What Zizi Gave Honeyboy: A True Story about Love, Wisdom, and the Soul of America

By Gerald Celente

Book Overview

One recent spring Gerald Celente went to visit his cuddly eighty-three-year-old Italian aunt, Zizi, in Yonkers, New York. He was expecting the same delectable combination of food, friendship, and motherly love that Zizi had served up through the years at her little kitchen table. But Celente got more than he expected. Over chicken cutlets and games of Scrabble, the straight-talking Zizi raised some tough questions for her nephew, "Honeyboy," to consider. Targeting some of the essential issues of our time-work, family, health care, politics, war, and aging in America -- Zizi made Celente think about whether America was delivering on its promises. Have we lost too many timeless old-world values in the march of progress? Are we really better off today than we were yesterday? And what does the future hold for each one of us, our families, and our community as a whole? Celente thought he had it all figured out. As the founder of the Trends Research Institute, he is well respected for his track record of picking business, consumer, political, and economic trends before they come to pass. It is his job to see the future and understand how the issues and events of today will determine the trends of tomorrow. But it took Zizi to help him see the unsettling truths about what has happened to America over the last several decades. They would talk about the world they once knew -- a world filled with family, dinners together, and Sundays at church. Zizi would remember "back then" with fondness, and Celente would recall his years growing up with his parents and six siblings. As they reflect on their pasts, their lives, and where we've arrived as a nation, Celente and Zizi realize that something has been lost. There is an emptiness that most of us feel. But what is the cause of it? And what can we do to fix it? In What Zizi Gave Honeyboy, Gerald Celente provides a provocative look at our lives today and a glimpse of the future we deserve in Zizi's warmth, her recipes, and her wisdom.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0066212669
• ISBN13: 9780066212661
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Zizi is one of a kind

In this book, Gerald Celente pays tribute to his remarkable Aunt Zizi. In a series of conversations, the two make important points about our world today and the challenges of living in it. If you've wondered if the "good old days" really are better, read WHAT ZIZI GAVE HONEYBOY, and you'll not only be armed with information, but you'll be ready to do something about it. I buy up remaindered copies of the book and give them to my friends, who share my opinion of it once they've read it. It's a real "find" and a provocative and often very amusing read.

I loved it

This book is a must read for anyone that grew up as an american italian and cares about our future. It reminded me of what we are missing today and what is really important.

Zizi rocks!

I bought this book and couldn't put it down until I wasdone reading it, a pretty fast bittersweet read.Celente does a great job of showing how the default culturein America has really screwed things up - from the fake foodmost folks now get to the phoney political system.He laments what we lost in the breakup of the traditionalextended family without coming across as a sentimental reactionary.Zizi for president!

Zizi - a national treasure

Who hasn't wished that they had Aunt like Zizi? The lady makes great anise cookies, tons of delicious Italian fare and sends you home with all the leftovers!! She serves all her dishes with a healthy dose of common sense and insight gained from observing life the past 83 years. Through her Gerald Celente puts a human face on the trends that have been on the front page for the past twenty years and the new ones that will be on tomorrow. A great read and a great lady!

what zizi gave honey boy

A very light easy read that has it all from nostalgia, humor, sadness,to most of all- important messages to where America is today. If you find yourself in the eye of a stress storm being bombarded with today's events including no time for yourself and family this book is for you. Very insightful!I picked this book to read because I know Mr. Celente's reputation for getting it right in identifying trends in his previous books. He called everything from the Dot Com demise to the end of the cold war well before the actual happenings.