The Descendant

“The Ludlow massacre in Colorado in 1914 is a very compelling story of man’s inhumanity to man. It is an issue of human rights, bigotry, and how vicious people can come in stereotyping people for greed and fortune. I look forward to the publication of Linda Stasi’s book, The Descendant and her authorship as only she can dramatize man’s pain, agony, and resilience.” – Reverend Al Sharpton, President of National Action Network, New York Times bestselling author, MSNBC host
“Told through the eyes of one family, The Descendant is the story of how thousands of Italian immigrants helped settle the American West fighting unimaginable hardship, massacre, flood, blizzards, and bigotry to emerge triumphant as cattle ranchers, cowboys, bootleggers, and heroic WWII fighter plane crew members. Written with heartbreak and humor, Stasi’s novel brings needed change to the accepted, but biased, untold Italian American immigrant narrative.” – Andrew Cuomo, former New York State governor, NYC mayoral candidate, New York Times bestselling author
“In The Descendant, Linda Stasi tells a story little-known and hers to tell: the wild and history-based tale of the Italian miners and ranchers in the American West. Immigration, prohibition, the birth of the mafia, and a little girl watched over by a large gray wolf—Stasi’s family was there, and I’m so glad I got to meet them in all their astonishing variety in this novel.” – SJ Rozan, author of the 2024 New York Times pick of best historical novels: The Murder of Mr. Ma bestselling author of over twenty novels
I guarantee your imagination will put you there with them and, as I did, you will wonder what you would do to survive. This is a story that will resonate in your thoughts for a long time.” – David Fisher, author of twenty-four New York Times bestselling fiction and non-fiction books
“The Descendant is a compelling historical novel that is an eye opener and reminds us of the brutality that Italian immigrants and others withstood in reaching their American dream.” – Angelo Vivolo, founding member Italian American Leadership Foundation, board member National Italian American Foundation (NIAF)
“The Descendant is a riveting family saga that carries readers from a small Sicilian village to the mines of Colorado and the streets of Brooklyn. Inspired by real events, it reveals the resilience and daring of the Barbera family—especially the fierce women whose courage and defiance helped them survive poverty, violence, and the pull of the Mafia. Epic in scope yet intimate in its storytelling, this is a powerful portrait of love, loss, and the fight to carve out a future against impossible odds.” – Jacqueline Friedland, USA Today bestselling author of He Gets That From Me and Counting Backwards
“The Descendant blends immigrant history. Folklore, and family legacy into a sweeping historical saga. Highly recommended.” – Historical Novel Society
“It’s always been the American story: immigrants arrive, work relentlessly, endure misery, find success, and sometimes tragedy… and often both. But no one has ever told it more vividly than Linda Stasi in The Descendant, a sweeping tale that’s grand yet intimate, fantastical yet coldly realistic, and overflowing on every page with big characters, big emotions, and the kind of operatic storytelling that demands you keep turning pages. A knockout.” – William Martin, New York Times bestselling author of City of Dreams and December ’41
“Set in turn-of-the-century Colorado, The Descendant is a poignantly moving tale of the American immigrant experience. Linda Stasi covers war, Prohibition, and the birth of the American Mafia in an epic family saga. An exciting and moving read!” – Ward Larsen, winner of five major writing awards and USA Today bestselling author of Dark Vector
“The Descendant by Linda Stasi is an incredible work. There is nothing that reaches the soul quite so much as history presented with the lives of those who lived through it. Amazing characters: I am a huge history buff, and this is much more than history. It’s heart, soul, and mind for the reader.” – Heather Graham, winner of Romance Writers and Thriller Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Awards and author of over forty New York Times bestsellers

Linda Stasi is a novelist and multi-award winning journalist. Her first novel, The Sixth Station, hit Amazon’s Top 25 and was hailed as “A helluva religious thriller,” by Nelson DeMille, while Steve Berry said, “You’ll be grabbing the pages so tight your knuckles will turn white!”

Stasi’s sequel, Book of Judas, received acclaim from mega bestselling authors such as Sherrilyn Kenyon, who called it, “An innovative masterpiece!”

Stasi has appeared on talk shows and news channels such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, Good Day New York, and The View as well as CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and many others.

She now serves as a trustee of the upcoming Museum of Civil Rights and is the on-camera book critic for CUNY TV’s Book It. She holds a bachelor of fine arts from New York Institute of Technology.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.