New-Age Renaissance Man

E. W. Bonadio
I Universe (2006)
ISBN 059539552X
Reviewed by William Phenn for Reader Views (11/06)

“Ciao Goombahs!” That’s how Mr. Bonadio would greet you if you were to see him on the street. E.W. is Italian and a very poignant married man with a loving wife and two grown children. An accomplished author, Mr. Bonadio has two other books to his credit (“Voices” and “Illuminations”). Born in the Highlandtown section of Baltimore, E. W. writes with the flair of a neighborhood kid.
           
“New-Age Renaissance Man” is the memoir of Mr. Bonadio, affectionately known as, “Eddie Spaghetti”. From boyhood to manhood, Eddie took me along to show me the developmental stages of the “Italian Man.” Starting with their own version of the “Little Rascals,” the neighborhood band and beyond, Mr. Bonadio also took me back to those wonderful years of Vietnam, the draft lottery, CYO (church) dances, high school rivalry and so much more. He brought back such wonderful old memories of those bygone days, days when Johnson was President and later Nixon. I could relate vividly with the episode of sneaking into the show through the exit door. Or, receiving that letter from the draft board; telling me to report for my physical.

Mr. Bonadio took me on an adventure through these memorable times, but he did it with one special addition to the norm. He showed me all this from the perspective of a young Italian kid. The antics that Bonadio describes were so parallel to my own back then. The crazy things he did as an Alter Boy, I did the same. When he mentioned his strict parents and the way the kids were brought up back then, it was de ja vous.  Bonadio brings out some very distinct differences in the Anglo-Saxon kids and himself. At one point he lists the likes and dislikes of the Italian male. Then there is a very funny part called, “you know your Italian when”. The little nuances that are interjected into the book make it exciting.

I enjoyed “New-Age Renaissance Man” very much. It was a light hearted and fast paced 150 pages that is well worth buying. If you are over 50, it will bring you back to a time when people still spoke to each other (without email). To a time when the cops dealt out street justice and didn’t bother overloading the court system. But if you’re not over 50, you will still enjoy “New-Age Renaissance Man” because it will give you an insight into how your parents might have grown up. You don’t have to be Italian to enjoy “New-Age Renaissance Man”, it’s better if you are (you will laugh a little harder); but it’s not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite I would say would be a love of a good book.
“New-Age Renaissance Man” is that and more. I give it my highest A+ rating, it is a must read.

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