Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Helping to commemorate 75th anniversary of Krystallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass"

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 — On Sunday, Nov. 10, at 10:30 a.m., Congregation Kneseth Israel presents an author lecture and book signing by Charles Heller to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Author Charles Heller, will share his riveting adventure and moving recollection of a loving family nearly destroyed by the Nazis. The book, "Prague: My Long Journey Home," is a personal account of a long journey of persecution, struggle and survival in Nazi and Communist controlled Czechoslovakia, and eventual escape from tyranny to freedom in America. A bagel brunch will accompany the event. The cost of the event is $8.


Charles O. Heller’s career has consisted of phases as: engineer, educator, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, management consultant, and author. Today, he is President of Annapolis Capital Group, a management consulting and investment firm. He is the author of two memoirs: "Prague: My Long Journey Home" (2011) and "Name-Droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous and Near-Famous" (2013). He is writing two additional memoirs. Heller is married, has one son and three grandchildren, and resides in Annapolis with his wife Susan. He played Division-I college basketball, as well as club soccer and volleyball; today, he is an avid golfer, skier, boater, hiker, and writer. He is a member of the Annapolis Yacht Club, The Country Club at Woodmore, the CEO Investment Club, Maryland Writers’ Association, Authors Guild, Rotary Club of Annapolis (Paul Harris Fellow), and Omicron Delta Kappa (leadership honor society).
 

Kristallnacht (“Night of Broken Glass”), was a series of attacks against Jews in Germany and Austria. On Nov. 9–10, 1938 thousands of Jewish homes, shops, schools and synagogues were ransacked and destroyed, leaving the streets covered in pieces of smashed windows—the origin of the name “Night of Broken Glass.” The year 2013 marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

              
 

 
                                


 

 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Charles Ota Heller: "Name-droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous ...

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...

"Name-droppings: Close Encounters with the Famous and Near-Famous" is out!

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 from my first book, Prague: My Long Journey Home. The famous and near-famous whose names I drop in the book are (in alphabetical order):

Bill Clinton (and Monica Lewinsky)
Michael Dingman
Larry Doby
Clint Eastwood
Andy Enfield
Jay Geils (and Jack Geils)
Henry Iba
Don Klosterman
Viktor Kožený
Helen O’Connell
Carroll Rosenbloom
Wernher Von Braun
Earl Weaver
Philip Van Horn Weems
Dr. Ruth Westheimer

The following is Abbott Press’ “teaser” about the book:

Captured in this short, yet unique, memoir are Charles Ota Heller’s myriad encounters with celebrities from various walks of life—business, politics, sports, entertainment, science.  How did Clint Eastwood spend his Thursday evenings? What caused one of America’s greatest basketball coaches to scream the “n-word” at the author? How did Heller become an early witness to the Clinton-Lewinsky affair? Why did jazz singer Helen O’Connell proposition the young, innocent Charlie Heller? What led the author to insult the leader of America’s space program? How did Heller and a TV star/sex therapist develop immediate rapport? How did the author and the leader of the J. Geils Band become friends? These are some of the interesting vignettes told by Charles Ota Heller, a former CEO entrepreneur, educator, venture capitalist, athlete, and engineer who came to America as an immigrant from Czechoslovakia at the age of thirteen and who now looks back at a life of chasing the proverbial American Dream and the famous and near-famous he met along the way.