THE AMERICAN AXIS:
Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of the Third Reich
by Max Wallace
Publisher: St. Martins Press
Pub Date: Spring 2003
Based on new, never-before-seen evidence, drawing on declassified FBI files, tells the complete story of Ford's and Lindbergh's close alliance with Hitler and Nazi Germany. The most explosive and controversial book since IBM and the Holocaust.
see below for Full Description)
"Eye-opening....A finely wrought, careful, and utterly damning case that ought to prompt a widespread reevaluation of both Ford and Lindbergh."
-Kirkus Reviews
"A tireless excavation of the dark facts surrounding Ford and Lindbergh's relationship with the Third Reich. Wallace's extensive investigation probes three and four layers deeper than others, pulls no punches, names names and creates a powerful historical document."
--Edwin Black, author of IBM and the Holocaust
"What a drama! Two of the most popular figures in 20th century America-Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh-pitted against a third-Franklin Delano Roosevelt-over what to do about Adolf Hitler. Max Wallace reminds us that the destiny of the republic hung in the balance in the Great Debate of 1940-41."
-Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., author of The Age of Roosevelt and Thirteen Days by Robert F. Kennedy and Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.
"A seminal book, groundbreaking in its documentation of American celebrity collaboration with the Third Reich. Max Wallace exposes Henry Ford as an amoral business thug who promoted anti-Semitism and Nazism for profit. Lindbergh's reputation is utterly shredded by the careful analysis of newly released classified files, which expose him as a bigot and Hitler's willing pawn. Wallace rebuts line by line the Ford company's recent attempts to sanitize its Nazi past, and skewers corporate spin with devastating documentation from Ford's own files. The American Axis is that rare work of balance: biography; scholarship; and celebrity scandal. My pick for the most powerful book of the year."
--John Loftus, author of The Secret War Against the Jews
Few people know that Ford actively helped the German war machine, producing war vehicles for them before—and during—the war. Indeed, more than a third of the 350,000 trucks used by the Germany Army were manufactured by Ford. Behind every plant worker's desk in Germany there were two framed pictures: one of Hitler and of Ford.
Few people know that Lindbergh was as pro-Nazi as he was. Nazi Air Force Chief Goring personally decorated Lindbergh with the Service Cross of the German Eagle, the highest Nazi civilian honor. Despite the American outcry, Lindbergh repeatedly refused to give it back. Indeed, he was so enamored of Hitler and his Nazis that he made plans to move his family to Berlin.
What is ironic is that these two men were not only best of friends, but were (and for many still are) great American heroes. A 1920s poll named Ford as the third greatest man in history, behind Napoleon and Jesus Christ. The recent A. Scott Berg LINDBERGH glorified him; Spielberg's new film is based on this book and will thus continues to to glorify him.
Based on new, never-before-seen evidence, drawing on declassified FBI files, US and German government archives and newly discovered legal documents, this tells the complete story of Ford's and Lindbergh's close alliance with Hitler and Nazi Germany. The most explosive and controversial book since IBM and the Holocaust.
Max Wallace is a veteran investigative journalist and holocaust researcher, and has been researching the subject for 10 years. He worked for three years as a researcher for Steven Spielberg's Shoah Project and has served as Executive Director of the Anne & Max Bailey Center for Holocaust research in Montreal, Canada. He is the author of the critically acclaimed WHO KILLED KURT COBAIN? (a bestseller, praised by the New Yorker) and MUHAMMAD ALI'S GREATEST FIGHT (authorized by Ali), and is a winner of a Rolling Stone Magazine Award for Investigative Journalism.
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