4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
What do you do when you know a loved one played an important role in a project that is now part of national heritage, but no history book or trade journal acknowledges his contribution anywhere? You research, find proof of his accomplishments and embark on a journey to set the records straight.
This is exactly what Lou Del Bianco did in his book Out of Rushmore's Shadow: The Luigi Del Bianco Story. As a child, he had heard many tales about his grandfather, Luigi, an Italian immigrant who lived the American dream. Luigi was an artist with the stone; a master craftsman who got to work on one of the most incredible projects in the United States: the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. He was part of the team that carved in stone the heads of four famous United States presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
The only problem: nobody ever recognized his amazing work on the granite sculpture. If at all, he was carelessly lumped in with 400 untrained miners who worked on and off on that project. However, Luigi Del Bianco was not a common worker. Even the project designer, Gutzon Borglum, who hired Luigi to work on the piece, called him Chief Carver, mentioning more than once that without Luigi there wouldn’t be a finished sculpture at all.
The book is split into three main parts. The first section describes Lou growing up with stories about his grandfather’s extraordinary talent and the author’s initial search for proof that takes him to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Here, he discovers several original documents that prove without a shadow of a doubt: Luigi was, indeed, Chief Carver of the project. The second part chronicles Luigi Del Bianco’s life. I found the carver’s life to be incredible, full of hardship and wonder. The book goes into detail about Luigi’s time in South Dakota while working on the carving and his life with his family back in Port Chester, New York. And the third part recounts Lou Del Bianco’s enormous efforts to have his grandfather take his rightful place as one of the most important people to have ever worked on Mount Rushmore.
I was shocked reading how much adversity Lou had to overcome to get anywhere with the massive red tape of bureaucracy that surrounded his every step. It is a major feat, considering it took the author a quarter of a century to have his grandfather’s work finally “credited with doing the most important carving on America’s most iconic sculpture.”
The many photographs and scanned documents the author included in his memoir managed to deeply impress me. There are photos of Luigi taken over a lifetime with his family and during his work at Mount Rushmore, and even a colorful picture featuring the huge cake presented as part of the Cake Boss episode done in the carver’s honor. The book also includes many letters between Luigi and his family, as well as Luigi and Gutzon Borglum. In the memoir, you can feel Lou’s love and admiration for his grandfather and his need for the National Park Service to acknowledge Luigi’s rightful place in the history of Mount Rushmore. And when he gets his wish, you can also feel his elation, gratitude, and tears of joy.
In his writing, the author uses simple, everyday language that is accessible to everyone. There are no difficult or sophisticated words found within these pages. I only came across two or three punctuation mistakes, which means the book was professionally edited. I give Out of Rushmore's Shadow: The Luigi Del Bianco Story 4 out of 4 stars and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who loves learning about the hidden history of America and to readers who enjoy sampling intriguing biographies and memoirs.
******
Out of Rushmore's Shadow: The Luigi Del Bianco Story"
View: on Bookshelves
Like kislany's review? Post a comment saying so!