Gringo: The Making of a Rebel

By Emil Willimetz

A memoir of an unconventional life, this work offers both general readers and scholars a journey behind the lines of the Great Depression, combat in Normandy and northern Germany, early civil rights and labor organizing in the south.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1931807167
• ISBN13: 9781931807166
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Peter E Randall Pub
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 3.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

The Story of Gringo

"Gringo," the story of Emil Willimetz, a resourceful first-generation American, is typical of many whose stories are never told in print. Willimetz writes with extraordinary flair andstyle of the rites of passage of his youth, then of his days asa union organizer, combat soldier, film maker and other experiences up to age 39. Unfortunately, his death at 83 cut short his work on Volume 2, the rest of the story.

An extraordinary life well remembered

Emil Willimetz' memoir is a vivid recounting of his youth in New York City, his experiences in the South during the 1930s as a young man and his memories of World War II in Europe. His chapters on on the war are among the most perceptive I have ever read about the life of a combat soldier; they are understated and authentic. He captures the horror, fear and tedium of combat better than most other memoirs I have read as an historian.

Making a Difference in the World

From the start this dazzling and thoughtful memoir reads like a novel. You don't want it to end. Emil Willimetz who grew up in the Bronx during the Depression was a non-Jew in a Jewish neighborhood. He hopped freight trains and lived among hobos. He fought against the Nazis even though a pacifist, organized labor unions, and was a civil rights worker. At every point in the book, the reader sees how historical events shape a life and how personality make it worthwhile.Willimetz's story is filled with memorable and humorous descriptions of his life and times and the people he encounters. "Gringo" reveals a sense of adventure and wanderlust and a compulsion to make a difference.It's a book I highly recommend.

A Book Ful of Historical Events to Learn From

In reading Gringo I felt that the three areas of Mr. Willimetz's life story represent an important part of who we are and where we came from. This book is a must read for the events the author was involved in and for the edge of the seat quality of these events. As I learned about his life through The Bronx, The Great Depresion, World War II, and his Union activity deep in the south, I could not help but feel envious of such a life. In reading Gringo, I was able to get close to this amazing experience.