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John Mariani’s new book: How Italian Food Conquered the World (2011 Palgrave MacMillan) is an essential read for anyone (and everyone) who loves Italian food, Italian restaurants, Italy (or IT-ly as my dear, departed dad called it) or any and all things Italian…which is to say, pretty much all of us. It chronicles the success story of this immigrant cuisine — from the 19th Century splash the Del-Monico brothers made among New York society to the mystique of Rao’s to the world-wide rise of Super Tuscan wines out of the ashes of Dago red — and is so fascinating, we hardly wanted to finish it.

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