Margavio (sociology, U. of New Orleans) and Salomone (sociology, Southeastern Louisiana U.), themselves descendents of Italian immigrants, have collected stories and accounts of cultural, political, and religious traditions brought from the old country to Louisiana in the early 20th century. The mores of the Italians and their relative economic success is attributed to their national character, using the culture-personality school theory developed by anthropologists Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead, to which the authors subscribe. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)