Best of Enemies – Author Eric Dezenhall
The Not Old Better Show, Author Interview Series
Welcome to The Not Old Better Show, I’m Paul Vogelzang, and this is episode #361. Today’s show is brought to you by Heaven’s Maid.
As part of our Art of Living, author interview series, our guest today is award-winning author, journalist, crisis and damage control communications expert and thought leader Eric Dezenhall.
I first became aware of Eric Dezenhall because of his nationally recognized high stakes communications firm, in his role as damage control media expert. Eric Dezenhall is widely respected in communications circles and he is busy making appearances on NPR, CNN, FOX, CNBC, MSNBC, and many other publications and media channels.
Someone, I can’t even remember who told me Eric Dezenhall is a writer. I love to read, so I followed up, googling Eric Dezenhall Writer.
I was blown away by the search results.
To say Eric Dezenhall is a crisis communications expert and writer puts less emphasis on his writing, and boy is he a writer. This is kinda like saying Steve Ballmer used to work for Microsoft and now owns a basketball team. Ballmer is an NBA magnate!
But, back to Eric Dezenhall, our guest today…he is the author of ten books, including three non-fiction texts on crisis communications and corporate witch hunts. Eric is a serious writer, and he has a gift for book titling! Some of his books are titled:
- Nail ‘Em! Confronting High Profile Attacks on Celebrities and Businesses
- Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for Defending Fragile Reputations in an Age of Instant Scandal
Both are nonfiction books.
But, I really came to appreciate Eric Dezenhall, the writer when I started reading Eric’s fiction books, with titles:
And the fascinating account of the collaboration between the U.S. Navy and organized crime during World War II to secure American ports from Nazi attack, titled ‘The Devil Himself.’
These books have a hilarious sense of humor, as does the man, Eric Dezenhall, himself. Most of the books are set in New Jersey, where Dezenhall himself grew up. But also, Atlantic City, specifically, and star Dezenhall’s alter ego, Jonah Eastman, who, in the books, is a mobster’s grandson, gone straight — attending Dartmouth, then a high-level White House job in the Reagan Administration, his own crisis management firm — but is inevitably brought back to his darker roots. The Not Old Better Show audience will love these books.
Another book you’ll enjoy is Eric Dezenhall’s latest book, “Best of Enemies,” co-authored with Gus Russo, about the extraordinary friendship between a CIA officer and KGB agent during the Cold War.
We’ll talk about all this, and Eric Dezenhall will answer our questions or as much as we can get to, but please join me in welcoming to The Not Old Better Show, via internet phone, award-winning author, Eric Dezenhall.
My thanks to Heaven’s Maid for sponsoring the show today, and my special thanks to Eric Dezenhall for his time and conversation. Check out links for Heaven’s Maid, and Eric Dezenhall’s firm Dezenhall Resources, and his enjoyable books in our show notes. And, thanks to you, our wonderful Not Old Better Show audience.
Remember, talk about better. The Not Old Better Show. Thanks, everybody.