Armenian Books

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.

First time novelist Diane Goshgarian presents a coming of age story in the context of the Armenian genocide. Her narration of the harrowing experiences of our Armenian ancestors provides the dark backdrop to Victoria's movement from adolescence to womanhood. Twenty-first century Armenian Americans will recognize elements of their own ancestors' stories of their determination to survive. This blending of fiction and non fiction is a must read for Armenians and non Armenians alike.

"The Arbitrary Sword" details 24 years in the life of an Armenian family in Ottoman Turkey at the turn of the 20th century. Through the eyes of the resourceful young Victoria, we learn of the joys and hardships of a hard-working farm family, and their trials under the oppression of a government that despises them--and ultimately inflicts upon them and their fellow citizens one of the era's most horrendously effective premeditated programs of mass murder.

Goshgarian has done her homework well, and her characters are both believable and likable. The story she tells is by turns fascinating, compelling, horrible and redeeming. It is also educational: the genocide perpetrated against Armenians by the Turks during and after WWI is not as widely studied, at least in the US, as it should be.

The book is not without its flaws, most of which could have been avoided by better editing. The first half might have moved more quickly with some strategic trimming and tightening, and there are some technical no-nos--ranging from references to the "Straights of Dardanelles" (later corrected to "Straits") to comma misplacements--that I found distracting. And although some mention is made of Turkish and Kurdish citizens who might have been sympathetic, there are none included, which made me wonder if they did indeed exist.

However, as it picks up pace and power, the story overrides these relatively minor annoyances--especially in the second half of the book, when I found myself staying up past my bedtime to turn the pages. Thank you, Ms. Goshgarian, for filling a blatant gap in my knowledge of history. I hope your book is widely read and enthusiastically received, and above all, that we draw from it another much-needed lesson about the deadly folly of dehumanizing our fellow man.

Susan O'Neill, Author
Don't Mean Nothing: Short Stories of Viet Nam

I've read a number of histories on the genocide and they are very hard to get through. When I started reading The Arbitrary Sword, immediately I felt engaged with the lives of the characters. I wanted to turn the page to find out what happened next. It really was a book I couldn't put down.

Before reading this book I knew next to nothing about the genocide the Armenian people went through during the turn of the century. This book follows Victoria from childhood to adulthood. It tells of the day to day life and struggles of living in a tragic situation while still proudly maintaining a religion and a culture. The characters and locales are so richly described I felt like I could taste the food and see the landscapes. I began to like and feel for all the characters. I can only hope this author will continue to write such interesting books. She succeeded with this debut! Congrats!

Many historical novels will give you a feeling for what it was like to live in a certain place at a certain time. Ms. Goshgarian's novel makes you feel it in your bones. She tells of a young girl thrust into adulthood by the horrific events taking place around her. Victoria and her family try to survive amid the suffering of the Armenian people during their conflict with the Turks. Even more admirable is the compassion they show to neighbors and friend.

The historical facts are obviously well researched and Ms. Goshgarian's pleasant writing style propels the reader through the experience of this novel much too fast. One is left with the desire for more.

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.

This story, lovingly told, examines the bleak history of Armenian orphans transported far from home to the shores of Canada following a genocide in their homeland. Skrypuch brings the fear and wonder of the boys' experiences to life with her clear text and vivid imagery. Reading the story is a visceral experience not to be missed.

Aram's story is based on the life of an Armenian orphan brought to Canada in 1923. Aram's journey out of Turkey (with his grandmother) during the Armenian Genocide, to an orphanage in Greece, and on to a farm in rural Ontario is one of new discoveries and experiences--unforgettable are his nighttime swim around the skeleton of a sunken ship, arriving at the Port of Quebec, and eating his first banana.

Historical information is smoothly woven into the story, as golden threads enrich silk fabric. Backmatter includes maps tracing Aram's journey, a glossary, bibliography of novels about the Armenian Genocide, including two gems by Marsha Skrypuch, Internet sites and films, an index, biographical information on the author and illustrator, and a historicl note. Color illustrations enrich the pages of this historically accurate, thoroughly researched, and well-designed book. A memorable chapter book in the New Beginnings series, ARAM'S CHOICE is a must-read.

