The Story Of My Life,New

An Engaging Tale Of Life As An Immigrant In Cleveland During The Postcivil War Era And Early Twentieth Centurythe Story Of My Life, Originally Published In Czechoslovakia In 1928, Is The Engaging And Informative Autobiography Of Frank Vlchek, A Czech Immigrant Who Became A Successful Businessman In Cleveland, Ohio, During The Late Nineteenth And Early Twentieth Centuries.The Youngest Of Fourteen Children, Vlchek Was Born To Peasant Parents In Budyn, Southern Bohemia, In 1871. After Attempting A Career In Blacksmithing In Bohemia, At The Age Of Seventeen He Decided To Follow His Two Older Sisters To Cleveland, Home To Americas Secondlargest Czech Community.Vlchek Worked A Variety Of Unsatisfactory Jobs During His First Years In Cleveland. In 1895 He Opened His Own Smithing Operation, Which After A Long Struggle Was Transformed Into A Successful Corporation That Specialized In The Manufacture Of Toolkits For Automobiles. His Narrative Relates Tales Of Labor Issues, Competitors, Mergers And Acquisitions, And The Successes And Travails Of His Operation. Vlchek Was Often Able To Travel Home To Czechoslovakia, And During Those Trips He Noted The Different Cultural And Political Attitudes That Had Evolved Between Czechs And Their Czech American Cousins.Vlcheks Memoir Provides A Rare Primary Source About Czech Immigrants. It Also Offers Insight Into A Selfmade Mans Life Philosophy, Illustrates Relations Between Ethnic Groups In Cleveland During The 1880S, And Demonstrates The Assimilation Of A Latenineteenthcentury Immigrant In America.Readers Interested In Immigration History As Well As The History Of Cleveland Will Enjoy This Fascinating Autobiography.