Armenian-American Books

Vartan Gregorian has written a thoroughly fascinating book about his remarkable life and accomplishments. In this day and age a great deal of attention is paid to the "common man", as it well should be. But we tend to overlook the fact that it is the uncommon man that leads the way to advances in our culture. Vartan Gregorian is an compelling example of the remarkable talent nature only rarely incorporates into a human body, enabling startling results to be achieved.

From an unremarkable -- indeed, unpromising -- beginning, the child Vartan depended not on his family but on his grandmother and interested strangers to encourage his budding talents. His Armenian ancestors had fled to Iran from persecution and death in Turkey. His mother died when he was a young boy and his father and his stepmother were not close to him. But through a variety of fortuitous interventions he found his way from Iran to Stanford, where he earned his first academic degree.

At Stanford he married a remarkable woman who evidently shared his ability to adjust to new and challenging conditions. She had her first baby in Iran as Gregorian traveled in Afghanistan on a research grant. Then Gregorian began a dizzying ascent of academic activity that took him first to San Francisco State College, then to the University of Texas, and ultimately to the University of Pennsylvania where he became provost. His descriptions of academic politics -- the confoundedly complex interactions of presidents, deans, chancellors, and trustees -- are as fascinating as they are gut-twisting.

It was Gregorian's next move that put him on the public radar. He reluctantly became the head of New York City's Public Library. It was a decaying empire, having reached its peak in earlier decades but now floundering with insufficient scholastic vision and financial support. Gregorian proved to be just the man with the unusual abilities to turn things gloriously around. His vast scholarly knowledge, his enthusiasm and energy, his sense of humor, and his charisma brought in tens of millions of dollars from wealthy donors who were grateful that they had a cause to believe in, as well as a man in whom they could put their trust to use their money in a constructive way.

Gregorian's accomplishments continued unabated as he then moved into the presidency of Brown University, ultimately becoming the head of the Carnegie Foundation.

Here is a man of energy ("I was born energetic"), of vision, of knowledge, of acumen, of character, of superlative accomplishment. Here is a man to admire, to be inspired by. Here is the uncommon man who boosts culture upward.

Although Dr. Gregorian was a poor Armenian boy from Tabriz, Iran, he had a rich cultural heritage. Influential hometown people, who seemed captivated by his charm and intellectual brilliance, helped him, not only just to survive, but to get a good education, leading him, by way of Beirut, to the U.S. and Stanford University where, after graduating in only 2-1/2 years (while also learning English), he got a PhD in humanities and history. His teaching career began at San Francisco State College, where, 41 years ago, I had the privilege of being one of his students in modern European history. This was during the years of the student uprising that occurred during 1966 to 1968 at S.F. State. Since Dr. Gregorian is a historian, this memoir is made all the more richer by historical commentary that Dr. Gregorian provides vis-à-vis autobiographical events. His teaching career moves from S.F. State (where he took a year off to go to Afghanistan to study and write a classic book on Afghanistan) to the University of Texas at Austin, then to the University of Pennsylvania where he became Provost. This story makes the trials, tribulations and infighting that go on in universities actually interesting. When Dr. Gregorian took over the presidency of the New York Public Library in 1981, it was suffering from extreme neglect due to New York's financial crises in the late 1970's when NYC was on the edge of bankruptcy. Besides his talent for creative administration, his personal virtues attract the rich and famous (i.e., Brooke Astor, Barbara Walters) to help him achieve his financial objectives for restoring the library. He turned the New York Public Library from a dissipated, physically crumbling institution back to a vibrant educational center in New York City. If you live in New York City, you might have noticed the regeneration of Bryant Park; he was also mostly responsible for that. Following nine years as President of Brown University, Dr. Gregorian became President of the Carneige Corporation, where he is today. For American autobiographies, I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Education, street smart (partially due to his street friends of youth), networking ability, social skills, socializing selectively among the most influential, are contributors to this author's achievements in life thus far.

It would be worth while for Mr. Gregorian to use his skills and experiences in helping today's independent Armenia.

Vartan Gregorian's autobiographic tract, "A Road to Home," tells an extraordinary story. It is the quintessential American Success Story. Here is an Armenian immigrant who comes from a village in Northern Iran, with his high school education completed in Jemaran, the Armenian School of considerable note in Beirut, who earns a BA and a PhD from Stanford (in history, specialty: Afghanistan), teaches at San Francisco State and UT, Austin, ends up being Dean, Provost and almost the President of U. Penn., rescues and forges the renaissance of the New York City public library system from imminent disaster by taking over as president for eight years, becomes the president of Brown University for the next nine years and along the way, turns down the Chancellorship of UC Berkeley, the Presidency of Columbia Univ., Univ. of Miami, Univ. of Michigan, Univ. of Rochester and many others, before becoming president of the Carnegie Corporation.

