AMERICAN REICH is a riveting and heart-wrenching book that deftly accomplishes two important goals: telling the tragic story of Blaze Bernstein’s death, and tracing the culture of hopelessness and online radicalization in which his killer was mired.

I read a lot of books about this particular subject—as a queer person of color I think it’s really important to know and understand your enemy, if you will. Because of that, I feel confident saying Lichtblau’s exploration here stands out amongst the crowd. This type of subject matter, hate groups and the violence they reap, can so easily feel like a slog to get through, but I honestly couldn’t put this book (well, the tablet I read it on) down.

4.5 ⭐️

“‘The movement will not be stopped in the puny town of Portland. We’re too deep. We’re embedded now. Don’t you understand? We’re in your colleges. We’re in your armies. We’re in your police forces…we planted the seeds.’”

Lichtblau’s book comes at a time where it is critical and relevant more than ever before. He gives a deep dive into some of the minds of current day neo-Nazis, their ideologies, and the current legal push to begin holding them accountable for their hate crimes. However, with the current sitting President having pardoned and sympathized with some of these hate groups and Jan 6th insurrectionists, our American society is at a crossroads. Where do we go from here? How do we combat the ever growing rise in hate groups and neo-nazi ideologies plaguing the far right?

I always say that in troubling times, knowledge is power. The more we understand about the minds of people with this type of hateful rhetoric, the more we can understand of how to counteract their beliefs and their power. Lichtblau uses the heartbreaking story of Blaze Bernstein and the disturbed mind of his murderer as a framework for guiding this book in touching upon different facets of extremism in the US (mainly in the last couple decades).

My reasons for the 0.5 dock are things that are “food for thought” and not any major revision. A topic that was briefly mentioned that I would have loved to hear more about was the connection of extremism in the police force and how that might affect reporting of and response to hate crimes (but perhaps that too far out of this book’s scope).

Furthermore, and it’s really up to the author on this, the use of the phrases “tone deaf” and “committed suicide” are outdated and no longer deemed the best phrasing to get that point of cross. For example, “out of touch” or “died by suicide,” respectively are more appropriate.

Other than those points, I think this is a pivotal point in our democracy, and this book is arriving just in time. I will definitely be recommending this to anyone and everyone. Thank you so much for this ARC and allowing me to immerse myself in the data and evidence that is so needed regarding this matter. Sometimes nonfiction books feel like a mix of facts and author opinion, but I feel this writing hit the mark on being objective and factual while also protesting the alarming reality of this population of people in our country.

An excellent, well-researched, and fascinating book about violent hate-crimes across the US and their origins in Orange County. Thank you for allowing my to review the ARC.

Intriguing and well written exploration around the rising prevalence of hate crimes and the white supremacy movement. This is a gripping book, one you can’t put down. It’s also an important book for shining the light on domestic terrorism which the government wants to ignore. I highly recommend this book. I want to thank NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC.

American Reich is a chilling, meticulously researched exploration of modern hate in America. Eric Lichtblau, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, uses the story of the murder of Blaze Bernstein, a gay, Jewish college student killed in 2018 in Orange County, California, to narrate a much larger issue of the normalization of white supremacy and the resurgence of violent extremism in modern America.

This is not your standard true crime account. The crime itself, the investigation, and the trial are covered, but what sets this book apart is its deep dive into history, politics, and ideology. Lichtblau traces Orange County’s long-standing ties to right-wing extremism, from the John Birch Society and Goldwater rallies to the neo-Nazi groups of today. He shows how the toxic brew of isolation, online radicalization, and unchecked rhetoric led Blaze's killer to believe his hate was not only justified but necessary.

Lichtblau gives Blaze the dignity of a full story, portraying him not just as a victim but as a son, friend, and student with dreams and a bright future. At the same time, Lichtblau is unflinching in his portrayal of how vulnerable communities have been made targets, and how slow institutional responses have allowed extremism to spread unchecked.

While Orange County is a focal point, the book argues that the conditions are national, not local. Lichtblau connects these threads without sensationalism, with decades of research.

This is not an easy read, but it is an essential one. American Reich is a wake-up call, a reminder of how quickly hate can grow unchecked when we stop paying attention. Highly recommended for readers of true crime, American politics, and social justice. It is both a powerful tribute to Blaze Bernstein and a sobering examination of who we are and who we are becoming as a country. #littlebrownandcompany #americareich #ericlichtblau

A chilling portrait of lives turned toward hatred and the effects on the wider society. Timely and frightening.

this was everything that I was looking for from this type of nonfiction book, it uses that overall historical element and was glad it had that information that I was looking for. Eric Lichtblau wrote this so well and worked overall in showing the resurgence of hatred.

American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate by Eric Lichtblau is a powerful dual narrative that weaves together the chilling rise of the neo-Nazi movement in America with the heartbreaking murder of Blaze Bernstein. I had always heard of Orange County as a conservative enclave in California, but this book revealed a deeper, darker history I was completely unaware of.

In that tense environment, Blaze a young man who simply wanted to live his truth was targeted and murdered because of his sexuality. Lichtblau doesn’t just recount the crime, he takes readers deep into the lives of both Blaze and the man who killed him, tracing the killer’s path into extremism and hate.

Some parts were incredibly difficult to read not just because of the brutality of the murder, but also because they brought back memories of Trump's first term, a time marked by open hostility toward marginalized communities. Lichtblau captures how hate didn’t just fester in the shadows it was legitimized, even embraced, from the highest levels of power.

This is not just a true crime book. It’s a sobering reflection of the times we live in. No matter what genre you usually prefer, I believe everyone should read this book.

