Hollywood vs. Nazis

Praise for Michael Benson

HOLLYWOOD VS. NAZIS

“Takes an important historical moment—when anti-Nazi orga­niz­ers were infil­trat­ing West Coast Nazi cells in the years before Pearl Har­bor—and gives it the Hol­ly­wood block­buster treatment. . . . The story is important and deserves to be told.” —Jewish Book Council

“A wonderful read with a thoughtful handling of a very serious and complex subject matter. Lovers of Hollywood and history will find Michael Benson’s new book fascinating and entertaining.” —Craig Singer, co-author of Moguls and Emmy-nominated film writer, producer, and director

“Once again, Michael Benson makes history fun with his signature witty style and writing that brings each character alive. It isn’t easy to make a true story about Nazis and spies humorous, but somehow he pulls it off. Gripping and unbelievable in equal measure, this is a must-read.” —Elie Kraft, senior communications and research officer, Campaign Against Antisemitism

“A well-researched, fascinating, at-times-shocking look at a heretofore little-known part of Hollywood history that resonates in today’s polarized sociopolitical landscape.” —Michael Seth Starr, author of Don Rickles: The Merchant of Venom and Nothin’ Comes Easy: The Life of Rodney Dangerfield

“Chockablock with life-threatening espionage, clandestine tradecraft, and a world hanging in the balance, Michael Benson’s Hollywood Vs. Nazis is as gripping as any Tinseltown spy thriller. As his previous tome detailed American gangsters battling Nazi party members in the US in the years before World War II, Hollywood Vs. Nazis highlights how Hollywood moguls funded the fight against Nazi efforts to win American hearts and minds. Not surprisingly, a propaganda war against Hollywood was always doomed to fail, but as ever, Benson reminds us that history, done right, can be great fun.” —Todd Farley, author of Making the Grades and New York Post contributor

“Michael Benson presents all this in thrilling fashion and good detail. . . . A valuable addition to the World War Two story.” —The Budapest Times

GANGSTERS VS. NAZIS

“From indoctrinating youth camps to jack-booted rallies promoting Adolf Hitler, pre-World War II America was threatened by the rise of Nazism. Gangsters vs. Nazis is a must-read, eye-opening account that brings to life the violent struggle between these home-brewed storm troopers and an army of unlikely patriots; gangs of fist-swinging Jewish mobsters willing to break bones and crack heads in order to turn back the Nazi menace.” —Larry Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers

“I read it in one sitting, and you will too. Highly recommended.” —L. Douglas Keeney, author of 15 Minutes: General Curtis LeMay and the Countdown to Nuclear Annihilation

“Benson tells this little-known chapter of American Jewish history well and with passion. The prose is colorful and direct.” —New York Journal of Books

“Michael Benson’s nonfiction masterpiece Gangsters vs. Nazis reads like speculative fiction at its very best, even though the incidents the book portrays are very much real. . . . One of the most rivetingly relevant reads I’ve ever encountered, chock-full of real-life heroes and villains who are every bit the match for the best that thriller fiction has to offer.” —Jon Land, The Providence Journal

“It is a colorful tale. It reads in many places like a mid-20th century Jimmy Cagney movie or Mickey Spillane novel come to life. It occurs in the same settings and the author uses the Runyonesque language of the genre. The mobsters deal out knuckle sandwiches and whack foes on the noggin. At one point Benson urges readers to think of one team as The Dirty Dozen with some Yiddish thrown in.” —Ricochet

“Told in a colorful, Runyonesque style, the tale is about one of the strangest campaigns of the late 1930s. It shows how the Jewish American community organized to fight the German American Bund and other fascist groups in the United States in the years prior to America’s entry into World War II. To break up Nazi rallies and bust heads, the community enlisted Jewish gangsters, the author claims—not ‘good guys’ protecting the American way. This is a fascinating and entertaining read.” —The Epoch Times

“As criminologists the world over have shown, when government institutions fail to provide the people, or a sizable segment thereof, with the goods and services they desire, collateral institutions, some illegal, will. Michael Benson, a renowned organized crime writer in his own right, suggests this constant was alive and well in the 1930s . . . . Gangsters vs. Nazis is quite worthy of exploration and attribution.” —Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books, Rutgers University Law School

“Enlightening and colorful. . . . Jewish boxing fans will find a lot of riveting stories in Gangsters vs. Nazis told in an extremely entertaining manner. Those who enjoy reading about the Mob or find catharsis in the bloodying of Nazis will thoroughly enjoy Michael Benson’s work. This is highly recommended reading.” —Jewish Boxing

“Benson is a master of true crime.” —Robert Scott

MOGULS

“The book you are holding is a whirlwind tale, a roller-coaster ride through Hollywood history. Its cast of characters includes names such as Chaplin, Keaton, Valentino, Talmadge, and Monroe, lest we forget Hitler and Luciano. It’s got chills, thrills, romance, comedy, intrigue, and danger; it’s equal parts The Last Tycoon and Horatio Alger, except this story is real. Hell, somebody should make a movie out of this.” —Terence Winter, writer and producer of The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and The Wolf of Wall Street

“This illuminating book sheds light on brothers at least as influential as the Warners, but lesser known in cinematic popular culture.” —Library Journal