AUTHOR MICHAEL BOBELIAN MET WITH THE PRIMATE
by Michael Bobelian
ichael-bobelian-met-with-the-primate/
Oct 02 2009
On Friday, September 26, author Michael Bobelian visited the Western
Diocese of the Armenian Church to present a copy of his new book,
Children of Armenia: A Forgotten Genocide and the Century-Long Struggle
for Justice, to His Eminence Abp. Hovnan Derderian.
Michael’s book was published by Simon & Schuster earlier this month and
he is currently on tour in California. The first book to chronicle the
aftermath of the Genocide, this pioneering work recounts the Armenian
struggle for justice in the face of a century of silence and denial.
Starting in 1915, the Ottoman Empire drove two million Armenians
from their ancestral homeland, slaughtering 1.5 million of them
in the process. After an immediate groundswell of support for the
"starving Armenians" led by President Woodrow Wilson, the atrocities
were wiped from the public’s consciousness and the perpetrators were
never held accountable.
This groundbreaking book explains how and why the Genocide disappeared
from memory and reveals, for the first time, the Armenian response
to Turkey’s recalcitrant denial of its crimes, taking readers from
massive demonstrations, to the halls of Congress, to courtroom battles.
During years of research, Michael interviewed more than 65 people,
from former Presidential candidate Bob Dole to Gourgen Yanikian’s
jury foreman to demonstrators from the 1960s who reignited the
Armenian cause, to provide a detailed, insider’s account of the
Armenian story. A mountain of research at libraries and archives
across the nation uncovered a host of information never before seen,
revealing the battles between Turkey, the American government, and
Armenian advocates.
"This powerful and gripping account of a people’s century-long struggle
for justice is long overdue."
– George Deukmejian, 35th Governor of California
Michael will be speaking at the Glendale Public Library on September
29 (7pm), the Fresno Public Library (Fig Garden Branch) on October 1
(7pm), the Ararat-Eskijian Museum on October 18 (4pm), and Chaucer’s
bookstore in Santa Barbara on October 27 (7pm).