Just Read the Title - Hollywood vs Nazis!

Benson, Michael.  Hollywood vs Nazis: How the Movie Studios Took on Nazis Infiltrating Los Angeles.  New York: Citadel Press, 2026.  ISBN: 9780806544786

 

Welcome to the land of greed and glitter where the dream factories reside - AKA Hollywood!  In the 1930s, the movie studios were very big in Hollywood making pictures that were shown world wide.  Hitler and the Nazis wanted into that action so they sent folks over to California to infiltrate the movie studios and shift their focus to movies more to their liking.  Michael Benson takes the reader along for the ride into this bit of little-known history in Hollywood vs Nazis!

 

In twenty-four chapters, an epilogue, and an interesting appendix, Michael Benson sets the stage of Los Angeles in the 1930s where corruption, oil, and movies ruled.  When Goebbels sent folks to America they did not quite know the ground rules in play.  The Friends of New Germany started meeting in 1933 and opposition to these meeting started soon after.  In Hollywood, a Jewish lawyer named Leon Lewis started an organization to infiltrate the infiltrators and spy out their secrets to be revealed at an opportune time.  Lewis also got together with Jewish organizations and various movie moguls such at the Warner Brothers who provided monetary support for the spies.  Lewis's organization uncovered Nazis plans for harassment, armed uprisings, and general mayhem.  At various times the organization worked with the LA cops, the California government, and occasionally the U.S. House UnAmerican Activities Committee to thwart the Nazis plans and derail various white supremacist organizations as well.  In the end, Hollywood won and the Nazis never did get the foothold they wanted in California.

 

So, if you are interested in a popular telling of the little known history of Hollywood during the 1930s to early 1940s, pick up Michael Benson's Hollywood vs Nazis and be entertained while learning.

 

 

 

Two Authors Talking Science Fiction and Fantatsy

Walton, Jo, and Ada Palmer.  Trace Elements: Conversations on the Project of Science Fiction and 

         Fantasy.  New York: Tor Publishing, 2026.  ISBN: 9781250372604

 

Take two award winning authors who are friends and turn them loose on the broad definition of science fiction and fantasy (SF&F).  What comes out is Trace Elements - a compilation of previously published and newly written essays, genre reflections, poems, and biography that lets the reader peek behind the curtain and watch a bit of sausage-making.

 

Jo and Ada divided Trace Elements into three sections.  Section 1: Genre, Or the Modern Proteus has thirteen essays and poems dealing with the contract between the author and reader,  the history of science fiction, definitions, why science fiction or fantasy might pretend to be the other genre, plus the role of robots, and the interaction of SF&F with romance, manga/anime, and mysteries.  

 

Section 2: Anyone Who Says Differently is Selling Something provides the reader a glimpse into how each author works and how they became the author that they are over the course of five essays.  

 

Section 3: Craft contains twelve essays and poems on the purpose of writing science fiction and/or fantasy, why reading, the necessity of diversity in protagonists, the issue of censorship and writing around it, and a very interesting look at The Princess Bride (both the book and the movie). 

 

So if you are looking for different approaches to science fiction/fantasy or you just enjoy reading well crafted essays on a variety of topics, do pick up this volume and delve into it yourself.  Your time will be well spent! 

Uncovering Hitler's New Friends and Fellow Travelers!

Mathias, Christopher.  To Catch a Fascist: The Fight to Expose the Radical Right.  New York: 

         Atria Books, 2026.  ISBN:  9781668034767

 

So how much do you know about various radical organizations in the United States?  You might have heard of the Proud Boys, or Aryan Nation.  Maybe the Ku Klux Klan or one of the host of white supremacist groups sprouting up like dandelions across America.  But how much do you know of the myriad groups that have sprung up in opposition to these radical right-wing mobs?  If you want to know more, then To Catch a Fascist is the book for you.

 

Christopher Mathias opens the book with his introduction to this conflict - the "Unite the Right" rally of 8/12/2017.   He lays out his experience that day and how that lead him to spend the next several year exploring and learning about the modern anti-fascists who courageously seek to lay bare the plans of a host of radical organizations and the people behind the masks.  He spends a decent amount of the book relating the tale of "Vincent" who infiltrated a West Coast white supremacist group.  Vincent managed to thwart a number of actions they were trying to take on the west coast and gathered information to identify the individuals in this local group.  He also managed to go from this group to a national group and was able to relay information on a Washington march to other anti-fascists that caused that march to be a bust that blew up and exposed a number of members to the public.  Besides Vincent,  Mathias also took the time and space to briefly discuss the history of anti-fascist and anti-white supremacy actions across American history while focusing on recent events.  

 

If you are looking for an exciting non-fiction read, Christopher Mathias's To Catch a Fascist will give you that!