Coming to Colorado: A Young Immigrant's Journey to Become an American Flyer

by Wolfgang W.E. Samuel

In his acclaimed memoir German Boy: A Refugee's Story , Wolfgang W. E. Samuel relates his experiences as a child surviving war and its hellish aftermath in occupied Germany. On January 24, 1951, exactly six years after his traumatic flight from Russian tanks, Samuel finds himself standing at the railing of a ship taking him to the land of his dreams--America. Coming to Colorado is the story of a refugee from war and deprivation, who at age sixteen,...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578069025
• ISBN13: 9781578069026
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: University Press of Mississippi
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

German boy becomes an American boy

This is an excellent book and it was written so people that did not read German Boy can understand. German Boy was written in a different style and I enjoyed it slightly more than this one. It basically leaves off in January 1963 and leaves you wanting more and wondering if he will write the third book. I was amazed at how open he was in writing about his life. I highly recommend this book because it is a rare opportunity to hear the next part of the story of his life. Too many times you read a book about someone only to have questions, this answers most of the question you have. His son becomes a 2nd Lt. and wears the same bars he purchased when he began to form his goal to become a pilot. This book is an example of the US became great, through people who worked hard to better themselves and become Americans. I purchased this new and am happy I did.

Worthy sequel to a great book

This is a must-read for anyone who enjoyed "German Boy". Those put off by Samuel's seemingly photographic memory may find his relentlessly detailed account of life in the United States to be a bit unbelievable. I, however, find his writing style very compelling, and although I am not a native speaker of German, the word "deutlich" kept coming to my mind as I read this book, meaning "articulate, clear, lucid, and precise" and presumably also fundamentally very "German" ("Deutsch"). Samuel's own life-story is so carefully chronicled that on one rare occasion when he says he doesn't remember exactly where his mother was at that moment it is actually a little disconcerting. There is enough flashback to events in "German Boy" that this book can stand on its own: there would certainly be nothing wrong with reading this book first. His focus here is of course on the immigrant experience, and anyone specifically interested in that topic need not read "German Boy" to appreciate "Coming to Colorado". I particularly enjoyed reading about life in the early days of the U.S. Air Force, and I find myself now motivated to read his other two books "American Raiders" and "I Always Wanted to Fly". Samuel's book is also a reminder that for those who experienced it first-hand, Communism was, and is, a very bad thing, and not just some kind of alternative political lifestyle.

An Amazing and Extraordinary Story

Wolfgang Samuel has been one of my very favorite authors since I picked up his exceptional book, German Boy, in a London airport several years ago. This book was a page-turner, poignant and beautiful, the story of a young boy filled with a dream. I have bought every book he has written, and Coming to Colorado brought his story forward to show how much he loves America and flying. His is a continuing story of hope, innocence, familial love, courage, and overcoming whatever obstacles stood in his path. It is a testimony to good overcoming evil. I highly recommend both these books by Wolf Samuel.

Review: Coming to Colorado

I feel glad that I read this one last from the five books by Wolfgang Samuel. But I suspect that I might have felt the same way if there had been a different order. I have traveled a long way with the author, first as a German Boy and finished with a tower of strength well-rounded American boy Captain Wolfgang W. E. Samuel, later to retire as a Colonel in the USAF. The Colonel certainly gained my trust, my loyalty, and my admiration as a boy and then a man, Air Force Officer and author. His use of simile is very clever. And he can paint a detail and beautiful picture of anything perceived by the eye, be man, beast, or scenery. I found Coming to Colorado as worthy as the other four titles. I must confess that I felt a pervasive melancholy because I was about to lose contact: the end of a fine movie, an enjoyable trip of the human spirit overcoming obstacles, its wisdom. Holy, holy, what a tremendous experience! THANK YOU.

Guidepost to Understanding

Coming to Colorado, a sequel to German Boy, is another outstanding work by this talented author. A breath taking account of a young man who suddenly finds himself in America. Poor and Illiterate in English, his lifelong dream of becoming an American Pilot drives him to earn his college degree which was a prerequisite for flight training. His story is living proof that courage, determination and strength of character can overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. This book, like his other five, is beautifully written, and takes the reader beyond where "German Boy" ended. A story that touches the heart and emotions, because it brings to mind some of the fears and experiences that we may have felt when growing into adulthood. For the young reader, this story is an inspiration and a beacon of hope, and at the same time it is a tribute to the remarkable ability of the human spirit to prevail - a poignant reminder that "No dream is impossible"