Charles Ota Heller

I always wanted a Porsche, early on the Speedster and later the 911. I’ve owned BMWs, MGs, a Triumph, Toyotas, and now a Subaru BRZ. But, for whatever reason and even after I could afford one, I’ve never bought a Porsche. Now, I’ve discovered that an invisible force may have kept me from doing so. A…

The Annapolis Book Festival has become an annual rite of spring for our area’s reader-writer community. The 12th edition will be held on Saturday, April 5, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, on the campus of The Key School, located in Hillsmere Shores at 534 Hillsmere Drive. Attendees will have no trouble finding panel discussions which will interest…

Irena Zíková was the translator of my first book. After my Czech publisher and I modified the manuscript which would eventually become Prague: My Long Journey Home for a Czech readership, Irena did a masterful job of converting it from English to Czech. The book, Dlouhá cesta domů, debuted in April 2011. Irena sat next…

                                                                                      In my book, Prague: My Long Journey Home, I write about Czech collaborators with the Nazis and the Svejks–those who simply stood by and did nothing. But there were also many Czechs who resisted and who provided assistance to the Allies via clandestine activities. One doesn’t often hear about such resistance coming from those Czechs who…

I feel a personal connection to this year’s two anniversaries of the Heisman trophy–the award presented to the season’s best collegiate football player. Fifty years ago, I was a young, first-year, professor at the U. S. Naval Academy. One of my students was a midshipman named Roger Staubach, the recipient of the 1963 Heisman for his…

What a week this has been for Oklahoma State athletics! On Tuesday, our top-ten men’s basketball team ripped through #11-ranked Memphis by 21 points–putting up 101 points against them. On Friday, our nationally-ranked Cowgirls’ basketball squad demolished the University of Southern California by 31 points. Then came last night. We faced the third-ranked Baylor Bears, with…

I feel honored to have been asked to speak about my book and my experiences as one of Europe’s “hidden children” at the commemoration of that horrible event known as “Krystallnacht,” or “Night of Broken Glass.” The following is the announcement of the event–an invitation to all readers to come and join us. ANNAPOLIS —…

Charles Ota Heller: “Name-droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous …: I’m happy to announce that my newest book is now available, both as a soft-cover (list: $11.99) and an e-book ($2.99), directly from t…

I’m happy to announce that my newest book is now available, both as a soft-cover (list: $11.99) and an e-book ($2.99), directly from the publisher, Abbott Press-www.abbottpress.com, or Amazon-www.amazon.com. It’s a short read (128 pages), and I hope you will spend an evening or two reading it and enjoying it. You’ll find it a departure…

I have been a subscriber and loyal reader of Sports Illustrated since its first year of publication, many years ago. This, despite the fact that I’ve long resented the magazine’s bias against my alma mater, Oklahoma State University. I’ve written SI many letters to the editors about this bias–some of which they have published. My…