ARAM'S CHOICE takes readers on a journey into the unknown with a group of young Armenian orphans who must leave their homeland or face extermination. Such a heavy theme, written differently, could have weighed the book down but, told through the eyes of a child, blends hardship with courage, fear with wonder and discouragement with hope. Both text and illustrations are beautifully and authentically crafted, bringing alive the experience of Canada's Georgetown Boys.

Highly recommended.

I'll admit, historical fiction is not usually my first choice of genre, but this small treasure of a story was enough to change my tastes! I wasn't even aware of the Armenian genocide--another painful chapter in mankind's history. This account picks up with the rescue of some young boys who are sent to an orphanage in Corfu and then to Canada to start new lives. Aram is such a likable character, such a boyish boy in the midst of all these historical events! I once asked my mother, a history major, how she thinks children should study history. She replied that they should study the lives of intriguing people in the context of history. Aram reminded me that one young life, of such value in and of itself, could paint a vivid picture of a forgotten time in history--one that deserves to be acknowledged and remembered.

I liked the way the exercises built upon oneanother.
Each progressive exercise reviews words and phrases from previous lessons; great reinforcement technique.
About the only think I didn't care much for was the fact that this WESTERN series contains/teaches a lot of EASTERN words and language. A Western Armenian friend of mine listened to the tape and was very disappointed that a good portion of the WESTERN tape was actually EASTERN Armenian langiuage.
Still, however, it's a good intorduction and no one will laugh at you if you master the EASTERN/WESTERN words. They'll just be jazzed that you know anything about the language at all!

A perfect way to get the flavor of the language, and form a basis for further study.

I secretly bought these tapes and listened to them in my car. The first time I spoke Armenian to my future inlaws (Armenian is their first language) I almost had to pick my future mother-in-law up off the floor! I was thrilled with the result! I would recommend this program to anyone!

A perfect way to get the flavor of the language, and to form a basis for further study.

*REVIEW BY NURI KINO, JOURNALIST, SWEDEN:

In Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field the author has succeeded in poetically braiding historical facts and personal experiences into a novel--into a book at its best. In one of the chapters the author's grandmother cuts off her braid. The braid is swept in the current of the river. It remains floating in the shifts and slowly becomes undone. The Assyrian nation and the Assyrian youth are much like every strand of that hair looking to where they once came from. The Crimson Field gives them the reason why they became unbraided and why many lost their roots.

To read The Crimson Field is to understand that the Assyrians were not merely guests in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. The country of Bet-Nahrin in Mesopotamia was the cradle of civilization and the homeland of Assyrians (who also call themselves Chaldeans or Syriacs). Through her characters Malek-Yonan gives us an open window into a past history most would prefer to remain unstirred. She allows the reader to see the scars of her nation that have yet to heal. The only way to understand Assyrians of today is to understand their past.

But most importantly, this book transcends barriers of race and religion. It is a mirror image of the human race at its best and at its worst. There is no physical border between Good and Evil, however, Evil is very real. It is real in the sense that we cannot imagine Evil without its opposite: the care of others, compassion, and love.

This tale of one life takes you on that journey, in the most amazingly literary, beautiful and poetic way possible. Evil can never be forgotten or justified, but it can be forgiven so long as it is acknowledged and recognized!

I'm almost always skeptical when a storyteller or writer leaves little to one's own imagination by making very clear and bold statements. But that is not the case with Malek-Yonan. In The Crimson Field it's important for the reader to be brought along when a soul is extorted from a slaughtered body and let the author tell us to look down at the earthly body, in order to understand the feelings of a mother who is driven from her homeland and forced to leave her only child.

