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Title details for The American Way by Helene Stapinski - Available

The American Way

A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe

by Helene Stapinski
Bonnie Siegler
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 2 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 2 copies available
In this "necessary and beautifully told story of struggle, compassion and serendipity" (Forbes), the publisher of DC Comics comes to the rescue of a family trying to flee Nazi Berlin, their lives linking up with a dazzling cast of 20th-century icons, all eagerly pursuing the American Dream.
Family lore had it that Bonnie Siegler's grandfather crossed paths in Midtown Manhattan late one night in 1954 with Marilyn Monroe, her white dress flying up around her as she filmed a scene for The Seven Year Itch. An amateur filmmaker, Jules Schulback had his home movie camera with him, capturing what would become the only surviving footage of that legendary night. Bonnie wasn't sure she quite believed her grandfather's story...until, cleaning out his apartment, she found the film reel. The discovery would prompt her to investigate all of her grandfather's seemingly tall tales—and lead her in pursuit of a remarkable piece of forgotten history that reads like fiction but is all true.

A "fast-moving American epic with a cast of refugees and starlets, publishers and bootleggers, comic-book creators and sports legends" (The Washington Post), The American Way follows two very different men—Jules Schulback and his unlikely benefactor, DC Comics publisher (and sometimes pornographer) Harry Donenfeld—on an exuberant true-life adventure linking glamorous old Hollywood, the birth of the comic book, and one family's experiences during the Holocaust. It's an "amazing" story told "with grace, verve, and compassion" (The Jerusalem Post) of two strivers living through an extraordinary moment in American history, their lives intersecting with a glittering array of stars in a "colorful" and "punchy" (The New York Times Book Review) tale of hope and reinvention, of daring escapes and fake identities, of big dreams and the magic of movies, and what it means to be a real-life Superman.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    February 14, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781797153889
      • File size: 246268 KB
      • Duration: 08:33:03

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 19, 2022
      In this entertaining if somewhat overstuffed saga, journalist Stapinksi (Murder in Matera) and graphic designer Siegler (Dear Client) untangle the threads linking Siegler’s grandfather, Jules Schulback, to DC Comics publisher Harry Donenfeld, film director Billy Wilder, and Marilyn Monroe. A furrier and amateur filmmaker, Jules and his wife fled Nazi Germany in 1938 with the help of Donenfeld, who agreed to be their financial sponsor. (He had once been neighbors with Jules’s cousin in the Bronx.) Sixteen years later, Jules closed his fur shop in Manhattan one night and walked uptown to the block where Wilder was filming the scene in The Seven Year Itch when Monroe’s skirt blows upward as she stands over a subway grate. A raucous crowd made Wilder’s footage unusable (he later recreated the scene on a Hollywood soundstage), leaving Jules’s recording “as the only color-film footage to survive.” From this tidbit of family lore, Siegler and Stapinski weave a sprawling story that touches on the Broadway Mob, the rise of pulp magazines (“sex paired with badly written detective tales”), the origins of Superman, the Hollywood production code, Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak, and much more. Though not every detour pans out, it’s a dizzying and edifying ride.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      What do Billy Wilder, Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, and Superman have in common? More than one might expect, and this audiobook explains the complicated story beautifully. Coauthor and narrator Bonnie Siegler thought her grandfather's stories were just amusing tales. But when she and journalist Helene Stapinski investigated, they found the stories were, if anything, underplayed. She learned of her grandfather Jules Schulback's escape from Nazi Germany and his incredible return to rescue his family, posing as Clark Gable's manager. Schulback rubbed shoulders with the famous and infamous, including Donald Trump. One such man was porn magazine publisher and organized crime associate Harry Donenfeld, who secretly funded Jews escaping the Nazis, including Schulback. Donenfeld also believed in Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster and published their offbeat creation, Superman. M.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      June 10, 2024

      Cowriters Stapinski (Murder in Matera) and Siegler (Signs of Resistance) uncover the truthfulness of tall tales told by Siegler's grandfather, furrier Jules Schulback. Schulback always claimed to have filmed Marilyn Monroe's iconic subway grate scene for The Seven Year Itch; after his death, the lost film was found, proving that this tale, at least, was based in fact. Siegler maintains a distance as she digs into her father's other stories, narrating her grandfather's history of growing up in Berlin, the influences that spurred him to success, and his family's desperate escape from Germany in 1938. She exudes both love and pride as Schulback settles in the Bronx, builds another prosperous furrier business, and becomes a person of local importance. Paralleling Schulback's life is that of Harry Donenfeld, a Jewish immigrant who made a fortune as a pulp magazine publisher in the 1930s and guided Superman into franchise history. Ironically, Donenfeld cut out royalties to Superman cocreators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, yet helped many Jewish immigrants, such as Schulback, escape Nazi Germany. VERDICT The lives of Schulback and Donenfeld connect old Hollywood, the Golden Age of Comics, and the Holocaust. Fans of celebrity tell-all stories and comic book histories will enjoy.--Stephanie Bange

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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