This had me invested from the first page and was so glad I got to read this. It had that element that I was looking for and was engaged with the true story being told. I was invested in what was happening and how the crime element worked overall. Anthony DeSantis has a strong writing style and was glad I read this.

The Stowaway begins in Paris, 1929. Gaetano “Guy” DeSantis is an Italian emigrant with a good life: A stable construction job, a comfortable place to live, and a blossoming relationship with a young waitress, Marie. But when a stranger shows up at Guy’s door saying that his cousin, Frank, has paid for a boat ride to the USA, how could Guy refuse?

What a fascinating look into times that were both simpler and more difficult at the same time! I love that Guy's son, who is the author, had the foresight to film his dad so that no part of the story (or family history) would be forgotten. All it took was one split-second decision, and the entire course of Guy's life was changed.

I loved that the author was able to take his dad back to France, allowing Guy to imagine how differently his life might have turned out if he had stayed. Just like that, Guy knew that his life had turned out exactly the way it was supposed to. Like I said ... fascinating.

Thank you, #FlagshipPress, for providing this book for review consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. The Stowaway has an expected publication date of March 5, 2025.

#AnthonyDeSantis #GirlFriday #TheMob #Memoir

This is a true story of Gut DeSantis told through his son. An interesting story of an immigrant crossing the Atlantic Ocean to America. Good read.

Gaetano "Guy" DeSantis (February 21, 1902 - August 9, 1991) came from Arce, Italy. He grew up in a large family and helped them farm etc. The place he was born and raised in was known as mezzogiorno, or the land that time forgot, and where life revolved around l'ordine della famiglia (the rules of family behaviour and responsibility).

Guy served in the Italian Army post WWI. But he wanted better opportunities, so he came to France, working construction until a chance encounter with a man demanding he leave for America at once, altered the course of his life in 1929.

Until then, Guy was living a happy life in France. He had decent employment and living conditions and was going steady with a lady named Marie. Now, he was being forced to leave it all behind for the unknown. Together with his friend Ernesto, the two became stowaways aboard the SS Paris. It was a stressful journey as the two had to avoid being caught. Otherwise, they could face jail time and deportation.

Italian immigrants to the US, suffered from exploitation by their own kind, the Mano Nera or Black Hand extortion racket.Black Hand was practiced by Italian immigrant gangsters, targeting Italian-American ghettos or neighbourhoods.Typical Black Hand tactics involved sending a letter to a victim threatening bodily harm, kidnapping, arson, or murder. The letter demanded a specified amount of money to be delivered to a specific place. It was decorated with threatening symbols and was frequently signed with a hand, "held up in the universal gesture of warning", imprinted or drawn in thick black ink.

Guy hoped his cousin Francisco/Frank, a baker, would be there to meet him in the US,but Frank had no idea Guy was coming at all. It was extortion. Guy's captors demanded $600 for his release. Frank relied on his community village ties to raise the necessary funds to secure Guy's release. Eventually, Guy was free, and the cousins reunited.

Guy eventually repaid his debt. He settled and became a US citizen in 1944. Guy married Dena in 1939, and had two children: author and pilot Anthony, and Patty. Guy achieved the American Dream.He was brave, hardworking, and adventurous.

A fairly short entertaining memoir of one Italian's journey into America in the 1920's. Having heard his father tell the tale numerous times, DeSantis decided to write the story so that it would not be forgotten.

I read The Stowaway in First Class in one sitting and fully appreciate the historical, fast moving, true story of Anthony DeSantis' father's journey from Southern Italy to Boston in the United States. We learn about his immigration, recondite as it was, and are riveted by the involvement of the Italian criminal element in the story.

Anthony DeSantis has committed himself to interviewing his father about his adventures, and he has exceptionally strong writing skills that make the plot, danger, and romance important and fascinating. DeSantis deserves praise and kudos for his research and documentation. Of course he is emotionally connected to the story, but he also carefully describes the ship his father Guy travels on, the background history of Southern Italian immigrants who were distinctly believed to be less educated, poorer, not particularly worthy of being allowed into the United States, and where they eventually end up and what they do as US immigrants.

As a person who married years ago into a Southern Italian immigrant family from Potenza district, I am fully aware of the distinctions drawn between the people of Northern and Southern Italy. Having been fortunate enough to visit the South, I admire DeSantis' examination of the two areas and how different they are.

This book examines the immigrant story, the perils of a desire to leave Southern Italy to improve oneself, and what the challenges are when one leaves what one knows best and loves in spite of everything. I recommend this book as a well-written and well-considered 20th Century immigrant story. In the final trip returning to Italy with his aging father, Guy, Anthony DeSantis' father, we find out what happened to the woman Guy left behind which brings the story full circle. There is a lot to learn here.

Thanks to Girl Friday and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this excellent book.

This book is an historical novel detailing an adventurous young man’s journey to America in the early twentieth century. It is written by his son in a very loving manner and is an exciting and inspiring story. It is especially relevant in today’s world with illegal immigration a hot political topic. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this heartwarming book prior to publication.