Carmine Vittoria

Events of WW II in the Naples area as witnessed and seen by a child and his family are recounted in detail. His observations often contrast with adult observations of the same events. Many of the discrepancies between the two are reconciled or explained by the author in terms of recent revelations of post-war military trials, economic recovery, preservation of the church, and the absurdity of some war plans. There is an old Neapolitan proverb that states roughly: With little truth, sometimes it may be possible to hide the big lie. The little truth, in the Mediterranean campaign of the Allied Armies, was that the island of Sardinia was at the limit of air coverage from Sicily. The big lie was that the island was occupied by German troops. In truth, German troops left in early September 1943.

Had the Allies invaded the island of Sardinia it would have shortened the war, minimized American casualties, negated the need for the Salerno, Anzio and Cassino catastrophes, and reduced the suffering and misery in Southern Italy. “Vittoria has injected some realism into the events of war taking place in Naples area by showing some human aspects to war.”-Post-Gazette Book Review (April 6, 2018) “The setting for the story is the town of Avella near Naple… The mountains have protected the people in the valley’s below from invading armies for centuries. They were a source of food and a symbol of inspiration for resisting or surviving foreign invasions.”-The Islander News Book Review (April 12, 2018) “Remarkably well-researched and expertly written, the 309 page book provides a much different perspective on the war than anything a reader is likely to have experienced before.”-Italian Tribune Off the Book Shelf Review.

About the Author:

Carmine Vittoria is a Professor Emeritus in the studies of Microwave Magnetic Materials and the author of three scientific books, one soccer book and over 400 scientific publications in peer-reviewed journals. He is Life Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineering), Fellow of the APS (American Physical Society) and received many scientific awards. This is his first non-scientific book. He believes that the full story of WW II in the Naples area is yet to be told. The book sheds light on some of the events of that time.