Most of our ancestors traveled at great risk from someplace far across the sea. Why did they take such a risk? Would you or I have been so bold? It's 1859, and Josef’s family suffers as most Bohemian families suffered for generations under the heavy thumb of the Habsburgs. Will Josef fight to survive, or will he finally give up and take his own life putting an end to his suffering? Josef decides to persevere, but he soon has regrets as he is conscripted into the Austrian Army to fight in Italia. Injured from the battle, he struggles to get home only to find his wife, Frantiska, is now dreaming of a new life in America. But saving the money for such a venture is difficult when they can barely put food on the table. Finally, after much sacrifice, Josef and his friend, Vaclav, pool their resources to secure passage for their families on a sailing ship to America. But America presents its own set of difficulties, and the two families settle in eastern Iowa with no money reserves. A preacher arrives one day seeking donations for his planned church construction, and Josef chases him off. But soon, Josef and the preacher find their lives intersecting in curious ways, pitting Josef’s anti-religious ideas against the preacher’s fervent faith. Their relationship is soon tested when Josef becomes a prime suspect in the murder of a local thug. Will the preacher stand by him, believing in Josef’s innocence? Or will he decide that Josef is a lost soul incapable of redemption? FROM THE BOHEMIAN HILLS is a multi-generational saga about desperate people searching for a new life on a new continent. It is a saga not unlike the story of many of your ancestors who defied the dangers of such a venture. This book will bring you closer to your ancestors who took those risks and instill in you an understanding and sense of pride in your family story. After all of Josef’s struggles to achieve his American dream, will he fail to survive this murder investigation? Buy FROM THE BOHEMIAN HILLS now to find out! [FROM THE BOHEMIAN HILLS takes] "the reader on the emigrant-immigrant's journey as imagined from the perspective [...] of a cast of both real and imagined characters that together, present a variety of contemporary viewpoints and thus a more greatly nuanced story. Thus, Reyman's approach gives us a primer in Czech history that further puts his fictional story into a larger historic context. Besides its not insubstantial entertainment value, his story illustrates the overwhelming poverty, a rigid (and humiliating) class system and the lack of opportunity for social and economic mobility for most people in the oppressive police state of the Hapsburg monarchy . The reader of Bohemian Hills will not soon forget its history lessons through Reyman's unforgettable characters. Its compelling plot made it hard to put down ." D.J.B., Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International " Fiction and fact are nicely woven together to tell a story of the life of Bohemian villagers under kings and empires , their struggles and the difficult decision to leave Bohemia, journey across the sea, and begin new lives in a new country. Randall Reyman's author's notes, acknowledgements and supporting images were very helpful and appreciated." R.L., Czech and Slovak American Genealogy Society of Illinois Randall Reyman is a musician, composer, and writer living in Central Illinois. He is also a proud descendant of Czech ancestry.