That pinnacle of academic positions of leadership, the presidency of a university, is not a chance given to very many people. That privilege of being the visionary leader of an institution of higher learning (as well as its chief fund raiser) is reserved to the best of the best and Vartan Gregorian has been one of the most sought after candidates for that post over the last twenty years being on almost everyone's short list! To say that he went from humble beginnings to the very top of the intellectual and academic life in America is to considerably understate the miracles that have paved the way of this deserving and gifted man's life journey. The perilous road that has lead him to the zenith of what America has to offer a scholar is depicted with great humility and panache in the pages of "The Road to Home," a Simon and Schuster 2003 publication. Everyone interested in how fate outstrips logic and predictability ought to read this book. Here is the chronicle of how the brilliance of a kid is first noted and appreciated enough somehow (by a French consular Attache' who happens to be Armenian) and then rewarded and protected by a long chain of benefactors and friends in the middle East (mostly Armenians) and in America (Armenians and many more non Armenians) both, catapulting a strange boy in great need for love and acceptance to shine as an intellectual and scholar, to conquer the toughest of tasks as an administrator, mediator, moderator, visionary, fund raiser, diplomat, keeper of the faith, lighter of the torch of knowledge and learning in Philadelphia, in New York City, in Providence, Rhode Island and in New York City again where, since 1997, he has been the president of the Carnegie Corporation which is a philanthropic organization of great weight and import in the cultural life of America and indeed the world. There are many immigrant stories that make America's spinning roulette wheel of success seem impossible to believe. Here is another such spectacular tale told by the master communicator himself, the staunch believer in education, the power of books, the beauty of scholarship and a man who has found his niche in high society and academe in America against impossible odds.

Imagine a young boy in Tabriz, Iran, born in 1934 to Armenian parents in this Northern Province of Persia known as Azerbaijan. His mother, Shoushig, dies when he is six and a half years old. Together with his little sister Ojik, he is raised by their maternal grandmother, Voski Mirzaian. Her's is the strongest and most lasting influence on this poor boy's life. She is mother and father and grandmother to them since their father is never around, working elsewhere, such as near oil fields, to make ends meet, and is never a warm father anyway, even when he is around. In fact, he is a strange, cold, distant, remarried man who never encourages little Vartanig, never teaches him anything (even though he gives private English lessons to others), never gives him any sort of advice or love of any sort! These circumstances alone ought to be enough to scar a man for life and make it hard for him to have sufficient self-confidence to make it in this cruel world. Add to that the changing of hands of their province between Persia and Soviet Russia, the Second World War, depravity, being part of a Christian Minority in an overwhelmingly Muslim city and country, poverty, lack of food, clothing, proper shelter, constant peril and it is a miracle indeed that this boy grew up to amount to anything at all. The details of these harrowing times are depicted with great care and meticulous detail in the first fifth of the book, The Road to Home. Here we have the familiar positive influence of the Armenian Church, becoming an acolyte and developing a very warm relationship with the steady, ancient tradition of the liturgy and faith that is the hallmark of the Armenian Apostolic tradition. The solace Vartanig derives from these experiences acts as a counterweight to the lack of love and nourishment at home under his father's roof with his younger wife who cares very little for him or his sister. Vartan has his grandmother who teaches him wisdom, myth, faith, morality, history and traditional Armenian tall tails all brewed in one living magic cauldron. Stars and winds and ghosts and other mythological figures intermingle and fire up this precocious boy's imagination as a steady nightly diet administered by his grandmother and her tender loving care. It is remarkable how much of this he reproduces more than fifty years later in the pages of his autobiography. His is a genuine and profound love for his grandmother. Plus, he is far too intelligent not to absorb all he can learn from her about life and this world naturally. Vartan grows and observes the changing world around him. Soviet communists come and go, muslem extremism is always suspected to be a palpable threat to the Armenians and to all Christian boys and girls in particular. Pedophiliacs must be avoided and are rumored to be all around. Street fights with Muslim boys are routine. Vartan reaches his teen years, attending school with worn out shoes, without money to buy books but able to read everything written in Armenian he can get his hands on at the library of the Armenian church and community center. He then starts to write for the Armenian newspaper "Alik" as well about daily affairs and even deliver eulogies at the funeral of important Armenian citizens of Tabriz. From these surroundings, he is somehow able to extricate himself at the age of fifteen at the bold suggestion of the French Vice-consul, Edgar Maloyan, who instructs him he go to Beirut and attend high school at Jemaran. The first turning point or plot point of this story is his grandmother authorizing his departure knowing that it is best for him and his future to leave their village and embrace the larger world. The crown jewel of Armenian schools in Beirut in the fifties with an emphasis on French (and Arabic) instruction and a thorough Armenian education including classical Armenian and Armenian history and culture beyond a normal high school degree was Nshan Palanjian Jemaran. But such a school was simply unreachable for a poor boy from Tabriz whose father would not be of any help and who spoke no Arabic or French to begin with! But he did manage to go to Beirut on his own with just $50 to his name, find people to sponsor him, to take him under their wings, nurture him, find money for him, donate food, arrange make shift dwelling at some sort of "Hotel Luxe" until boarding school facilities were inaugurated a few years hence, and even teach him French on the side so that he could catch up and graduate a few years behind schedule but brilliantly. This unlikely passage to Beirut and an institution of higher learning, makes Vartan think of the words of Graham Greene who once said and he quotes: " There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in." That was Vartan's moment.

