In 'Einstein Conspiracy,' Steve Israel plots out an LI-set Nazi drama

In bookshop owner and former Congressman Steve Israel’s third novel, "The Einstein Conspiracy" (Compass Rose, $23.95 or $34.95), the author brings to life the story of a Nazi plot to abduct Albert Einstein in the 1930s. Israel splits his time between Oyster Bay and Orient Point, where a good portion of his new book takes place.

Israel, who will speak with author Alex DeMille about the book at Gold Coast Cinema at LIU Post in Brookville on Tuesday, chatted by phone about Einstein’s Long Island, how history always repeats itself, and trading the halls of D.C. for the stacks of his bookshop, Theodore's Books in Oyster Bay, where, he jokes, his staff recently promoted him to junior bookseller.

How much of the book is true?

As a congressman, I was prone to slight exaggeration and spin. Turns out, you need the same traits as a writer. While the book is based on historically valid and truthful events, every good thriller needs to thrill. It is true that the Nazis did try to assassinate Einstein on several occasions. It is also true they purged their greatest Jewish scientists, causing their own atomic research to suffer. We know that German U-boats landed at Amagansett and delivered Nazi saboteurs to Long Island, and Einstein did live here. So I put that together and created the abduction plot.

The FBI agents in your novel feel vividly real. Were they also inspired by real people?

Agent James Amos is one of the most consequential people with Long Island lineage who nobody has ever heard of. I’m a student of Theodore Roosevelt, even named my bookstore after him, and every time I would go to Sagamore Hill and tour Roosevelt’s home, we would end in his bedroom where we were told Roosevelt’s last words before dying: "James, will you please turn out the light?"

One day I asked myself, who is James? That put me down another research rabbit hole. Amos started as Roosevelt’s butler in the White House and rose to be the second Black agent in the FBI. He died in obscurity in 1954 after a distinguished career. There was an assassination attempt on Roosevelt’s life and in the book, this creates a deep tension in Amos, who feels compelled to do everything he must to protect Einstein from the Nazi threat.

The 1930s America you depict feels very different and yet eerily similar to our country today. What are some similarities you found while working on this book?

History always has parallels, echoes and reflections. There is no question that some of the antisemitism and hatred that was openly expressed in the 1930s is being expressed today. Now it is triggered by algorithms and amplified by social media. Back then it was marches, radio broadcasts and rallies in Madison Square Garden. That was another issue I wanted to explore: Einstein must flee Nazi Germany, and he comes to America to seek tolerance and freedom. But he soon learns that the shadows of Nazi Germany have reached him. Even in the remote North Fork of Long Island.

That’s the terrifying part of your book — the villains are not in Germany or Washington, D.C., but right here on Long Island.

Every novel must encourage deep thought. While I’m not intending to lecture or pose a political viewpoint in "The Einstein Conspiracy," I am hoping that readers will think about what happened right here on Long Island in the 1930s and protect against it happening again, particularly the antisemitism and the support for the most heinous authoritarian policies emanating from Berlin.

The Long Island you depict is full of old estates, harbors, back roads and secret gatherings. How do you use the geography of Long Island to build suspense?

This was a challenge because I wanted to capture both the raw beauty of the North Fork, the bays and the beaches, but also the raw hatred of places like Camp Siegfried in Yaphank. My research on German Gardens [in Yaphank] literally gave me chills. I knew about the planned Nazi community on Long Island, but immersing myself in the history was a very chilling experience. I did not in any way want to give a Gatsby-esque view of Long Island, but instead emphasize that mix of raw beauty and raw hatred.

If readers wanted to visit the Long Island of "The Einstein Conspiracy" in a literary pilgrimage, are there real places they can visit that echo the history underlying this novel?

The Einstein Tour would begin at Madison Square Garden and then go up to Yorkville, which harbored a very active German spy network. The next stop would be the World’s Fair, where Einstein delivered the inaugural speech in 1939 the night before he went to Southold to move into his summer cottage. Then you could continue to Orient Point, where the climax of the book occurs. And, of course, you should visit Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay, where James Amos lived, which has great bearing on his character arc, and you can stop at Theodore’s Books to buy your next novel!