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The American Way
A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe
By Helene Stapinski and Bonnie Siegler
Table of Contents
About The Book
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.
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.
Reading Group Guide
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1. When we meet Jules Schulback, he’s a young man in love, beginning his career in the city he loves. He’s still filled with the same exuberance as an old man living on the Upper East Side. How did Jules maintain his vitality and playfulness over the course of his life, in spite of life’s trials and the terrible atrocities committed against his family?
2. The authors paint a vivid picture of Harry Donenfeld: newsboy, teenage gangster, bootlegger, and successful printer and comic book publisher. “He was not just a mensch, but a macher—a mover and shaker taking charge and getting things done.” (Pg. 47) How do you weigh the tactics Harry used to get ahead in life with the generosity he showed towards Jules and his family?
3. The book traces Marilyn Monroe’s journey from struggling actress Norma Jeane to movie star and global icon. As her fame grows, so does her unhappiness and anxiety. How does the public persona of Marilyn Monroe prevent her from building the life and career she desires?
4. There are varying reactions among Jules’ family and friends to the rapid rise of the Nazi Party and its antisemitic policies. Why did some, including Edith’s parents and Golda and Simon, believe money or God would diminish Hitler’s influence? What fears did Hitler prey upon that led to Germans turning against their Jewish neighbors and friends?
5. Discuss the evolution of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman character from super villain to Earth’s savior. How did Jerry and Joe draw from their own experiences to create the iconic superhero?
6. Superman’s motto is “truth, justice, and the American way.” What is the American way? Based on the lives of the people in this book, does it always lead to prosperity?
7. Discuss the symbols that appear throughout the book: Metropolis, the stone boys above the school entrance on Grosse Hamburger Strasse, Clark Gable, the car Superman lifts above his head. How do these symbols connect the characters over the years, and how does their meaning change over time?
8. In the early Superman comics, the hero fought “the good fight in Jerry’s socially conscious plotlines—fighting corporate evil, political corruption, and gangsters.” (Pg 128) Why do you think it was important to Jerry, Joe, and Harry for Superman to address the social and political struggles of the time? How do you think these plotlines contributed to the comic’s success?
9. The book is filled with the heroics of everyday people, including Jules, Ushi, and even Harry. How do you think about their bravery and generosity in light of Jerry Siegel’s comment about Superman: “he represents what the plain ordinary, crushed-by-reality person would like to be but can only be in his wistful daydreams, because we are what we are”?
10. Jules believed that “[s]tories...are what bind us together not just as Jews, but as humans...[i]f you dug down deep enough, your story was intertwined with every other person’s story.” (Pg 317) If we’re all a part of each other’s stories, what do we owe each other? How were each of the character’s responsible to and for the people they crossed paths with?
11. Reflect on your own family and the stories you share. What stands out to you when you think about your family lore? Is there anything you would want to ask your relatives (or wished you had asked)?
2. The authors paint a vivid picture of Harry Donenfeld: newsboy, teenage gangster, bootlegger, and successful printer and comic book publisher. “He was not just a mensch, but a macher—a mover and shaker taking charge and getting things done.” (Pg. 47) How do you weigh the tactics Harry used to get ahead in life with the generosity he showed towards Jules and his family?
3. The book traces Marilyn Monroe’s journey from struggling actress Norma Jeane to movie star and global icon. As her fame grows, so does her unhappiness and anxiety. How does the public persona of Marilyn Monroe prevent her from building the life and career she desires?
4. There are varying reactions among Jules’ family and friends to the rapid rise of the Nazi Party and its antisemitic policies. Why did some, including Edith’s parents and Golda and Simon, believe money or God would diminish Hitler’s influence? What fears did Hitler prey upon that led to Germans turning against their Jewish neighbors and friends?
5. Discuss the evolution of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s Superman character from super villain to Earth’s savior. How did Jerry and Joe draw from their own experiences to create the iconic superhero?
6. Superman’s motto is “truth, justice, and the American way.” What is the American way? Based on the lives of the people in this book, does it always lead to prosperity?
7. Discuss the symbols that appear throughout the book: Metropolis, the stone boys above the school entrance on Grosse Hamburger Strasse, Clark Gable, the car Superman lifts above his head. How do these symbols connect the characters over the years, and how does their meaning change over time?