It is at Jemaran that his knack for being noticed, appreciated, aided and nurtured takes root in earnest. In Beirut, in the early and middle nineteen fifties, around the intellectual community of Jemaran, many notable Armenians take on his cause. Chief among them is Simon Vratsian, the principal of the school. Vartan becomes one of the unofficial secretaries of this honorable Armenian intellectual who was the last prime minister of the first Armenian Republic before Armenia fell into the clutches of the Soviet empire in 1920. Vartan reads and learns all he can get his hands on at Jemaran. In addition, he writes many of Vratsian's letters since Simon is almost blind by then. Vartan, through this experience, if nothing else, becomes groomed for academic administration since he is exposed to it at a very early age and in all its multiple facets of fund raising and community affairs and public relations and vision and rigor and all other aspects of pedagogy. Vartan, in need of a father figure, in need of people to believe in him and encourage him, finds many in Beirut and in Jemaran, all of which is delicately and precisely depicted in The Road to Home. He completes the entire venerable "Hayakidagan" (Armenology) course, reads voraciously, learns about life in the fast and wild town which Beirut was in the 1950s and graduates with honors ready to be shipped out to the West coast where he is accepted in Stanford. Le Petit Paris, as Beirut is referred to, makes a man out of him and a man hungry for knowledge.

The next fifth of the book is about his spectacular career at Stanford both as an undergraduate and graduate student. Again, his brilliance and remarkable attributes are detected by professors who become his champions for life! He is helped by these historians and scholars throughout his academic journey. They see a future for him he cannot even imagine and take it upon themselves to walk him through the steps to achieve greatness! Vartan is appreciated and guided by giants in his field who pave the way for him and are always rewarded by how well he does, given these opportunities. Instead of being supported by Jemaran throughout his stay at Stanford, he receives University support at the end of two years, finishes his BA that quickly and starts his graduate program right then and there. He has a rich life at Stanford, which molds him further as a man and as a scholar. He meets his future wife there and marries her in such spectacular fashion that I do not want to spoil it by paraphrasing the story here. You will have to read pages 132-135 to see for yourself. Clare Russell learns Armenian and becomes his mate for life from that time on. Theirs is a happy marriage and one where the journey is shared and burdens distributed and hardships met with equal courage and valor on both their parts.

And its not that Vartan does not put Clare in harm's way! For starters, he receives a substantial travel and research grant to spend time in London, Paris, Beirut, Kabul and Karachi. His aim is to gather the raw data for his thesis on Afghanistan's transition to becoming a modern state. He takes Clare along for this trip but she is already pregnant so by the time they arrive in Beirut, she gives birth and stays there while Vartan goes to Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan and back on his own. This remarkable woman now has to fend for herself in a hotel room (where the giant cockroaches are described in vivid detail in the book) with a newborn son! She does so with the help of all the same cast of characters associated with Jemaran and the thriving Armenian community in Beirut when Vartan was there alone 6 years earlier. History repeats itself, Vartan avails himself of the generosity and friendship of old acquaintances and his research makes very good progress.

