Memoirs of Gerhard Langer

From standing next to Adolf Hitler at a construction site, to cornering a bear in a Army Post Exchange in Maine, to flying through thunderstorms in a small airplane while study freezing ice nuclei, Gerhard Langer has always had an uncanny knack for finding adventure. His memoirs describe 90 years of adventure-first as a Jewish "Mischling" (person of mixed racial status) in Nazi Germany, and then as a cowboy, scientist, husband and father, and avid hiker in the US. This straightforward and captivating life story paints a detailed picture of the struggle of surviving and thriving during the World War 2 era. Once the war was over Gerhard found himself homeless and jobless, but a citizen of the US. Looking for more adventure-for instance, a sighting of Al Capone-led him to stop in Chicago. There he found a wife instead of a gangster. A few years later, a move to Colorado led Gerhard to work seeding clouds to modify weather and later tracking stray plutonium particles in the environment. His life in Colorado also allowed him to enjoy numerous adventures in the mountains as well as participating in mission trips around the world. Gerhard celebrated his 70th birthday with a hiking trek up Machu Picchu in Peru. Retirement brought more hikes, bike trips, bike accidents, and trips to Germany to reconnect with family and reconcile his past.