The Making of an American: The Autobiography of a Hungarian Immigrant, Appalachian Entrepreneur, and OSS Officer

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 Companya bold experiment in a worker-owned minefounded the small town of Himlerville, Kentuckya town almost completely populated by Hungarian immigrantsand 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.

Himlers autobiography tells in Himlers 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 Himlers 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 Corbins annotations enhance Himlers words, while the introduction by scholar Doug Cantrell provides historical context for Himlers migration to Appalachia. Finally, Charles Fenyvesis foreword analyzes Himlers courageous OSS work. See more