“A devoted and brilliant achievement.” The New York Review of BooksIn 1948, as civil war ravaged Greece, children were abducted and sent to communist “camps” behind the Iron Curtain. Eleni Gatzoyiannis, 41, defied the traditions of her small village and the terror of the communist insurgents to arrange for the escape of her three daughters and her son, Nicola. For that act, she was imprisoned, … imprisoned, tortured, and executed in cold blood. Nicholas Gage joined his father in Massachusetts at the age of nine and grew up to be a top investigative reporter for the New York Times. And finally he returned to Greece to uncover the story he cared about most — the story of his mother’s heroic life and tragic death.
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This book was an emotional roller-coaster for me. Not knowing anything about the history of Greece, I was shocked to learn of their struggle with Communism and immediately was reminded again how lucky I am to have been born in America. Written by her son, Nicholas, this is the true story of Eleni Gatzoyiannis, a brave, peasant woman, who with …
This is the author’s own story of his mother, Eleni, and their family in the Greece civil war. In 1948 Nicolas and his family were trying to escape the war. Eleni defied her village and arranged for she and her children to escape to America, where her husband was waiting for her. Eleni was able to get 4 or her 5 children out with a friend and …
I have read this book a few times. It’s a sad but inspiring tale of a mother’s love for her children set during the Greek Civil War during the 1940s.