Bold as a Bear: The German Quest for the Iowa Prairie Paperback – November 12, 2025

Bold as a Bear tells the story of the author’s German ancestors and their descendants born in the United States. In 1853, Bernard Heithoff sailed from Germany in the company of the Nieland family; one of its members was Catherine who became his wife once the Nielands settled on the open prairie southwest of Guttenberg, Iowa, a small city developing along the Mississippi River. For anyone of German descent who has grandparent stories but knows little of generations before them, this book may embrace your family history as well. If your ancestors left Germany during the troubled times of the mid-19th century, then this book will describe what it was like for them. If your German ancestors crossed the Atlantic on a steamship bound for New Orleans and went by steamboat up the Mississippi River destined for the Midwest, then this book will reveal what they experienced during their travels. If they set off in a covered wagon for the prairies out west of the Mississippi, then this book will explain what they went through in settling the land. Until such time as your family of German heritage uncovers its story from the past, this book will stir your imagination and inspire you to begin the search for your immigrant ancestors. Read more