Rosie Malek-Yonan's liquid and lyrical style of writing is a perfect blend of long and short phrases each a poem in itself. The cadences of a concert opera are evident in her writing. A concert you don't want to leave. Colorful, her writing jars all five senses. The reader smells and touches what her characters experience. The reader sees, feels and tastes what the characters do.

The Crimson Field is literature at its best.

*REVIEW BY PROFESSOR DWIGHT SIMPSON, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY:

I have completed reading your wonderful historical novel, The Crimson Field. It is, in my opinion, truly a fine piece of writing, and I congradulate you. You have done a great service to the Assyrian people and to humanity in general by recording the terrible tragedy that befell the Assyrian people in the early 20th century.

*REVIEW BY PROFESSOR S.G. OSIPOV, MOSCOW, RUSSIA:

Upon seizing Jerusalem in 1799, the future French Emperor Napoleon was said to have been struck by the sight of pious Jews shedding tears beside the Wailing Wall. Still further struck when informed that the Temple above the Wall had been ruined over 17 centuries before, he could not but exclaim in amazement: "And they are still weeping!"

So are the Assyrians, who have a Wailing Wall of their own after being expelled from their historical motherland in 1918. This is Urmia, the focus of their 19th century efforts to revive the Assyrian culture and regain nationhood. Losing it caused a similar frustration to the loss of Nineveh 25 centuries earlier. A bleeding wound in the national psyche that ensued is best compared to a lesion in the heart from a severe life-threatening attack. It badly hurts and will continue so in many more generations of the Assyrian people.

The dispersal of the Jews is part of common knowledge. The 20th century flight and subsequent dispersal of the Assyrians are largely to the Assyrians themselves. Being untold and unexplained, this tragedy is all the more hurtful, creating the feeling of desperation and no way forward for them.

This tragic feeling pulsates in The Crimson Field by Ms. Rosie Malek-Yonan. A composer, a pianist, a film and stage actress, a figure skater for the Winter Olympics in 1980 and a gifted writer, so talented a person is the best imaginable mouthpiece for this feeling. She expresses it so intelligently, caringly and tactfully, that an image arises of a suffering nation that gradually overcomes a tragedy in its recent past with wisdom and spiritual fortitude.

The plot is centered on the family history of an Assyrian woman named Maghdleta. This history unfolds as part of the recent history of the entire Assyrian people. All major events with the Assyrians in the 20th century are reconstructed with scientific precision and in places they almost give the novel the feel of a documentary. Overarching everything are marvelous love stories of rare psychological elaboration and artistic quality. They are a golden find in the novel. Mastership of music enables the author to provide precise emotional and psychological guidance for the reader, setting fine tonal guidelines for each passage in her book.

Characters from four generations of women are in the spotlight, Pari, Maghdleta, Maghdleta's daughters and Maghdleta's granddaughters. The main supporting characters (such as Soeur Marie, Zahra Khanoom, Shakar and Madam Gaudin), too, are all women. This feminine prevalence in the book creates overwhelming passion and emotion which keep the reader riveted.

Emotional poignancy in the novel comes to its peak in a small girl named Fibronia. Her tragic story reasserts the old maxim that the treasures of the entire world cannot redeem a single tear of a weeping child.

Last, but by no means least, the author treats her complicated and multifaceted subject in ways and terms that are easily comprehensible and quite simple. My everyday tongue is Russian, but, unexpectedly ­ and I am never tired of thanking God for this ­ I easily read The Crimson Field in its original language, English. Moreover, I read it on a single breath. Ms Rosie Malek-Yonan succeeded in winning what writing is actually for, emotional and intellectual involvement by the reader.

*REVIEW BY BRIAN PATRICK CLARKE, ACTOR, USA:

It is with a mix of both trepidation and humility that I approach this, my attempt to do justice to Rosie Malek-Yonan's exceptional first offering, "The Crimson Field." Since my ambition herein is to prompt the prospective reader, i.e., "book jacket skimmer," to do as I personally did: proceed with all alacrity to actually purchase and immediately immerse myself in a personal exploration, I will focus on what I, an actor by trade and an avid reader by avocation, do know: Story.

