Customer Reviews

Herman the German: Just Lucky I Guess

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Not enough good can be said about this book. Gerhard Nuemann's story is almost unbelievable. The only person in the history of the United States to have an Act of Congress passed to make him a citizen. The father of the Variable Stator jet engine, chief mechanic for the Flying Tigers, Executive Manager for GE's aircraft division,rebuilt the first Japanese Zero during WW II, auto mechanic, spy, and more. Nuemann is everything you would hope to read about in a CEO. A book you can't put down and when finished leaves you with a sense of awe. A true leader and the real foundation of GE.

This is one of the best books you will ever read. It is the biography of Gerhard Neumann, "Herman the German." Neumann, a gifted mechanical engineer and a German Jew, fled the Nazis and Germany to work as an aviation mechanical engineer for the Chinese National Airline. He was there when WW II broke out. At that point, the American Volunteer Group, the Flying Tigers, came to China to fight the Japanese. The Flying Tigers needed mechanics and heard about "Herman the German." Although he was an enemy alien, he was so extraordinarily gifted that the Flying Tigers hired him as a civilian mechanic to work on American fighter aircraft. His technical skills, leadership qualities and personality were so amazing; however, that the impressed American officers took great care to keep him. They obtained permission to enlist Herman the German, an enemy alien, into the US Army Air Force! There, he became an Army Air Force master sergeant and an American citizen. So it was, that when the war ended, he went to the US with other demobilized troops, rather than back to Germany. Fantastic! But the rest of the story is even more so. An enemy alien German Jew stranded in China - not the brightest of futures. But as extraordinary as he was, his future was bound to be astonishing and outstanding. And his adventures did not end with demobilization, nor when he entered the US. Whatever the old book price is here, pay it! Your enjoyment of this story will be worth it!

There is still hope in this world if it produces just a few men like Neumann. Not a book for those lacking a strong work ethic and drive. Definitely a book for those who believe they can accomplish almost everything.

This autobiography completely surprised and overwhelmed me from the moment I picked it up until the turn of the last page. His experiences and the way he shares them with the reader are captivating. Some of these recollections would almost be unbelievable, if it weren't for the pictures he included along the way. Included in this work is the inspiring story of how a chain of events, beginning as he apprenticed at an auto shop as an adolescent, led him to become an executive of General Electric. The reader is also treated to Gerhard sharing his families experience as they drove 10,000 miles through battered, post WWII Asia in an RAF Willys Jeep in order to return to the United States. This is an inspiring tale which shows that hard work, faith, and a little luck can make your dreams come true.