Otto SchmalzOtto Schmalz was born in Germany a year before the Nazis came to power and lived there during the Nazi era. The hard times he experienced as a child during the war and living amongst the ruins of his hometown, Hannover, gave him the drive to immigrat to Canada-in 1951, with five dollars in his pocket and the shirt on his back. What he didn't have made for a longer list, and included a job and knowledge of the language.

Several years ago, Otto's daughter encouraged her fearless and flourishing father to write his memoirs.

Otto has already published three books: As the Bombs Fell, Out of the Ruins, and Time for Taking Chances. Taking Chances, his fourth book in a series, ends when Otto is just thirty-four years old. Now eighty-eight and retired, Otto is still writing! He lives in Ottawa with his wife of sixty-four years, Gertrud. Read More Read Less