The Making of an American
eBook - PDF

The Making of an American

The Autobiography of a Hungarian Immigrant, Appalachian Entrepreneur, and OSS Officer

  1. 331 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

The Making of an American

The Autobiography of a Hungarian Immigrant, Appalachian Entrepreneur, and OSS Officer

About this book

Martin Himler emigrated from Hungary to America in 1907, and he arrived in New York City with no money and no plan other than to find work. From these impoverished beginnings, Himler persevered to become a self-made new American. As a coal mining entrepreneur, he established the Himler Coal Company—a bold experiment in a worker-owned mine—founded the small town of Himlerville, Kentucky—a town almost completely populated by Hungarian immigrants—and founded and edited a weekly newspaper, the Magyar Bányászlap (Hungarian Miners’ Journal). During WWII, Himler was called by the United States government to work for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Colonel Himler arrested more than 300 Nazi war criminals and interrogated 40 himself.

Himler’s autobiography tells in Himler’s own words his life story as it evolves into the American dream, wherein hard work results in success. Himler captivates readers from his earliest memories of his childhood in Hungary to his experiences with the OSS.

Following Himler’s death, the manuscript of the autobiography was passed down among Himler family members and then donated to the Martin County Historical and Genealogical Society, Inez, Kentucky, in 2007. Editor Cathy Cassady Corbin’s annotations enhance Himler’s words, while the introduction by scholar Doug Cantrell provides historical context for Himler’s migration to Appalachia. Finally, Charles Fenyvesi’s foreword analyzes Himler’s courageous OSS work.

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Yes, you can access The Making of an American by Martin Himler, Cathy Cassady Corbin in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Business Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Foreword. Marci Bácsi, Charles Fenyvesi
  3. Preface. The History of The Making of an American, Cathy Cassady Corbin
  4. Introduction. Doug Cantrell
  5. Editorial Note
  6. 1. Mátraverebély
  7. 2. America
  8. 3. Investment in America
  9. 4. I Became an American
  10. 5. Cleveland, Ohio
  11. 6. Again in Coal Mine
  12. 7. Riding the Rods
  13. 8. Romance
  14. 9. In the Show Business
  15. 10. I Become a Newpaperman
  16. 11. One the Road Again
  17. 12. With Mother
  18. 13. I Become a Publisher
  19. 14. I Become a Publisher
  20. 15. Himlerville, Kentucky
  21. 16. Life in Himlerville
  22. 17. The Lost Dream
  23. 18. The American Miner
  24. 19. Playing God
  25. 20. In Hungary
  26. 21. Return Home
  27. Appendix
  28. Notes
  29. Index