Looking Back

Arthur W. Hoffmann looks back at a life well lived in this autobiography that celebrates his family, values, and engineering success.

His parents, George and Amanda Theresa Hoffmann, were German immigrants who came to America seeking freedom, opportunity, and employment in the years following World War I. Desperate for work, they settled in Detroit, where the automobile industry offered some hope of successful employment.

He recalls that those growing up in cities and neighborhoods in the 1940s had an ingrained value system and appreciation of the enormous progress that had occurred in a short timeframe. Those qualities helped the country reach new heights after the end of World War II.

Hoffman got his big break in October 1955, when he was selected by General Motors Ternstedt Division to join its drafting school. After passing a test, he was hired, and after automobile safety became a national concern with the publication of Ralph Naders book, Unsafe at Any Speed, he become a leading automotive safety engineer and designerand eventually an expert witness/consultant.

But he also had to face numerous personal challenges, including his time in the army, multiple divorces, and being separated from his infant son from his first marriagea son he would not reconnect with until decades later.