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Sam Dreben came to the United States penniless, with very few skills. Shortly after he arrived, he enlisted in the United States Army, soon seeing action in the Philippines. He excelled as a machine gunner, with claims he could shoot the left eye of a sparrow at a great distance. He settled in El Paso Texas, and from there reenlisted several times, and with each military action, his fame and courtly manner won him acclaim and prowess. During World War One, he saw action in Europe, first in France and later in Germany. The citation for his bravery for saving the French line from a flanking maneuver reflects incredible bravery under fire. A grateful France awarded him the Medaille Militaire, its highest honor for bravery in battle, and similar awards from Belgium and Italy. He also received the United States Distinguished Service Cross, a medal of which he was rightly proud. Following the Great War, General John Pershing chose him as one of the four Honor Guards for the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in November 1921, in Washington, D.C. At his untimely death, the Texas Legislature flew the State Flag at half-mast in honor of the loss of a Son of Texas. He also received the highest honors from statesmen, generals and fellow soldiers. This is only part of the story of my great-great uncle, a hero, trailblazer and fighter. Famed journalist, Damon Runyon, gave him the title, ‘Fighting Jew,’ a title that Sam carried with great pride and honor. In his lifetime he was a walking legend and after his passing, his bravery and military skill reached mythic heights. He was admired and loved, and it is an honor to write of his life. If there was a person of the past with whom I would have wanted to speak, I would choose Sam, warrior, tactician and unfailing comrade in arms.
“An engaging and fascinating narrative of the entrepreneurs and mercenaries who ‘ravished’ Central America between 1880 and 1930.” —The Americas Ambitious entrepreneurs, isthmian politicians, and mercenaries who dramatically altered Central America’s political culture, economies, and even its traditional social values populate this lively story of a generation of North and Central Americans and their roles in the transformation of Central America from the late nineteenth century until the onset of the Depression. The Banana Men is a study of modernization, its benefits, and its often frightful costs. The colorful characters in this study are fascinating, if not always admirable. Sam “the Banana Man” Zemurray, a Bessarabian Jewish immigrant, made a fortune in Honduran bananas after he got into the business of “revolutin,” and his exploits are now legendary. His hired mercenary Lee Christmas, a bellicose Mississippian, made a reputation in Honduras as a man who could use a weapon. The supporting cast includes Minor Keith, a railroad builder and banana baron; Manuel Bonilla, the Honduran whose cause Zemurray subsidized; and Jose Santos Zelaya, who ruled Nicaragua from 1893 to 1910. The political and social turmoil of modern Central America cannot be understood without reference to the fifty-year epoch in which the United States imposed its political and economic influence on vulnerable Central American societies. The predicament of Central Americans today, as isthmian peoples know, is rooted in their past, and North Americans have had a great deal to do with the shaping of their history, for better or worse. “Recounts incredible stories within the framework of social imperialism and dependency theory.” —Latin American Research Review
Winner of the 2010 Spur Award for Best Contemporary Nonfiction from Western Writers of America The Mexican Revolution could not have succeeded without the use of American territory as a secret base of operations, a source of munitions, money, and volunteers, a refuge for personnel, an arena for propaganda, and a market for revolutionary loot. El Paso, the largest and most important American city on the Mexican border during this time, was the scene of many clandestine operations as American businesses and the U.S. federal government sought to maintain their influences in Mexico and protect national interest while keeping an eye on key Revolutionary figures. In addition, the city served as refuge to a cast of characters that included revolutionists, adventurers, smugglers, gunrunners, counterfeiters, propagandists, secret agents, double agents, criminals, and confidence men. Using 80,000 pages of previously classified FBI documents on the Mexican Revolution and hundreds of Mexican secret agent reports from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez in the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Relations archive, Charles Harris and Louis Sadler examine the mechanics of rebellion in a town where factional loyalty was fragile and treachery was elevated to an art form. As a case study, this slice of El Paso's, and America's, history adds new dimensions to what is known about the Mexican Revolution.
Felix A. Sommerfeld was a German secret service agent assigned to Mexico. During the Mexican Revolution (1910 to 1920) he became a close confidante of Mexican President Madero as well as revolutionary leaders Carranza and Villa. He significantly influenced German and American foreign policy towards Mexico.
The German government decided in the fall of 1914 to corner the U.S. arms and ammunition market to the detriment of England and France. In New York German Military Attaché Franz von Papen and Naval Attaché Karl Boy-Ed could not think of anyone more effective and with better connections than Felix A. Sommerfeld to sell off the weapons and ammunition to Mexico. A few months later, Sommerfeld received orders to create a border incident. Tensions along the U.S. - Mexican border suddenly increased in a wave of border raids under the Plan de San Diego. When Pancho Villa attacked the town of Columbus, NM, on March 9, 1916, virtually the entire regular U.S. Army descended upon Mexico or patrolled the border. War seemed inevitable. Federal agents could not prove it, but suspected German involvement. Felix A. Sommerfeld and fellow agents had forced the hand of the U.S. government through some of the most intricate clandestine operations in the history of World War I.
