An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood |  | Author: Neal Gabler
Publisher: Anchor
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Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 112681
Media: Paperback
Pages: 512
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0385265573
Dewey Decimal Number: 384.80979494
EAN: 9780385265577
ASIN: 0385265573
Publication Date: September 8, 1989
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Amazon.com Review
That subtitle may inspire in some readers waves of ethnic pride, and in others waves of ethnic revulsion, but the point of this book is that its claim of origin is quite literally true. And what makes it an interesting read for political types is the way it demonstrates that no matter how much the founding Hollywood moguls and their successors tried to peddle an idealized, escapist form of entertainment, bubbling up under and around their every project was ideology, racism, ethnic prejudice, class friction, domestic and international politics and all the other raw, seething stuff that distinguishes this country from all others. In Gabler's hands, the Industry draws a picture of American political history in spite of itself.
Product Description
Noted film critic Neal Gabler writes a provocative and richly entertaining biography of the five Jewish men who were the moving forces behind the creation of America's motion picture industry. 42 photos.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
 Very very interesting November 3, 2009
Dr. Imanuil Najad Behrooz. (Baku, Azerbaijan)
It is a fact the Jews created Hollywood. Thalberg, Louis B Mayer, Harry Cohn, the Warner Brothers all were Jews who imigrated from Eastern Europe.
And by creating Hollywood, they influenced the culture of America.
The book is magnificent. It is an accurate chronological timeline of their accomplishments and the magic they brought to the silver screen.
 Fascinating history of what we refer to as Hollywood, and equally as partt of the cultual history of America.. October 8, 2009
Norma Manna Blum
I received this book as a gift some years ago, and with no particular interest in the subject matter, I threw it on a pile of "to read one day," where is was summarily submerged.
Having recently moved to not only Los Angeles, but in sight of the "Hollywood" sign, and within walking distance of a few of the old studios, AND a charming and historic cemetery (making Tyrone Power an almost neighbor) I remembered the book, ordered another copy from Amazon... and didn't put it down from the moment it arrived until I finished reading it, AND creating a bibliography of further titles on related subjects.
Fascinating... well written, well researched.
Yes, a bit gossipy but not enough to detract from the fact that this is serious social and cultural history not simply of "Hollywood" but of America itself, in a time and a place.
And especially, it seems to me, that although the original pioneers, taking their warts and all with them, are long gone, film, has since those Jews invented Hollywood, become, inarguably, the salient art form, the culture maker of our age..
Add to that that while America is no longer the producer of everything that everyone in the world wants... American films consistently have waiting lines of viewers around the block, from Lisbon around the world and back again.
Film remains our greatest export, and friend maker....creating common recognition among people, transcending language.
And Gabler has captured the amazing, primitive energies that went into creating movies, and changing the way so many around the world perceive ourselves and how we lived then and live now.
Enjoyed reading it, first page to last.
Norma Manna Blum
an empire of their own September 11, 2009
Susan Caspi (san francisco ca)
This was a fascinating history of the film industry, the people who shaped it, their personal histories and outlooks and how that influenced the american ideals as depicted on screen.
Not totally fair to the Hollywood moguls June 22, 2009
Evelina
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
An interesting book about the early Hollywood moguls. Other posters have described and praised the books, so I won't repeat. It is very good, except for two things. First, the author says that the movies colonized the imagination of americans. He assumed that people who watched these movies believed that life was really like that. But can that really be the case? Didn't people acknowledge as we do today that movies have conventions and that those conventions are not necessarily life like? The convention for instance that the bad guy is always punished and virtue is rewarded.
The author says that Hollywood made our values. It is true that our artistic conventions, what we are willing to give lip service to, and our vision of the ideal reflects our values. But those values existed before Hollywood. They are found in the art and popular entertainment from all ages and all cultures. The conventions in American movies are the conventions of art in every culture. I have never heard of any people whose art celebrated wickedness or adopted the attitude that people should not be good or that they should not like their country, just to name a few values. All nations have their myths, not just the US.
The reflection of values in art is complicated. For instance, art traditionally revels in the Jesse James types, the bad guy as hero. Many cultures have the bandit hero. But in the end, that convention serves to uphold the usual moral values. After the audience has the fun of watching him, the bad guy hero is punished. Similarly, the prohibition on violence and sex upheld the values that were already in the society. In that regard, America has changed but many countries have not. They practice censorship of their own products and either ban or severely edit American movies before showing them in their countries.
Bollywood shows very idealized lives. It follows a strict code of conduct. Does that make Bollywood movies bad? Are the Indian people being "colonized" by their own movie makers?
The moguls made not just what they wanted but what others wanted. They gambled that they knew what people all over the world wanted to watch and they were right for a long time. The kinds of movies that the author perhaps would have liked them to make would be movies that no one would want to see.
Second, the author feels that the moguls should have been truer to their jewish heritage. He is harsh towards them for assimilating (and that is a whole other issue that I don't agree with). But any jewish heritage that they followed would have been very conservative, because that was their background and I don't think the author would have liked it if they had been like that. He condemns the moguls for behavior that if they had adopted it he would have condemned it.
One of the best- first books to read on Hollywoods creation June 11, 2009
Advanced Technical Staffing Resources (Pasadena, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I had read this book trough about 5 times. I bought it on a whim when it won and LA Times award ages ago.
This is probably one of the best, overall books, describing how Hollywood really got started, who started it, how and why. Admittedly it is a dense read and is not something you breeze through in a weekend. Also the references have been a good source of additional books I have read since then.
This book describes the why and how behind the major studios of the time. How they moguls lived and a bit about them personally. I enjoyed the personal insights into the Mayer, Cohn and the Warner Bros.
Having attended USC I have tried to figure out how to email Gabler as I have some questions and would like some suggestions of other materials that may be lurking about the Los Angeles area to learn more about this subject. If someone know how to reach him please let me know
One thing I would suggest this book is that it takes a whole view of the subject, looking at it from many years in the future. Gabler does a good job of keeping the subject matter in context. Many books on Hollywood since Empire seem to have a certain twist on them inserting current day thoughts into their writings.
As a first through 5th book on Hollywood I would recommend this. Another great book is King Cohn, the life of Harry Cohn. I particularly like him because he was always the underdog.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
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