Maghdleta's extraordinary saga is, in "genre," another commentary on the remarkable capacity of even the most unassuming and unlikely of our species to endure the inconceivably unendurable -- and to surmount the seemingly most insurmountable of circumstances.

"The Crimson Field" is viscerally horrific and palpably heroic. It is likewise a "must read" for these times, as it is a tale both unique (I, personally, was unaware that there had even been an Assyrian genocide, less than one-hundred years past) and frighteningly familiar. Need one look any further than today's Middle East to foretell the dire prospects attendant to centuries of instability and inhumanity? With an administration in Washington that continues to trumpet its success in "fighting terrorism" and, yet, repeatedly reveals the danger inherent in its ignorance about the region, the people, and, most importantly, the history, "The Crimson Field" is, sadly, a commentary on just how suddenly ­ and grotesquely - things can change. To prevail against one's enemy, one must first understand one's enemy. If, in fact, "knowledge is power", then the benefit in educating oneself through a compelling read of this book is an exponential growth in empowerment. As George Santayana cautioned, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

This is NOT a dry, read-yourself-to-sleep, historic narrative. Since Rosie's "The Crimson Field" is her own ancestral epic saga (i.e., opus magnum), it is with such personal pathos that she has vested her work. The reader not only reads what Magdhleta, her family, and her Assyrian friends and neighbors endured but also feels the pain with intimate immediacy. It is, thus, not a tome for the faint-of-heart. The suffering is real, and the reader who does not connect with shock and revulsion to the magnitude of cruelty brought by man against his fellow man had best reexamine his own desensitized soul. It is simply not possible to ingest this book with the measured passivity of one who has "seen or heard it all." The humanity, and its converse inhumanity, demands a visceral connection from the reader.

It is on this last basis with which I must take exception to one of the prevailing reactions that my friend, Rosie, has enjoyed among her Assyrian readers: "This is our story. This is the story of all the Assyrian people!"

At the risk of offending those who, God knows, have already suffered unimaginably, I believe it would be a gross mistake to make claims of exclusivity on this extraordinary book; specificity, inarguably, but exclusivity by its very definition diminishes the potential for universal impact of this gifted author. True, the Assyrian genocide ­ and its nearly three-quarters of a million victims ­ provides the specific setting for "The Crimson Field." In that sense, it would be absurd to take issue with proprietary reactions from among those whose forebears lived it. However, this book is ultimately so much broader in its application. Change the geographic and temporal settings, change the indigenous peoples, and change the scope of the deeds, and what remains is a too often told tale. The Crusades, The Inquisitions (French and Spanish alike), The Holocaust, and even the give-no-quarter sweep of Alexander the Great share a very familiar thread: pathological pursuit of pleasure by inflicting horror on "others" (that is, anyone whose ideology does not comport with one's own).

*REVIEW BY WILFRED BET-ALKHAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ZINDA MAGAZINE, WASHINGTON D.C.:

Malek-Yonan is a gifted writer who skillfully captures the naked struggles of a young self-assured Assyrian woman trapped in a war-torn province in northwest Iran, of a Christian nation insensate by ruthless atrocities, and the hopes and fears of an unforgettable cast of characters tormented by numbing events leading to and moving farthest away from the memories of the war, yet each finding themselves years later forever trapped in the hues of the insanity of The Crimson Field.

A stark and compelling treatment of one of the least known horrors of wars of the 20th Century, The Crimson Field is a stirring narrative that masterfully depicts the persecution and murder of some 750,000 Christian Assyrians of Iran, Turkey, and Iraq. Malek-Yonan takes us on a voyage of self-discovery of her grandmother who finds that her search for the meaning of life was more overwhelming than the misery and chaos of the most insane atrocity ever committed on a defenseless people.