Much has been written and analyzed about Chassidism, from its growth and development in Eastern Europe, the challenges its early and later leaders faced, and its transplantation from the Eastern European shtetl to the United States after the Second World War. As different Chassidic sect reflected their own unique identity, their persona took on emphases by which they became known. For the most part, there is respect for other sects, but when two sects with strong ideologies clash, that flashpoint can become a physical altercation. From a sociological viewpoint, it is the unique and different that are more readily studied because the difference can be examined from the norm in that society. And such an analysis takes on more poignant resonance when two major Chassidic sects resort to the physical by way of a ‘riot’ in the streets of Williamsburg, a section of Brooklyn, New York. In 1977, I witnessed such a disturbance in the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, between Lubavitch and Satmar Chassidim. Lubavitchers had marched from their headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, to disseminate their ideology in the many Chassidic sects in Williamsburg. Such a march was done annually for many years, but this year was different because it was the last time it took place. The fisticuffs resulted in Lubavitch members being taken to the hospital by ambulance on the Passover holy day. The narrative reviews my presence in Williamsburg and, coincidentally, the larger maternal family’s attitude towards both Satmar and Lubavitch. These members were, for the most part, not part of either community. I also discuss the Black Angels, a unique ultra-religious Jewish group in Williamsburg, and their place during the riot. Finally, I review the hard-core beliefs endemic in these sects, concluding with four essential criteria necessary for dialogue in dysfunctional families.
From Dave the Dude to Al Capone: a defining collection from the world of Damon Runyon Damon Runyon grew up in the West, moved to New York City, and became one of the leading voices of American popular culture. From sports writing to short fiction, this unique collection offers an eclectic sampling of his extraordinary talent. Here are newspaper pieces, stories- including the last one he ever composed-poetry, and, of course, the Broadway tales for which he is chiefly remembered: Guys and Dolls, Blood Pressure, The Bloodhounds of Broadway, and others. Featuring works that are impossible to find elsewhere, and Runyon's signature eye for detail-particularly the sounds, smells, and tastes of New York-this book brings an American icon to a new generation of readers. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
During my 28-years of service as a military chaplain in the United States Armed Forces, I wore the uniforms of the US Navy, US Marine Corps, and US Air Force. I had tours of duty in the United States and overseas. The senior chaplains with whom I worked and to whom I was responsible for each day's work, were of senior rank, and men (I briefly served under a woman while deployed in the Middle East) who were all Christian, mostly of the Protestant faith. I describe my time with them, and the atmosphere they created both for the chapel and chapel staff community as for the entire base. Uniformly, I found them intolerant of other religions, refusing to accede to my place at the table of authority and decision. One individual was an anti-Semite, a man who took every opportunity to undermine my place at the base we were at (Naval Station Subic Bay, Philippines). The hours following the weekly staff meeting were when he expressed his outrage at the existence of the State of Israel while promoting the rights of the Palestinians. He belittled every aspect of my work at this base. His vilifying statements, expressed in shouting outbursts at the highest pitch of screech and rage, were done without any interest in any form of civility or decency. Once unleashed, he poured forth his fecal filth, resulting, in his expressing his determination: For me not being able to stay in the Navy and to never be promoted to a higher rank. But this anti-Semite's intentions and actions were thwarted by an extraordinary event that countered the immediacy of negativity. The long-term effects of that man's actions resulted in a festering poison that was never eradicated throughout the time I was in the military. I also describe other seniors, with their foibles and careerism, their overall limitations, and crass behaviors. In two instances, I joined a group of African-Americans at two Air Force bases who were intent on gathering sufficient racist information for a legal challenge with the ACLU. I was honored to sit with them, considering ways to oust the racists who sat in the leadership position. I retired as a Major and did so honorably. I regret working with these miserable miscreants who expressed virtue and grace but whose hearts were filled with limitation, dishonor, and evil. In the final analysis, I regret having served alongside these people. They did not deserve my presence and they certainly did not earn my esteem or respect. I am often thanked for my years of military service, immediately seeing a nod of respect at the sacrifices made during these nearly three decades of time. These two volumes, detailing names, places, and settings describe the details and how I coped with persons who represented an unwelcome face, one of barest tolerance at the necessity of my presence and, by extension, the presence of the small Jewish community at that military base. I encountered harsh Christian fundamentalism, promoted by these Christian chaplains, and extended by them to their counterparts in the military base community. Facing such negative attitudes in each base, I realized the severe limitations of my presence. And by the time of my retirement, I was literally counting the days when I would never again meet with these people. These are unpleasant vignettes, but they are true insofar as my recollection of them. And one of the purposes of these volumes is to remove the veneer of naïveté about this world and its people. In the end, I am ambiguous about that commitment, partly proud I persevered, but also ashamed at the cost such commitment demanded. I leave it to the reader to determine if the sacrifice was worthwhile.
Jews first arrived in the New World in 1654, seeking religious freedom. Since the beginning of American nationhood, Jewish volunteers and conscripts fought in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, on both sides of the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, in both World Wars, and in the Korean, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Over the years, the American military learned to integrate its Jewish servicemen and women by providing Jewish military chaplains, kosher food, religious services, and placing the Star of David on the graves of fallen Jewish soldiers. The end of conscription and the establishment of the All-Volunteer Force in 1973 offered other paths to serve our country. American Jews have contributed with distinction in the arts and sciences, academia, entertainment, government, and in building the economy. For Jews, America is the Goldene Medina—the Golden Country.