Lew Paper
​Official Website of the critically acclaimed author of
IN THE CAULDRON:
Terror, Tension and the American Ambassador's Struggle to Avoid Pearl Harbor
BOOKS
LEGACY OF LIES: An Historical Thriller
As we approach the 50th anniversary of Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance on that sultry afternoon in July 1975, Lew Paper has crafted a fast-paced historical thriller which raises new questions about the reasons for the abduction. Legacy of Lies, a story filled with suspense and unexpected twists and turns, captures the many forces involved – Bobby Kennedy’s vendetta against Hoffa when he was Attorney General, President Richard Nixon’s bid for re-election in 1972, and, last but not least, the Mafia.
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"An intriguing read that revolves around Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance."
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— Joseph D. Pistone, former FBI Special Agent and author of The New York Times best-selling book Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia
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(Publication Date March 18, 2025)
IN THE CAULDRON: Terror, Tension, and the American Ambassador's Struggle to Avoid Pearl Harbor
This is not just another book about Pearl Harbor. It is the story of Joseph Grew, America’s ambassador to Japan, and his frantic effort in the months before the Pearl Harbor attack to orchestrate an agreement between Japan and the United States to avoid the war he saw coming. It is a story filled with hope and heartache, with complex and fascinating characters, and with a drama befitting the momentous decisions at stake.
And more than that, it is a story that has never been told.
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“The underbrush through which Mr. Paper cuts his way . . . would be challenging for any writer. But Mr. Paper, with an eye for character and an easy narrative style, manages to keep his subject interesting. . . . And even though we know how it’s all going to end, Mr. Paper manages to add a measure of suspense to his narrative — a tribute to his abilities as a writer.”
— Washington Times
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"In the Cauldron tells one of the great overlooked stories of World War II. Lew Paper delivers a riveting tale with deep research and compelling prose."
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—Jonathan Eig, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of King: A Life, and The New York Times best-seller Ali: A Life
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PERFECT: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made it Happen
“The story of Larsen and his legendary afternoon was hanging out there, like a juicy curveball, for somebody to smash out of the park, and Lew Paper . . . has done exactly that.” — Washington Post
EMPIRE: William S. Paley and The Making of CBS
“Paper’s book is an anecdotal delight and a starter kit for understanding the American phenomenon that is television.” — Chicago Tribune
BRANDEIS: An Intimate Biography of One of America's Truly Great Supreme Court Justices
"[A] comprehensive triumph of interpretive scholarship. . . . [A] landmark contribution to the oral history of this [twentieth] century.”
— Los Angeles Times
John F. Kennedy: The Promise and The Performance
Foreword by James MacGregor Burns
Introduction by U.S. Senator Bill Bradley (paperback edition only)
The Promise and the Performance is “an excellent piece of scholarship and one of the most useful works on JFK.”
— Tom Wicker, The New York Times
DEADLY RISKS
“Murder by jungle lion gets this CIA-laced story off to a rousing start. . . . As conspiracy theories go, Paper, a Washington, DC attorney, offers an intriguing one that links top-level U.S. officials to the assassination. Dialogue and pacing are superb. . . . Catnip for conspiracy theorists and fans of fast-paced thrillers.”
— Kirkus Reviews
BIO
Lew Paper has authored six books -- In The Cauldron: Terror, Tension, and The American Ambassador's Struggle to Avoid Pearl Harbor; John F. Kennedy: The Promise and the Performance; Brandeis: An Intimate Biography; Empire: William S. Paley and the Making of CBS; Deadly Risks (a novel revolving around the assassination of John F. Kennedy); and Perfect: Don Larsen's Miraculous World Series Game and the Men Who Made It Happen. Lew's articles and book reviews have appeared in a variety of newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Republic, and The American Scholar.
Lew is a graduate of Harvard Law School with extensive experience in government and politics, a former Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a former Teaching Fellow in Government at Harvard College.
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