*REVIEW BY DR. ROBERT PAULISSIAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, JOURNAL OF ASSYRIAN ACADEMIC STUDIES:

In his book Nationalism in Iran, Dr. Richard W. Cottam stated, "The story of [the Assyrian] flight is one of those epical human tragedies that cries for a great novelist to record." Rosie Malek-Yonan has done just that. The Crimson Field is a significant historical novel by a gifted writer depicting the human miseries of a war-ravaged Assyrian nation. No one has dramatized this epical human tragedy better than Rosie Malek-Yonan through her sensitive and lyrical style writing. The story combines historical facts and suspense in gripping narratives. It is full of excitement, anguish, sorrow, pain and joy. A fearless writer, Malek-Yonan propels the reader through this very visual novel to the events in Urmia, Iran, during World War I. Through the masterful use of her poetic language and style she has excelled in creating this intriguing historically accurate novel.

*REVIEW OF NINOS MARAHA, HUJADA MAGAZINE, SWEDEN:

Rosie Malek-Yonan's novel about the last century's first genocide is based on a true story focusing on her maternal grandmother, Maghdleta, who searches a past filled with beautiful and equally cruel memories. These events created a hole in her soul as significant as the hole left in the soul of the Assyrian nation, a hole punctured by the neighboring Turks and Kurds during the First World War, when over 750,000 Assyrians were slaughtered.

The images of the brutal genocide depicted in The Crimson Field are countered by stories of love and romance written in a very poetic and symbolic style. Nevertheless, those of weak heart may consider not reading this novel, as it may be too shocking, cruel and rough.

I felt very emotional when reading The Crimson Field, a story that every living Assyrian can relate to through the inherited stories told by generations of Assyrians, carried in their hearts. At the same time it is a story about human tragedy and how easily friends can turn into enemies.

*REVIEW OF EDGAR WEINSTOCK, ACTOR & DIRECTOR OF THEATRE & OPERA, NEW YORK:

Ms. Malek-Yonan is an artist who shares her journey most beautifully. The author's narrative articulates aspects, which unite us all as a race. I know our American Martin Luther King, as well as the Spanish Miguel de Unamuno, the French Victor Hugo and the Japanese Chiune Sugihara would consider Rosie Malek-Yonan a woman of stature; a soul of Tragedy. Unforgettable and endearing characters who never gave their adversaries an easy chair to lounge in by allowing themselves to be washed away into the sea. The people she puts before us have, instead, crossed vast oceans in order to survive. And they have.

*REVIEW OF FIRAS JATOU, EDITOR, NINEVEH MAGAZINE, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA:

What a remarkable book! Rosie Malek-Yonan's The Crimson Field takes us on a journey to a time and place that has been largely forgotten in the annals of history. This is a very personal, engagingly written account that moved me like nothing I have ever read on the suffering of a people. It transitions effortlessly from depicting provocative atrocities in a hard hitting no punches pulled style, to vivid portrayal of love, honor, and hope. A beautifully written book that is a must for the Near-East enthusiast and general readers alike.

*REVIEW OF LEE ENOKIAN, THE TIMES, NW INDIANA & THE ILLINOIS LEDER:

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.

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

I am an Armenian Evangelical woman who enjoys reading of church histories and personal testimonies of fellow believers. This book is a thoroughly detailed and fascinating account of a great evangelical who maintained his faith despite the loss of his martyed father and 75 other relatives during the incomprehensible, yet very real massacres of the Armenian people by the Turkish Muslim government during 1898-1922. Reverend Krikorian points out in his writings that the Muslim religion allowed those to be spared, should those convert to Mohamadism. Still, millions of Armenians refused, and were martyred for their faith.

Reverend Krikorian was a survivor of this ordeal, yet instead of turning from his faith, he embraced it as a Pastor in America and missionary to those left in Armenia who survived.

This book is fascinating, thorough in detail and a must read for those who identify as either a Christian or Armenian.

This book is divided into several parts. Part I deals with the amazing evangelism and patriotism of Meshach Paul Krikorian (from written material gathered by the author from Krikorian's own personal accounts--personal and historical).

