Greg Donahue (3)

Although this book was not very well written, I enjoyed learning about this story of resistance. The first part of the book was not engaging. I listened to the audio version, and the narrator seemed uninterested as well as judgmental. For a while I thought the hero of the story was the bad guy, due to the narrator's voice. Stories of historical resistance are very rarely shared, and so overall I am glad to have read this book.

Minutemen vs American Nazis in 1930's in Newark, N.J.
Review of the Audible Original audiobook (Jan. 2020)

The most shocking element here isn't that there were American Jewish vigilantes in 1930's America prepared to fight Nazis, but that there was such a large American Nazi organisation that they could fill Madison Square Garden with a capacity of 20,000+ in 1939.

The lead Minuteman Nat Arno aka Sidney Nathaniel Abramowitz seems to have been an obscure character in this history previously and show more even his New Jersey boxing history biography seems to be incorrect on various points. i.e. he couldn't have been working undercover for a non-existent 1930's OSS (which wasn't formed until 1942). Greg Donahue has done an excellent job in collecting this history and the narration by Jonathan Davis was well done.

The Minuteman was one of the free Audible Original audiobooks for members in January 2020. It is available to everyone for a standard price.

Trivia and Link
The February 20, 1939 German American Bund rally at Madison Square Garden was documented in a recent 7 minute short film "A Night at the Garden" (2017) dir. Marshall Curry, which can be seen on Vimeo. show less

Summary: This is a brief summary of Nat Arno and his life in the years leading up to World War II.

Pros: The story is brief and easy.

Cons: A lot is based on oral tradition from people who are not disinterested. The first chapter is a senseless comparison between Jews who opposed Nazis in America and Antifa.

Evaluation: This is largely useless. The author does not properly account for Arno's Mafia ties, his life of crime, and the rest of his life. The comparison to today's political situation show more is utterly absurd. That which is missing is as important as that which is included. show less