Back to California they come and a job as a history instructor at San Francisco State University. Why? Because there are no jobs that can be arranged at AUB or Jemaran in Beirut! Vartan would have loved staying in Beirut. He tries and his meteoric rise to the top of US academic circles is because there are no suitable teaching jobs for him in Beirut! Lucky for us, one could say. Vartan faces the middle to late sixties in San Francisco. A less than ideal choice given the turmoil at the local Universities then, the hippy movement, the sit ins, the Black Panthers, the anti-war movement... It is a mess and a new assistant professor has to face it all in a hot seat that was SF State. Not as bad as Berkeley, as the book explains, but close.

It is no surprise then that the newly minted PhD who is barely able to make ends meet with an academic salary at a state school (living with a wife and son) and teaching part time here and there including Stanford and other colleges, welcomes the chance to go to the university of Texas, after a short stint at UCLA and teach at a research university with a graduate program and be a historian. His book "The Emergence of Modern Afghanistan: Politics of Reform and Modernization, 1880-1946" was just then accepted for publication by Stanford University press. In the meantime, He visits Beirut again and Armenia and hopes to write a book on the modern history of that country. Instead, he gets involved in University politics down in Austin. He is asked to help the dean and that work eventually lands him in the middle of political infighting within factions of the faculty and the administration. The Road to Home describes this in great detail in chapter 10. Vartan Gregorian, learns to be an active player in University politics at UT. He then takes an endowed chair in Armenian studies at U Penn. and escapes the firings and turmoil that leave no friendly faces down in Texas. He also joins the history department of this prestigious ivy league school and embarks on the fast track career to high level university administration. He first becomes the founding dean of the college of arts and sciences at the age of thirty five! This is followed by heroic efforts at organizing the university for the bicentennial of our nation in 1976, a major fund raising campaign, and the attainment of the top academic post of Provost. Dr. Gregorian learns what its like to deal with the board of Trustees of a university and all the internal politics and machinations that would make the chatter at the Tower of Babel sound like a Gregorian Chant. He perseveres, helps solve many of U Penn's problems and sets a very good course for the university. Alas, there is opposition to his ascension to the post of President. In the meantime, he agonizes over the offer of being Berkeley's Chancellor, a lifelong dream of his and ultimate goal throughout his early academic career. He decides to stay at Penn because he is told he should finish what he started. He is told that he is a shoe in for the presidency. He should just wait and assume the helm. Alas, he is blocked at the end and many of the fat cats who are trustees of the university who do not like him are, let us say, blue bloods, who do not believe he would have the "social graces" (or the looks, perhaps) for such a job... Hmm... racism? You bet! Discrimination against a darker skinned, curly haired, short Armenian man whose brilliance and dedication and virtues they could not see? Surely! Philadelphia is well depicted in this book as being full of "Mayflower" syndrome suffering WASPs. Poor Vartan falls victim to their ingrate state.

But, the star of this story ascends far beyond a stuffy old school's board room antics and lands as the savior of the New York City Public Library system. This eighty nine distinct branch or property system which was at the verge of collapse and irreversible decay is resurrected under the able leadership of Dr. Gregorian for eight long years of fourteen hour days and double lunches and double dinners and fund raising and consciousness raising activities and innovations and vision setting leadership. At the completion of that renovation campaign he finally accepts the presidency of an Ivy League School, Brown University, in Providence Rhode Island. His nine years there reorient that school towards a far more successful path and improve its minority and gender distribution and hiring practices and many other modern innovations that take Brown to a far higher ground of success than it was in 1989 when Dr. Gregorian took over its helm.

The latest chapter in the career of this tireless and remarkable man dedicated to academia, scholarship, libraries, books, teaching and a life of the mind is to head up the Carnegie Corporation, which is a charitable organization of the first caliber dedicated to the betterment of the world through the dissemination of knowledge. Dr. Gregorian is a happy man from all appearances. He is a tireless advocate for causes he believes in with a passion. His enthusiasm is contagious. He sets courses for action and follows through with them till the end. He is a no nonsense achiever who has aided many a worthwhile cause with absolute dedication and imperturbable resolve. He has never rested on his laurels nor has he taken the easy way out.

One could imagine that being an Armenian and an immigrant gave Dr. Gregorian the advantage over more traditional local talent. He sure had something to prove and he was hungry throughout the journey. He appreciated all that was done for him and he took none of it for granted. He wanted to make his life mean something. He knew of the Armenian genocide and the displacement of his people. He knew that an Armenian owes his being alive to divine fate and that squandering his life away and the opportunities so many had sacrificed so much to make possible for him would be cruelly wasted if it were not his task to make them all proud. As this book shows, one can not praise this dedicated administrator enough for all the potential he has unleashed in New York, Philadelphia and Rhode Island by untiring dedication and a principled approach to the betterment of this land of freedom he has adopted as his own.

