who want to know about the beginnings of the great lecturer and writer Michael Parenti. A human, easy paced short story.