Jack El-Hai is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, recently adapted into the major movie Nuremberg, which opened in theaters worldwide in 2025. The film, directed by James Vanderbilt, stars Rami Malek and Russell Crowe.
Jack writes nonfiction books, longform narratives, and the free monthly Damn History newsletter for writers and readers of popular history. He covers history, medicine, science, crime, and anything else that intrigues him and might intrigue you.
Jack's newest book is The Case of the Autographed Corpse: A Medicine Man and a Mystery Writer in Pursuit of Justice (2026; Pegasus Publishers). This true-crime narrative tells the story of the compelling partnership between incarcerated Apache religious leader Silas John Edwards and legendary mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner as they collaborate across prison walls to dismantle a decades-long miscarriage of justice in which Edwards was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. The book is an expansion of an article he published in Smithsonian.
His other published books include Face in the Mirror (winner of the 2026 June Roth Award for medical journalism), The Lost Brothers, The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, Non-Stop: A Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines, and The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness. His articles have appeared in Smithsonian, The Atlantic, GQ, Wired, Scientific American Mind, The Washington Post Magazine, and many other publications.
The Nazi and the Psychiatrist is just one of several of Jack's nonfiction stories that have been adapted for the screen, stage, and podcasts. Among other adaptations of his work are the documentary American Experience: The Lobotomist, the Long Lost podcast, the stage play Sense of Decency, and the podcast Time Capsule: The Silver Chain. He enjoys the adventure of bringing adaptations of his works to many media.
Jack frequently gives talks and leads workshops on the topics of his books as well as on the craft of nonfiction writing. Please contact Ann Aronson at annaronson4@gmail.com to schedule him for your event and for media information.
The Case of the Autographed Corpse: A Medicine Man and a Mystery Writer in Pursuit of Justice
The charismatic Apache religious leader Silas John Edwards was a controversial figure on Apache reservations in Arizona and New Mexico during the 1920s and ‘30s. White reservation authorities saw him as a troublemaker, a hindrance of their control over reservation life. When Silas John’s wife Margaret was brutally murdered in 1933, he was tried and convicted on the flimsiest of evidence, including a rock found at the crime scene that someone had scratched with his initials, “S.J.E.”
Eighteen years into Silas John’s life sentence, he sent an urgent letter to the celebrated writer of the Perry Mason mystery series, Erle Stanley Gardner, and explained his plight as a wrongfully convicted murderer. The two men met in prison and decided to join forces to reinvestigate Silas John’s case. Under the auspices of Gardner’s Court of Last Resort, an organization like today’s Innocence Project that investigated wrongful convictions, they sought to unravel the flimsy evidence – the rock, dubious shoeprint casts, and false claims of Apache custom – to fight for the freedom of a historically important religious leader. The Case of the Autographed Corpse details a dramatic and little-known episode in American history and two men’s unwavering commitment to finding the truth.
Order The Case of the Autographed Corpse
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Articles & Essays
Jack El-Hai has written more than 500 articles and essays for Smithsonian, The Atlantic, Scientific American Mind, Wired, American Heritage, The History Channel Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Minnesota Monthly, and many other publications.
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