My only criticism of the book is that it leaves so much out! There is so much more one would have liked to hear him describe and discuss. For instance, and this is just the tip of the iceberg, how did he perceive the differences between the Armenians he met in Beirut from the Iranian Armenians he knew back in Tabriz and Teheran? How about the Armenian communities in the SF bay area and Philadelphia, NY and Providence? Any differences and similarities there, he would care to dissect for us? What happened to his book on Armenia? Are there notes left of that work? His research and plans? Is that water under the bridge now? Did he ever produce any graduate students of his own in Texas or U Penn? What are his PhD students up to, if he has had any? That is, what is his intellectual legacy as a scholar? And another thing, what does he think of Afghanistan today? The book makes reference to 9-11 and to unrelated speeches he has given in 2002. How about Afghanistan? He was, after all, a world expert in this arena at one point not so long ago. Similarly, what efforts has he made on behalf of the Armenian cause or for free and independent Armenia since 1991? What are his views on how Armenia's intellectual capital can be preserved or augmented? What can we do and what course of action would he suggest given his vast experience at administering universities and charitable organizations? It would help a lot if he would write publicly and let everyone know what he sees as a best coarse of action. Dr. Gregorian is an asset of immeasurable proportions to a community that can only be awed and proud to call him one of their own. In short, read The Road to Home. Its message to all Armenians and Americans seems to be, you can find a home (after all) if you keep your eyes wide open in this land of vast opportunity.

I first learned of Vartan Gregorian when he became provost of the University of Pennsylvania while I was attending grad school there. He was a colorful figure who seemed to be as much at odds with the university as the contentious students during the turbulent late 70's. Later, he went on to head the New York Public Library and then Brown University. He seemed to have a magical way to become influential and well-liked. After reading this book, I liked him a lot and wished I'd had a chance to know him while I was at Penn. Gregorian is a man of letters and great charisma.

Gregorian's story of his life is as charming as his public persona. From the opening lines about his life in Tabriz, Iran as a member of the Armenian minority community there, to his wise grandmother who raised him, his life is exciting and fraught with tragedy and pitfalls. His mother dies in childbirth and his father essentially abandons the family. Somehow, Vartan manages to find an education despite great difficulties and he is sponsored finally to go to the Armenian University in Beirut. From there, his career as a professor and man of letters takes off and he soars, always helped by friends of influence who provide that wind under his wings. And he's grateful. He moves some thirty times (not thirty jobs, as he points out) and goes from Stanford to Texas to Penn, to New York and places in between. All along he meets luminaries like Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the Queen of England, makes friends with former BU president John Silber and yet seems to stay folksy and unaffected by all the glitter.

The book is highly readable and a fine memoir--whether you've heard of Gregorian or not, this is a wonderful tale about a man who overcame ridiculously bad odds to become one of America's most influential public figures in education. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Many great childhood memories were cooked up from this book in my house...we grew up on some of these favorites...even the one for "American" stuffing (dressing) - I've never come across anyone who didn't love the recipes from Rose's book.

My mother gave me a signed copy of Rose's book when I got married in 1960. The cover is falling off, and the pages are stained, but it's the best! This book has authentic recipes, and the food tastes just as if my mother, grandmother and mother-in-law cooked them. I always know that what I prepare will turn out as expected, and my family will love.

My 3 children also have copies of this wonderful book. My one son got his from Amazon.com!

Paree achorghag! that means good appetite, in Armenian

My Grandfather (Robert Baboian)'s mother wrote this book. It is a very good Armenian Cookbook. I like the recipe for pilaf the most because pilaf is excellent.

I really love this cookbook! I have about quite a few Armenian cookbooks, but this one is becoming one of my favorites. I am Armenian, born in the USA, and have grown up on Armenian food. My parents were from Egypt, and my mother is an excellent cook. Sometimes I enjoy surprising her with Armenian dishes she hasn't had in quite some time, and the recipes in this book come out right and tasting authentic, even without her input! Rose has also written some silly little poems about her recipes, and it just makes me smile picturing this Armenian lady including little rhymes about her recipes! There are no photos, but there are different versions of dishes, as well as different amounts based on portion size, which is really a useful tool. I think this book is a real bargain for anyone who would like to try cooking some Armenian dishes. Whether you are a beginner, or a seasoned cook, The variety of Armenian dishes and Rose Baboian's light writing style will make this a favorite in your cookbook collection.