Yes, I am a true crime junkie. As I noted in a recent review of Caitlin Rother’s Down to the Bone, I have been reading true crime for decades. When I worked in public libraries in the 1980s and 90s, my favorite section was always 364.1523…and although at times these days it seems the public obsession with true crime has made it somewhat challenging to find stories that grab the reader, are well-written,  and tell a good story, every once in a while there is a story that is essential reading to help us as we work to understand the current state of life in this country. 

In addition to being a TCJ, I am a refugee from behind the Orange Curtain, having spent the first couple of decades of my life living at the beach in South OC in what has been (and, as seen in this book, continues to be) known as an absolute hotbed of hatred, violence, and bigotry. For example, in the 60s, a congressman and Poli Sci teacher at a local college was a dyed-in-the-wool member of the John Birch Society. I attended many “events” (rallies, fundraisers, etc) featuring the likes of John Wayne, Barry Goldwater, and the whole Reagan family, and heard many hours of the kind of ranting that stirs people UP! And here we are, 60 years later, and the story told in this book is a reminder that things haven’t changed, it’s just that the hatred is more out in the open. 

I was happy (? OK, maybe not happy but definitely fascinated) to receive an advance copy of the book American Reich: A Murder in Orange County, Neo-Nazis, and a New Age of Hate by Eric Lichtblau from Little, Brown and NetGalley in exchange for this honest review. My love of true crime includes podcasts, which is where I first heard about the murder of Blaze Bernstein, a nineteen-year-old gay, Jewish student who had escaped Orange County to attend an Ivy League university. While at home for the holidays, he decided to respond to a former high school classmate named Sam Woodward who had been contacting him online, flirting and inviting him to meet. After Blaze snuck out of the house in the middle of the night for a rendezvous with Sam, who had been known as a loner, he was never seen alive again. 

Lichtblau does a great job telling the story of Blaze (and Sam), including an in-depth examination of the conservative/Republican political history of Orange County, which has been slowly changing but (thanks to the emergence of Donald Trump) has seen a dramatic increase in hate crimes. These crimes are against pretty much every minority group, including Blaze’s groups: gays and Jews. In the last decade, hate crimes in the OC have nearly doubled, and fully three out of four of the perpetrators are white males. The “manosphere” is swirling in this area.* 

Many MAGA members may deny the reality, but the statements made by the President and his followers as well as the rhetoric spouted by young, white, Christian, straight males are undeniably racist, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ. Yes, Blaze’s story is incredibly sad and yes, the story of Sam Woodward and his like-minded members of the manosphere is horrifying and truly scary. But it is a really important topic and this book is incredibly well written.

So, if you are a true crime fan, this book is for you. If you are interested in the changes in society since 2016, this book is for you. If you are a refugee from behind the Orange Curtain, this book is for you. Highly recommended. Five stars. 
* "The "manosphere" is an umbrella term for a diverse collection of online communities that broadly promote misogyny, anti-feminist views, and a narrow definition of masculinity. These communities often frame feminism and gender equality as detrimental to men's rights and society as a whole." == Google AI overview

Should be required reading for every American; since it's not, I appreciate how much this will appeal to true crime readers.

"American Reich" by Eric Lichtblau details some of the more recent racist events hitting news cycles in the US over the past few decades with a particular attention to Orange County, California, and the rise and establishment of the Trump presidency, including his recent return to power.

Based around the murder of Blaze Bernstein by his former high school classmate, Sam Woodward, Lichtblau takes readers on a larger discussion of there recent rise of right wing extremism throughout the United States. From anti-Semitism, which has a long history in the US, to more recent iterations of anti-Muslim and anti-Asian hate trends, as a result of 9/11 and the Covid pandemic, respectively, the number of mass shooting events and rise in neo-Nazi and racist extremist groups throughout the US has previously been overlooked as the 'war on terror' took the spotlight and funding the US media environment and government devoted to its law enforcement capabilities. Now, with Trump's initial campaign and coming to power, the FBI was finally beginning to recognize the risks these groups posed and just when Christopher Wray identified them as some of the biggest threats to this country, the end of the Biden administration and the coming of a second Trump term forced his resignation and ushered in a new period of grievance and rhetoric against immigrant groups and other vulnerable communities as right-wingers are experiencing another resurgence throughout the US.

"American Reich" is an inditement against a country and civil-society that needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and realize that American exceptionalism today means something wholly different.

Living in Los Angeles, I'm aware of some sinister activity in Orange County, but until I read this book, didn't know the full extent.

5 stars

A look at the rise of white supremacy (as well as other types of hate) after 2015, specifically in Orange County, California, and set in the frame of the 2018 case of two former high school classmates. Blaze Bernstein, a gay, Jewish student at Penn, snuck out of his Orange County home to meet with Sam Woodward, a loner from his high school who had been messaging him flirtatiously. Blaze was never seen alive again.

Lichtblau examines the conservative/Republican political history of Orange County (which is slowly changing) and how the emergence of Donald Trump has caused an increase in hate crimes against essentially every minority group; they have nearly doubled their n a decade and three out of every four offenders is a white male.

This was incredibly depressing, but so important. It’s impossible to deny the numbers, the things that Trump is on record as saying and the statements of young, white, Christian, straight men who cite Trump as their reason for committing their crimes. Anyone who thought that the fact that we, as a country, elected Barack Obama President meant that we had crossed over into some post-racial wonderland needs only to look to what has happened since to understand the precipice on which this country exists. Recommended.

I received a copy for review. All opinions are my own. A terrifying yet realistic look into how dangerous this country has become when it comes to hatred and bigotry. This is not simply a true crime book about Blase Bernstein’s tragic end, this is a book that is giving us all a long hard look at the state of the country and how unacceptable it is that hatred has become so normalized. I was really proud of the author for the research done and how well everything was explained. This book will touch you in your core. A must read for every American.