Urban Life, Landscape and Policy

"For Both Cross and Flag breaks interesting new ground. Issel, a leading specialist on the history of 20th century San Francisco, has done an exhaustive job of researching the life and career of Sylvester Andriano. He fills out the history of conservatism in the United States and the role of religion in local and national politics. Thoroughly researched and clearly written, this excellent historical work fits very nicely at the intersection of urban history, political history, and ethnic history. It also makes important moral points." Carl Abbott, Portland State University "Sylvester Adriano's story needs to be told and Issel does a service to American history in writing For Both Cross and Flag. He deals with a neglected aspect of American politics in World War II, and makes a serious contribution to the study of anti-Catholicism in the (Western) United States. In the hysteria of our post-911 world, Issel's book has a clear immediacy. For Both Cross and Flag fits in perfectly to discussions of religion, anti-Catholicism and secularization" Roy Domenico, University of Scranton "Issel's splendid book... Is a sad and tragic tale... His account of Sylvester Andriano also illustrates the wisdom of the Greek tragedian Aeschylus, who said, 'In war the first casualty is truth.'" - The Institute for Historical Study Newsletter "Issel's work is instructive, compelling, and valuable." The first response read, For Both Cross and Flag ought to count as the first meaningful and pace-setting step in recounting the history of Catholic Action in the United States. What is praiseworthy about Issel's treatment is that he eschews the proclivity to write functional organizational history. Instead, the author provides contextualization for a regional history of Catholic Action which will set the tone for how future historians will write about the movement." The second response read, "[A] pathbreaking book for scholars interested in twentieth-century Catholic history in general, and American anti-Catholicism in particular... In a concise, highly-readable book, Issel underscores the vibrancy of San Francisco Catholic culture." The U.S. Catholic Historian , Sping 2011 "Issel, a specialist in the political, social, and cultural history of twentieth-century America, cover new territory in this excellent study... For Both Cross and Flag is illuminating on several counts... Well researched and persuasively argued, this slim book is also relevant. Although the tragedy of Sylvester Andriano has slipped down the memory hole, its recounting reminds us of the effect of loyalty investigations on civil liberties in wartime. If some measure of the worthiness of a book is that it teaches us things we ought to remember, this is indeed a fine book." Western Historical Quarterly, Autumn 2011 "Beginning with the introduction, which presents an overview of the case, Issel skillfully guides the reader through the layers of Andriano's story and presents his central point: that anti-Catholicism played a key role in the decision of the Communist Party and anti-Catholic fellow Italian immigrants to target him... Issel has told a story whose importance lies in its cautionary nature and its reminder regarding the influence of immigrants' homeland politics and religious affiliation in domestic politics." Catholic Historical Review, January 2012 "It is Issel's description of the process of Catholic Action becoming something 'concrete' in the San Francisco area during the 1930s and 1940s that gives value to this book... Carefully and methodically, Issel shows how Catholic leaders - including [Sylvester] Andriano, but also Archbishops Edward Hanna and John Mitty along with Mayor Angelo Rossi - worked to secure a just resolution of worker demands because they saw those demands as legitimate given Catholic teaching... [T]here is no denying that his book, in its details, brings to life a period in which San Francisco's Catholics, and the Catholic Church in San Francisco, faced a set of circumstances, locally and globally, dramatically different from what is currently the case. Many readers...will enjoy the book for this reason alone." Italian American Review, Winter 2012