An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood
by Neal Gabler
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 47)
Fascinating book about how the common experiences of 1st generation Jewish immigrants, usually with absent or unsuccessful fathers, strove for success and assimilation, and approval from gentiles and previously assimilated Jews. Thesis is that they created a world they could control, onscreen and off and were afraid of doing anything to draw attention to their religion, fearing a backlash from gentiles and loss of power. Didn’t get along with next generation of Hollywood Jews—writers and a...more
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An interesting account of the early movie moguls, recommended for anybody interested in the history of Hollywood. The early chapters detail their biographical backgrounds and careers before the movies, and the book drags a little at this point. Once you can clear this initial hurdle, the story picks up speed and you get a look at how the heads of the studios used the movies to create their own ideas of America. The author argues convincingly that this is largely due to a need to assimilate an...more
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I enjoyed this book first and foremost as a chronicle of life in America for Eastern European Jewish immigrants at the turn of the century. The story of each of these studio founder's childhood, immigration, "making it", and their choices once their finances were secure was fascinating. Also a great history of Hollywood and L.A.
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If you're at all interested in the history of movies, this is highly recommended. The background bios of section one got a little too detailed for me, I found my interest waning, so I skipped to section two and found myself fascinated at the day-to-day lives of the moguls. Oh, to see LA in the 20s and 30s!
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Read in December, 2007
Another book that reminds us how boring America would be without Jews.
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This is on my to-read shelf despite my skepticism at the title.
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