I received a copy of this book from my mother-in-law many years ago. She used it before me and taught me to cook my husband's favorite foods from it. I have tried other Armenian cookbooks over the years and NONE compare to this one for its authenticity and simplicity. You will find the paklava, lahmejoun, kufte, beurek, madzoon, and dolma recipies excellent and timeless.

I have used the book so much that the cover is now falling off and I need a new copy. I never thought I'd still find it available. I plan to get two extra copies for my two sons and I highly recommend it to those who want to learn traditional Armenian recipes.

This is a deeply moving story about the depths of Grigor's grief in the face of losing his beloved Grandfather Hurant. It offers the wisdom of centuries in a simple tale about the old Armenian rugmaker and his grandson, who is learning the art at the shop of the elder. When death deals its severe blow, nothing can appease the boy except his grandfather's love, which comes back to him in smells, words, textures, and pride, until the boy gets beyond his grief to follow in his grandather's path.

This is a deeply moving story about the depths of Grigor's grief in the face of losing his beloved Grandfather Kurant. It offers the wisdom of centuries in a simple tale about the old Armenian rugmaker and his grandson, who is learning the art at the shop of the elder. When death deals its severe blow, nothing can appease the boy except his grandfather's love, which comes back to him in smells, words, textures, and pride, until the boy gets beyond his grief to follow in his grandather's path.

Grandfather Hurant Lives Forever captures the essence of the special bond between a young boy and his grandfather. The author sets forth a difficult life predicament for a child, in true-to-life form, and brings the circumstances together for a meaningful and hopeful end. Beautifully written and illustrated, this story will touch hearts of all ages.

My fifth grade students had the opportunity to read Grandfather Hurant Lives Forever and were very inspired. It is a beautiful book with a wonderful message. It appeals to many ages!! We thoroughly enjoyed it!!

This poignant story takes on a common childhood experience, the death of a loved one. Grigor's grandfather, a skilled rug maker, has been teaching Grigor how to weave his own rug. Grigor enjoys spending time with his grandfather and loves hearing stories about the old country, Armenia. Then, one day, Grigor's world is turned upside down. Grandfather is in the hospital. The author of this amazing picture book convincingly conveys a small boy's response to illness and death. Grigor is angry when Grandfather dies, and it is by working through this anger that he comes to terms with death and the love he feels for his grandfather. Young readers will surely be reassured to have their fears acknowledged in such a forthright fashion. The vibrant illustrations add to the story's charm. All in all, an important book on the subject.

I read about Saroyan in Closing Time (Heller's disappointing sequel to Catch-22), I was inspired to pick up this book and I'm so glad I did. I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book, and so far the preface remains my favorite part. Fortunately, that's because it's an amazing preface that, brief as it may be, would have been just barely worth the purchase price all on its own. This is, of course, not an issue, because so far every story has been a bite-sized morsel of goodness. Especially great for the sort of person who likes to read a few short stories in one sitting, they're compact and plentiful and thoroughly satisfying. So... get this book.

Saroyan has a rare sense of language usage and introduces thoughts and ideas causing you to stop and realize how the grind of everyday life can be refreshing, moving, and humorous. His writings represent a slice of life in everyday America as well as amusing insights into the wacky right braininess of a writer. Once you get through the first chapter and can stand up again, the rest of the book is one deeper-than-real-life-story after another. Like Edith Wharton, Saroyan has a command of the craft of writing that seems lost in today's works.

A masterful work. Most of them written in a thirty day period, in which Saroyan promised to send the editors od Story magazine a story a day for thirty days. He proceeded to do this and this book made Saroyan an instant celebrity.

Saroyan eventually went on to win the Pulitzer for his play "The Time of You Life", but turned it down.

This book was a stunner when it first appeared. The simple yet poetic language ran against the trend of the times.

Saroyan is a nearly forgotten genius, yet his influence is evident in even his enemies, like Ernest Hemingway.

Buy this book, read it, and then give it to somebody. They will thank you and so will I.

I think there are not many books, that can change your life. This is one of them. I was sixteen when I read this book for the first time. I was not very happy in that time and I was rather confused by life but it has changed. In these short stories I could read about thoughts and feelings, that were similar to mine, but I had not be able to express them. But angle of wiev was new. It made me to live in spite of the world.