8. In the early Superman comics, the hero fought “the good fight in Jerry’s socially conscious plotlines—fighting corporate evil, political corruption, and gangsters.” (Pg 128) Why do you think it was important to Jerry, Joe, and Harry for Superman to address the social and political struggles of the time? How do you think these plotlines contributed to the comic’s success?
9. The book is filled with the heroics of everyday people, including Jules, Ushi, and even Harry. How do you think about their bravery and generosity in light of Jerry Siegel’s comment about Superman: “he represents what the plain ordinary, crushed-by-reality person would like to be but can only be in his wistful daydreams, because we are what we are”?
10. Jules believed that “[s]tories...are what bind us together not just as Jews, but as humans...[i]f you dug down deep enough, your story was intertwined with every other person’s story.” (Pg 317) If we’re all a part of each other’s stories, what do we owe each other? How were each of the character’s responsible to and for the people they crossed paths with?
11. Reflect on your own family and the stories you share. What stands out to you when you think about your family lore? Is there anything you would want to ask your relatives (or wished you had asked)?
About The Authors
Lisa Bauso
Helene Stapinski is the nationally bestselling author of three memoirs: Five-Finger Discount, Murder in Matera, and Baby Plays Around. She writes regularly for The New York Times; her work has also appeared in The Washington Post, New York magazine, Travel & Leisure, and dozens of other publications. She teaches at New York University and lives in Brooklyn.
Ryan Christopher Jones
Bonnie Siegler is the founder and creative director of award-winning, multi-disciplinary graphic design studio Eight and a Half. The author of Dear Client, a guide for people who work with creatives, and Signs of Resistance, a visual history of protest in America, she taught design in the graduate schools of Yale University and the School of Visual Arts for many years. She lives in Connecticut.
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (February 14, 2023)
- Length: 384 pages
- ISBN13: 9781982171681
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Raves and Reviews
“The American Way reads like a Michael Chabon novel inspired by a Billy Wilder or Ernst Lubitsch movie, only all the more remarkable because every bit—the plot twists and coincidences, the thrills and chills—is true. It's a fresh, intimate tale of immigrants reimagining their lives, the invention of superheroes, resistance to fascism, and sketchy mid-century bebop glamour. Such a pleasure!”
—Kurt Andersen, New York Times bestselling author of Fantasyland
“In this vivid, surprising, and entertaining book, Helene Stapinski and Bonnie Siegler take us straight into the heart of what Henry Luce called ‘the American Century’ in an improbable but true tale of the rise of comics, of Hollywood, and of New York, a tale of immigrants and Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio. Illuminating and engaging, The American Way is a story you couldn’t make up—but thankfully, you don’t have to, because here it is.”
—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America
“A necessary and beautifully told story of struggle, compassion and serendipity that reaches out to us across the generations.”
—Forbes
“A fast-moving American epic with a cast of refugees and starlets, publishers and bootleggers, comic-book creators and sports legends.”
—The Washington Post
“Warmhearted and lyrical, Stapinski and Siegler trace a refugee family from Nazi Berlin whose narrow escapes, clever deceptions, hard work, dumb luck, and bottomless dreams are as iconic as the great American myths they touched.”
—Sarah Rose, national bestselling author of D-Day Girls
“Colorful. Punchy. Stapinski and Siegler stitched together a cast of… figures and events from several recurring threads: Jewishness, New Yorkiness and, as their title indicates, a singular, striving, midcentury Americanness.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“A sweeping, factual saga that reads like an adventure novel.”
—ABC World News Now
“Inventively structured, ceaselessly surprising and ultimately spirits-boosting…. [Stapinski and Siegler] write with a zippiness and awe befitting tales of superheroism by the caped and capeless alike.”
—Shelf Awareness
“Amazing... stories are told here with verve, grace and compassion.”
— The Jerusalem Post
“An extremely fun read.”
—PRINT Magazine
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- Book Cover Image (jpg): The American Way eBook 9781982171681
- Author Photo (jpg): Helene Stapinski Lisa Bauso(0.1 MB)
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- Author Photo (jpg): Bonnie Siegler Ryan Christopher Jones(0.1 MB)
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