What turns the gentle mean, and the mean brutal? The thirst for wealth? The demand for respect? Vying for a woman? Birds of Passage recalls the Italian immigration experience at the turn of the twentieth-century when New York's streets were paved with violence and disappointment.

Leonardo Robustelli leaves Naples in 1905 to seek his fortune. Carlo Mazzi committed murder and escaped. Azzura Medina is an American of Italian parents. She's ambitious but strictly controlled by her mother. Leonardo and Carlo vie for her affection. Azzura, Leonardo, and Carlo confront con men, Tammany Hall politicians, the longshoreman's union, Camorra clans, Black Hand extortion, and the Tombs prison.

"With Birds of Passage, Joe Giordano delivers a rollicking, wholly entertaining take on the Italian
immigrant story. His rich cast of characters arrives seeking the usual: Money, honor, love, respect, a decent shot at the pursuit of happiness. But things get complicated fast as they plunge into the rough-and-tumble world of rackets, scams, and politics of early 20th-century New York City. Giordano serves up a thick, satisfying slice of the entire era in all its raw and brutal glory."

—Ben Fountain, author of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, soon to be a major motion picture directed by Ang Lee.

Bio: Joe Giordano was born in Brooklyn. His father and grandparents immigrated to New York from Naples. Joe and his wife, Jane, have lived in Brazil, Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands. They now live in Texas with their shih tzu Sophia. Joe's stories have appeared in more than sixty magazines including Bartleby Snopes, Newfound Journal, and The Summerset Review.

For release October 8, 2015
Historical coming of age; romance
Harvard Square Editions
260 pages
$22.95 Trade Paperback; $9.99, eBook
ISBN 978-­‐1-­‐941861-­‐08-­‐0
Distribution: Ingram, Brodart, Baker, & Taylor, Gardners, Bertrams, Blackwell, B & N, Amazon, and bookstores everywhere