Publication Date January 6, 2026
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