Then Part II forever immortalizes Krikorian's own book, Spirit of the Shepherd, which alone is worth the price of this book.

But in addition to these treats, the author has added "nuggets" of her own at the end of this book--how she was led, step by step, in receiving insights and truths in her pursuit of compositing this book of the "Armenian Shepherd boy's" accounts from childhood (1888)on through to the end of his life (1974). She has done an outstanding job--a true labor of love--to preserve this for all time.

Along with photos and maps, this book brings the spirit of this under-shepherd to life as no book has before. Author Wert captured the essence of Krikorian's love of his Lord Jesus Christ and the love he had for his country during perilous times. It is "must reading" for Christians living in today's world who believe there will be suffering (but also victory) during the End Times. This account will serve as inspiration to any and all who may suffer martyrdom in the years to come.

In the account on Krikorian, author Wert has documented the biblical truth that "while the End Times become worse and worse," nevertheless "the Holy Spirit will come with more power than ever before" as the days of Christ's return approaches.

I give this book a five-star rating on all counts: 1)Biblical; 2)Historical; 3)Inspirational

The book about Meshach Paul Krikorian is a compilation of his writings and other works brought together in one book by an exciting author, Miriam Taylor Wert, with a unique gift of presentation.

In my estimation, the biography of Meshach Paul Krikorian is an invaluable addition to anyone's library of God-centered, and inspired writings. There is no doubt when reading about Meshach from his early childhood to his ultimate destination in the United States, that he was able to overcome man obstacles, attaining what may have seemed to him as unattainable goals.

From the beginning of the book, his expression of love and obedience to his parents would enevtually lead him on a path that met God's plan for his life. I was quite impressed and overwhelmed to see how God's wisdom was brought out as Meshach interpreted the Holy Scriptures to the understanding of the reader. From a shepherd boy to Writer, Minister and Missionary, Meshach's life was of complete Servanthood to God and to all people.

Meshach's Ministry brings hope and salvation for anyone seeking the ultimate answer to life's questions.

To be fair, I'm reviewing this work at the request of the author, who happens to be my "great" aunt in both senses of the word.

I finished reading this book while camped at 12,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Bishop, California. The next day, I was to embark on one of the longest, most physically challenging, and fear-inducing days of my life, including a climb to over 14,000 feet, losing one of our companions for 10 hours, and backpacking all night down the mountain in the darkness. Throughout this time, I was comforted by the words of Psalm 23 as taught by M.P. Krikorian nearly half a century earlier.

I was encouraged while reading about this young man's persistence in pursuing education and spiritual growth in the face of adversity. I also enjoyed reading about the author's decision to accept Christ as her savior in a small Pennsylvania church at which this man preached, and about her successful effort to research his life and produce this book.

I recommend this book for those interested in biography, Armenia, the 23rd Psalm, or the history of the Brethren in Christ Church.

Survived To Tell is the autobiography of Edward Keonjian who is the great-grandson of a Russian serf, and was once brought to the brink of death in a German slave labor camp in World War II. Rescued from a mass grave by a lone woman, Keonjian survived, eventually emigrated to American in 1947 with his wife and young son, and went on to become a pioneer of microelectronics. An amazing personal tale of struggle, perseverance, desperate times and the quest to make a good life for oneself, Survived To Tell is a remarkable story from beginning to end.

This is a short, easy to read autobiography of a man who went through a lot of suffering in the first part of his life. This book is a personal account of the horrors of war in Leningrad and the horrors of communism. This is also an uplifting story of a middle aged man coming to America with no English skills and having a tremendous success. The first part of the book describes his life as a slave, the second part is about his life as a free man.

An absorbing account of life in the Soviet Union, pre-WW ll, and during the incredible siege of Leningrad, for those, who, like the author, did not share the privileges and powers of membership in "The Party". Keonjian's subsequent life and career experiences as a scientist in the U.S., and his tales of meetings and friendships with an astonishing array of notables in various fields thoughout the world make delightful reading. In short, the heartwarming story of a remarkable individual whose life's path ran the gamut from incredible suffering and deprivation to international recognition for his contributions to our modern technological society

This book brings a tear to my eye as it depicts what some of our family have been through.