William Saroyan was brought to my attention by Jack Kerouac's early writings in "Upon An Underwood." I can see why Kerouac was turned on by Saroyan...and so am I. This book of stories is very inspiring because, in a good-natured way, it defies the conformist rules and regulations that "academic literature" tries to enforce upon young writers. It's as funny as it is insightful...and even a bit bizarre. It easily belongs on the TOP SHELF of any library.
Its value is timeless.

Few people within the mainstream American culture even know the Assyrian people still exist. Fewer know anything about the Genocide perpetrated against them. Almost three million Assyrian, Armenian and Greek Christians were murdered by the Islamic Ottoman Turks during World War I because of their ethnicity and faith.

The Crimson Field assigns faces and names to the victims of this dreadful chapter of history. It captures the plight of an Assyrian girl, helplessly caught up in the turmoil of her surroundings.

Malek-Yonan's work shines a terrible light on an overlooked study of Islamic violence during the 20th Century. It is a must read for any person interested in learning about the personal cost of Islamic Jihad.

Lee Enokian, The Times (Northwest Indiana) and The Illinois LeaderA Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish ResponsibilityDarfur: The Ambiguous Genocide, Revised and Updated Edition

This is a great book which shows the extents of the crimes done to Assyrians during WWI by Moslems. Even today, Assyrians are being persecuted for their only crime is being Christians. History does repeat itself and I hope books like this would make people aware of the crimes done against humanity. This book is very well written, a great story. I would recommend this book to everyone especially Assyrians so they know more about happened during WWI.

Few people within the mainstream American culture even know the Assyrian people still exist. Fewer know anything about the Genocide perpetrated against them. Almost three million Assyrian, Armenian and Greek Christians were murdered by the Islamic Ottoman Turks during World War I because of their ethnicity and faith. The Crimson Field assigns faces and names to the victims of this dreadful chapter of history. It captures the plight of an Assyrian girl, helplessly caught up in the turmoil of her surroundings. Malek-Yonan's work shines a terrible light on an overlooked study of Islamic violence during the 20th Century. It is a must read for any person interested in learning about the personal cost of Islamic Jihad.

Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and BeyondWe Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from RwandaThe Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness (Newly Expanded Paperback Edition)The Devil Came on Horseback: Bearing Witness to the Genocide in Darfur

A fabulous book, which is full of Armenian History, Religion and above all the horrible genocide perpetrated by the Turkish government on the Armenian minority on their own ancestral lands. A novel indeed, but nothing is fictionalized. Although it does not convey completely the suffering of the Armenian people, no other novel will ever be able to do that.

The book is full of suspense and adventure, that of the brave American Consul, the main character, the slaved women of Hekim Khan. It is so well written that almost reads like a movie script. This book will make a great movie, rivaling any movie which depicts adventure, daring, danger, love, compassion, cruelty, famine, and self-sacrifice for the sake of less fortunate people.

This is a great book; it is light reading telling a story of those caught in the Armenian Genocide of 1915. It is historically very accurate, and actually gives the reader more insight into what was going in Turkey during the Genocide than many other books on the subject. It deals with many of the feelings and spiritual struggles that Armenians must have been going through during the horrific times, and it unbiasedly looks at the attitudes that Armenians and Turks had towards each other. This is a great Christian book for those knowing little about the subject and a good book for those already familiar with the history to examine the personal and spiritual issues that survivors must have gone through.

I read this book twice because it took me twice to really take it all in. The heart of man is only evil continually, but this book inspires believers to stand for their faith in the most awful circumstances. This is excellent history of a holocaust little mentioned, and I learned a lot about the Armenians, the Turks, and the Kurds, which helps explain the conflict that continues among them today. I will certainly read other books by this author.

I found the book very interesting .It did contain pieces of my father grand father and many names of people that I met during trips with my dad an electrician with Local 43 in Syracuse. His help was always in demand at the older homes and businesses. A contributor to the book has been writing his own book and we are all eager to see it, hurry up BOB.
Well-written and good reading. Henry Cargen

Books on Armenian communities in the USA are rare, but this oneis definitely well done! The book works on several levels.

For onething, we get to know the Armenians of Syracuse, and they seem worth knowing. For another, we get to know the trials and tribulations of the Armenians in the USA. It's an exciting tale of Soviet intervention, murder of an archbishop, and divided families.

