Dezenhall, Eric, (Money Wanders) [hc, Thomas Dunne Books, 2002] 978-0312282752 [pb, St. Martin’s Griffin, 2003] 978-0312311346
United States · Fiction author
Eric Dezenhall
Eric Dezenhall (born 1962, Camden, NJ) - author and crisis-management professional. His work is deeply infused with Jewish themes, characters, and historical perspectives, often drawing from his own background growing up in a Jewish community in South Jersey. In The Devil Himself (2011), he focuses on Jewish mob boss Meyer Lansky and his collaboration with the U.S. Navy to catch Nazi spies during WWII. Dezenhall uses these stories to explore how these figures sought respectability and patriotism as a path toward American assimilation.
Fictional Alter Ego: His recurring protagonist, Jonah Eastman, is a Jewish pollster and crisis manager who serves as a fictional alter ego for Dezenhall. Jonah is the grandson of a legendary Jewish mobster, a background that often complicates his work in the “upperworld” of politics and PR. In another novel, Money Wanders, Jonah enlists the help of a “street fighting rabbi”
Biblical Allusions: Dezenhall has noted that the character of Jonah Eastman is partially shaped by the Book of Jonah, reflecting themes of fleeing from and eventually facing one’s responsibilities.
Jewish Identity and Crisis Management: In his non-fiction and public commentary, he frequently applies his professional “crisis” lens to Jewish issues. He has written about the rise of antisemitism as a “crisis management conundrum” rather than just a PR problem. [Google/AI]
Jonah Eastman appears in all six books of Eric Dezenhall’s “PR Crisis Management Mystery” series.
Dezenhall, Eric, (Jackie Disaster [hc, Minotaur Books, 2003]) 978-0312307691 [pb, Minotaur Books, 2004] 978-0312307714
Dezenhall, Eric, (Shakedown Beach [hc, Minotaur Books, 2004]) 978-0312307721 [pb, Minotaur Books, 2005] 978-0312307738
Dezenhall, Eric, (Turnpike Flameout [hc, Minotaur Books, 2005]) 978-0312340612
Dezenhall, Eric, (Spinning Dixie [hc, Thomas Dunne Books, 2006]) 978-0312340636
Dezenhall, Eric, (The Devil Himself [hc, Thomas Dunne Books, 2011]) 978-0312668822
In addition, see Dezenhall’s recent non-fiction book:
Dezenhall, Eric, (Wiseguys and the White House: Gangsters, Presidents, and the Deals They Made – An Authoritative Exposé of the Mob’s Secret Influence on American Political Power [hc, Harper, 2025] 978-0063390614 [pb, Harper Perennial, 2027] 978-0063390621 [-explores the historical “Jewish component” of American power by examining the intersection of the Jewish mob, influential Jewish power brokers, and the presidency. Meyer Lansky is a central figure in the book, particularly regarding “Operation Underworld”. Dezenhall details how the Navy enlisted Lansky and other mobsters to protect the U.S. waterfront and facilitate the invasion of Sicily during WWII. The book also examines the significant influence of Lew Wasserman, the powerful Jewish Hollywood mogul, specifically his long-standing association with Ronald Reagan. Dezenhall identifies a shared Jewish cultural drive for “recognition and respectability” that motivated both the mob consiglieri and the political commanders-in-chief they influenced. The narrative often highlights the historical cooperation (and occasional double-crosses) between Jewish mob figures and prominent Irish-American political families, most notably the Kennedys. While this is a non-fiction historical exposé, it is heavily influenced by the research Dezenhall conducted for his earlier novel, The Devil Himself (2011). – Google/AI]