Bonnie Siegler and Helene Stapinski, co-authors of The American Way: A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe, will discuss investigating the book and crafting this family tale with Emmy Award-winning journalist David Pogue.
According to Bonnie's family, her grandfather filmed Marilyn Monroe's legendary white dress flying up with his home camera, but she didn't believe it until she found the reel many years later, which led to this book. The American Way is a colorful, vivacious story of two very different men both striving to make their way in New York — their lives intersecting with a glittering array of luminaries, from Billy Wilder and Joe DiMaggio to Superman creators Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. The American Way is a kaleidoscopic 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.
“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…”. —Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America
“A sprawling story that touches on the Broadway Mob, the rise of pulp magazines... the origins of Superman, the Hollywood production code, Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak, and much more....A dizzying and edifying ride." —Publishers Weekly
Please register to attend. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
In case you missed the event, you may watch the recorded program here.
Community Partner: Jewish Federation of Greater Fairfield County
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, Travel & Leisure, and dozens of other publications. She teaches at New York University and lives in Brooklyn.
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 history of protest in America, she taught design in the graduate schools of Yale University and the School of Visual Arts for many years.
David Pogue was the New York Times weekly tech columnist and is a six-time Emmy winner for his stories on CBS Sunday Morning, a New York Times bestselling author, a five-time TED speaker, host of 20 NOVA science specials on PBS, and creator/host of the CBS News/Simon & Schuster podcast Unsung Science. He’s written or cowritten more than 120 books. After graduating from Yale with distinction in music, Pogue spent ten years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York. He has won a Loeb Award for journalism, two Webby awards, and an honorary doctorate in music.
