This is a collection of letters (as well as postcards and telegrams) written by Umberto Nobile in Joliet, Illinois and in Lockport, Illinois to Hermine Speier in Rome during November and December of 1939. Nobile frequently travels during this period to attend various functions: he goes to Chicago to speak at an aviation post of the American Legion, goes to Springfield, IL for a celebration of Abraham Lincoln at his tomb, represents the Consul General at a meeting of the Italian American society, attends a conference at Loyola University Chicago, visits Wabash College, and goes to an exhibition of Italian artworks in Chicago. His beloved dog Totosca has puppies in November. Nobile visits Speier’s cousin in Chicago on various occasions – he is a guest of Speier’s cousin and his wife for Thanksgiving. By this time, Nobile has begun to express that his work is gratifying him somewhat and that, though living in a state of perpetual uncertainty about the looming war and his own future plans is unpleasant, he is less consumed by anxiety. He does, however, maintain that his solitude remains unassuaged; he tells Speier that forming substantial friendships with Americans is nearly impossible, and that it is wise to steer clear of the coarse, uncultured Italian-Americans who retain little allegiance to their patria. At one point, he tells Speier that, were it not for their epistolary correspondence, his life in America would be an embarrassment. His political opinions appear in his letters only occasionally and tangentially, as when he remarks that in such calamitous times as these, Italy is lucky to be guarded by a man like Mussolini. He continues to bemoan the amount of journalistic attention he is attracting, which he views as excessive, and he complains of his misrepresentation in the media. For the holidays, Nobile travels to his cousin’s home in Rochester, NY. Newspaper clippings are included in some letters.