Imagining Alternate Histories: A Conversation with Josh Weiss
By David Jastrow
We all imagine alternate realities. What if we had zigged instead of zagged? What if we had chosen a different life path or decided not to go out during that night long ago that changed everything?
Josh Weiss, an author from South Jersey, is fascinated by such questions and their consequences. The writer of Beat the Devils and its recently published follow up, Sunset Empire, immerses himself with the convergence of Judaism and popular culture in film, television, comics, literature, and other media.
In his debut novel Beat the Devils, Weiss reimagines history in the late 1950s. It’s a crime thriller set in an alternative United States during the height of the Red Scare, President Joseph McCarthy sits in the White House, and LAPD detective Morris Baker, a Holocaust survivor who drowns his fractured memories of the unspeakable in schnapps and work, is called to the scene of a horrific double homicide. The victims are none other than director John Huston and young journalist Walter Cronkite.
Beginning in 1950, McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, became the most visible public face of a period in the U.S. during which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread communist subversion. He alleged that numerous communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated the U.S. federal government, universities, and the film industry.
“With that time of the U.S. being terrified by the Soviets, I thought it would be interesting to take all that paranoia and The Hollywood blacklist and the political maneuvering of Joseph McCarthy during that period and see what would happen if the poster child of the blacklist and the Red Scare became President and turned America into this fascist state,” Weiss said.
Weiss based his main character Morris Baker on his grandfather Elias Weiss, a Holocaust survivor who lost his family during World War II. Weiss knew he wanted to write a Cold War thriller, and called the moment when he concocted the notion of bringing his grandfather’s story together with an alternative history during the time of McCarthyism as his “chocolate and peanut butter” epiphany.
The writer, who now resides in Philadelphia, authentically crafts his alternate history novels by carefully constructing scenes that feature the popular books, movies, newspaper articles, and television shows of the late 1950’s era in America.
“I am fascinated by popular culture, especially of that period,” Weiss said. “You had this wholesome reflection of the nuclear family depicted on I Love Lucy and Leave it to Beaver, and the juxtaposition of the antisemitism, racism, and homophobia that was prevalent during this time.”
Weiss said he is excited to participate in the Collingswood Book Festival because he grew up in nearby Cherry Hill and enjoys connecting with the rest of the community. “It’s a huge honor just being part of the local literary community,” Weiss said.
Josh Weiss will be discussing his latest books, Sunset Empire and Beat the Devils, on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at the 21st annual Collingswood Book Festival. We hope to see you there!