Unfortunately our dear cousin has passed away, so this book is a beautiful memory of all the wonderful stories he once told.

I read this book in preparation for a recent interview with Vahakn Dadrian (available online). It is indeed (as other reviewers note) excellent. In it, Dadrian considers the history of the Armenian genocide insofar as its "root causes, the protracted phases, the escalation, and the violent consummation" in 1915.

This of course requires careful review of the Abdul Hamid era, and the massacres that occurred in 1894 through 1896, as well as the genocide during the First World War. But in the process of reviewing this history, Dadrian also covers the what he calls in the concluding chapter the "three arch determinants of the Turko-Armenian conflict"--namely theocracy, demography and power.

Theocracy, he points out, itself has two components, one relating to a belief system (in this case Islam), and the second to how that system is applied to social dealings and politics of every kind. Islam, he notes, had features which overshadowed its piety and professed recognition of the two other monotheisms (Judaism and Christianity) "which proved liabilities for the multiethnic political system that the Ottoman Empire was." Firstly is its "inexorable divisiveness," which splits the social universe into two "irreconcilable, basically hostile camps, namely believers and unbelievers." Secondly is Islam's militaristic spirit, "bent on conquest, subjugation and expansionist dominion." The plight of non-Muslims, and in this case Armenians, was "created under these conditions," and indeed they extended from the Ottoman era into the Kemalist era that followed.

According to the Sharia, Dadrian writes, equality was essentially anathema to Islam and its sacred law.

In addition to outlining these principals, Dadrian reviews in much detail the actual planning and perpetration of the genocide, and includes many of the most gory details, all of which are exceedingly well documented, largely by Turkish and German sources. Dadrian holds that relying on enemies of the Ottomans, such as the British, would raise questions in the eyes of the Turks, and therefore he has always based his work on the available Turkish and German and Austrian files, which fortunately are quite numerous.

What is most disheartening about this book, and the interview I had after reading it, is that Dadrian is not at all optimistic about the future of the Armenian people. Their fate is intertwined with the power of the Turkish state, which is growing ever stronger, and is once again becoming increasingly Islamic.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

This is an excellent work, probably even more readable than Dadrian's earlier "History of the Armenian Genocide". Meticulously researched, with sources from everywhere in many languages, this book gives undeniable evidence of the Turkish intention to solve the "Armenian Question" by exterminating the Armenians. It is a very scholarly and unbiased work, not failing to mention the existence of good Turks and bad Armenians, while all the while giving the historical and social background for the slaughter that was to come. This is a must read for those new to the subject or those looking for more information on this little known Genocide.

Dadrian is the pre-eminent scholar on the Armenian genocide. His command of all the main languages for source documents (Turkish, Armenian, German and English), 30 years of meticulous research, and his intellect all come through. His fundamental premise is that a valid study of the Armenian genocide is contingent upon a proper study of the Turko-Armenian conflict, which he subsumes under three categories: theocracy, demography, and Turkish domination of the Turko-Armenian power relationship.

This book is for people who have read at least one other book about the Armenian genocide and wish to thoroughly understand the root causes, the protracted phases, the escalation and the violent consummation of the Turko-Armenian conflict. It is a compelling work.

Dadrian's no-nonsense approach, coupled with the evidence he presents, is one of the most reliable examinations of the age-old relationship between Armenian and Turk. He does not shy away from discussing Turkish "schindlers" nor, on the other hand, the European players in the tragedy we have come to call the Armenian Genocide. The punch of this book lies in Dadrian's trademark method of demonstrating, through Non-Armenian sources, the mode of thinking and string of circumstance that made the massacres inevitable. His extensive footnotes also create opportunities for further exploration.

This book may be read simply for what it is or better yet highlight any research library regarding this topic. As a documentary filmmaker, I have found this book a tremendous help.

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.