Charles Ota Heller

Following the publication of Prague: My Long Journey Home in 2011, I prepared a presentation about my life as I hit the book-tour trail for the first time. I had fact-checked much of the story and thus was confident that I could answer any question and respond to any comment coming from an audience of…

As a 12-year-old in a refugee camp in Germany, I had dreamed of a far-off utopia, a land called the United States of America, where justice ruled and all people were created equal. Not long after arriving on these shores, however, I discovered that Americans were just as capable of bigotry and hatred as Europeans.…

An evil man returned to the White House on January 20th, primarily because he convinced 48% of voting Americans that immigrants are despicable and dangerous. As one-half of America cheers, the evil man orders the closing of our borders and deportation of our friends and neighbors to the same countries from which they had been…

On a crisp, sunny, winter day in 1997, I was sitting in the luxurious office of a Washington, DC, power broker, when his administrative assistant intruded on our conversation. “Excuse me for interrupting, sir,” she said, “but Mr. Erskine Bowles is on the phone for you.” I knew that Bowles was the White House Chief…

When the Germans gave us twenty-four hours to clear out of our home and to take only that which we could carry, my toys were not among the necessities Mother and Dědeček packed. Thus, I landed on the Tůma farm a four-year-old without his trucks, tin soldiers, and miniature sailboats. However, my ever-thoughtful mother made…

Feathered Quill just announced their book award winners for 2022. COWBOY FROM PRAGUE: AN IMMIGRANT’S PURSUIT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM was selected as a Reviewer’s Choice winner.  Reviewer Katie Specht wrote: “With this memoir, Heller has penned a poignant, compelling story of his grit and determination to make the most of his life, even during…

I have been selected by Atmosphere Press—along with authors John Lipman and Kristin Rohman Rehkamp—to participate in a Memoir & Biography Reading to an online audience via Zoom. The one-hour program will take place on Monday, January 9, at 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time. Each author will read a passage from his/her latest book (in…

REVIEW BY DIANE DONOVAN, MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW “Goddamn immigrant!” Charles Ota Heller heard these words of hate in high school … in the land of the free, after he and his parents narrowly escaped the brutal Communist regime in Czechoslovakia. It was an endeavor that moved them from living a life of wealth to arriving…

Student Contest Winner: Hidden Child, Hidden Identity Charles Heller learned he was part Jewish only after his relatives began to disappear. Give this article 9 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/31/learning/student-contest-winner-the-story-of-a-holocaust-survivor.html Charles Heller in his home office. “I didn’t know what a Jew was,” he said. “But our household was full of Jewish men.” Credit…Talia Dauer By The Learning Network Published May…