I recommend the book. END

This is a textbook of Eastern Armenian, i.e. the variety that is spoken in the Republic of Armenia (part of the ancient homeland of the Armenians) and which differs somewhat in pronunciation, some grammar points, and above all in vocabulary from the other main variety, called Western Armenian which is spoken by most of the emigrant communities, such as in Beirut, France, or the USA. The book was originally published in 1958, but is amazing in its offer of helpful features for learners of a language which is so different from any of the other more wellknown Indo-European languages. An initial very long section describes in detail all the phonemes, their pronunciation and examples of words in which they appear. Then follow the lessons, which contain three columns on each page: to the left an English text, with glosses of each new word directly under each sentence; center, a transliteration into IPA phonetic symbols of the Armenian version of this sentence; right, the same Armenian sentence but in the real alphabet of that language. While this makes the pages kind of wide, it is very helpful. You are never in doubt about the meaning of a sentence, and the transliteration gives you support in deciphering the "true" Armenian-alphabet text which you will badly need for as long as it takes to master that alphabet.
A few negatives: there are many misprints in the Armenian text column (none in the English part!) but if you have gone through the lessons carefully you have the knowledge to see through these misprints, for instance Arm. "s" is often turned upside down so you think erroneously that there is an "o" there. Again, the transliterated center column helps you out since it will in that case display the correct "s". The textbook may also be viewed as somewhat dull in that it sticks exclusively to explaining the language and its grammar, no flavour of the country is provided so it is typical of the dullness of mainstream 20th century American structuralism.

The accompanying set of cassettes is a must for anyone following this course. A voice in broad American dialect says a word, then a very clear Armenian voice speaks the Armenian translation of that word, twice, with a short pause in between. When all new words of a particular sentence have been exposed in that way, the English voice utters the complete sentence, and then the Armenian correspondence of that sentence is spoken, again twice. At least 3 different Armenians speak, so you get used to different registers, all are very distinct and easy to listen in to. I bought my set about 15 years ago but the sound is still perfect, the noise level is virtually zero. Thus, the quality of both the textbook and the tapes are amazing. The pedagogical method of mid-20th century structuralism may be regarded as oldfashioned today by mainstream teachers, but I myself love it. I highly recommend this course.

This book is best described by "Trial Impressions," a 30-part poem which dominates the middle of the book. The first part of the poem reprints, verbatim, a short piece by the English poet John Dowland. The rest of the poems in the sequence rewrite this poem, each in a different way: as sestina, as Mallarmean sonnet, as contemporary plea ("Up to Date"), as an Oulipo "N+7" exercise (using two different dictionaries), as a detective riddle, as a palindrome, as Chinese imagism ("The Wang Way."), etc. The closest precedent to this amazing poem is Raymond Queneau's "Exercises in Style," another Oulipean tour de force. The poem is funny, touching, and maddening. There are other great works in the book, including the title piece (a very interesting faux "translation" of a nonexsistent prose precedent). And there is also "Histoire," perhaps the funniest sestina in the English language. This is a seduction narrative in which the repeated end-words are "Feminism," "Fascism," "Militarism," Marxism-Leninism," "Sexism," and "Racism." It's amazing to read this sestina and watch such words get drained of their meaning yet strangely re-energized.

review of: William Saroyan, An Armenian Trilogy, edited by Dickran Kouymjian William Saroyan (1908-1981) was a major voice in American literature during the 1930's and 40's. He had a brief influence on theatre, with his Pulitzer-prize winning play, "The Time of Your Life," in 1940, and other lesser plays. He wrote and produced several others, then fell into obscurity as a playwright. The "Armenian Trilogy," edited by Dickran Kouymjian, marks a departure in play writing for Saroyan, from theatrics to introspection. The three plays contained in this volume are the most "Armenian" of his writings. "Armenians," the first play, is about countrymen in diaspora, in Fresno, CA in 1921, six years after the last round of atrocities by the Turks against Armenians. Saroyan deals with regional stereotypes and larger issues of diaspora. "Bitlis," is a one-act play that features Bill Saroyan, the Armenian-American writer and his pilgrimage to his ancestral home in what was once Armenia. "Haratch," the most political of the three, Saroyan takes the stage in a visit to the Armenian daily newspaper in Paris. As strong as the plays, is Kouymjian's brilliant introduction that provides the perceptive explanation of Saroyan, the writer and the Armenian. The book is a necessity for fans of his dramatic works and those that enjoy the writings of William Saroyan, the "Buffalo Bill, " of American letters. -Y. Stephan Bulbulian, Fowler, CA