Ambassador Morgenthau's Story [Paperback]

Peter Balakian (Editor), Robert Jay Lifton (Preface), Roger Smith (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0814329799 | ISBN-13: 978-0814329795 | Publication Date: July 2003

This edition brings back into print the classic memoir by the American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire who not only documented but also tried to stop the genocide of the Armenian people.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Originally published in 1918, "Ambassador Morgenthau's Story" is one of the most insightful and compelling accounts of what became a recurring horror during the 20th century: ethnic cleansing and genocide. While he served as the U.S. ambassador to the Ottoman Empire under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1916, Henry Morgenthau witnessed the rise of a new nationalism in Turkey, one that declared "Turkey for the Turks." He grew alarmed as he received reports from missionaries and consuls in the interior of Turkey that described deportation and massacre of the Armenians. The ambassador beseeched the U.S. government to intervene, but it refrained, leaving Morgenthau without official leverage. His recourse was to appeal personally to the consciences of Ottoman rulers and their German allies; when that failed, he drew international media attention to the genocide and spearheaded private relief efforts. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Back Cover

Henry Morgenthau was United States ambassador to Ottoman Turkey between 1913 and 1916. In 1914 he witnessed the Ottoman entry into World War I and the genocide of the empire's Armenian population. "Ambassador Morgenthau's Story" was an indictment against the Ottoman leaders for their entry into the world conflict and the mass murder of over a million Armenians. His account was written with the authority of a first-hand observer and remains one of the classic accounts of World War I. "Ambassador Morgenthau's Story" is published as part of the Gomidas Institute Armenian Genocide Documentation Series, alongside "American Diplomacy on the Bosphorus: The Diaries of Ambassador Morgenthau," the systematic collection "United States Diplomatic and Consular Records on the Armenian Genocide," and the British classic "The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, 1915" (uncensored edition).

Cover photo: Henry Morgenthau (in white tie and top hat) talking to Enver Pasha, the Minister of War, at the funeral of German ambassador Hans Wangenheim, Constantinople, 1915. Walking a few steps immediately ahead is Talaat Pasha, the Minister of Interior. Credit: Library of Congress, Henry Morgenthau Senior Collection. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814329799
• ISBN-13: 978-0814329795
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #823,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Number One source on Armenian Genocide, March 9, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Ambassador Morgenthau's Story (Paperback)

Ambassador Morgenthau has always been one of the most reliable sources on the Armenian Genocide. No surprise that so many attempts have been made to tarnish his image, or to question his testimonies on the terrible crime committed by the Ottoman Empire against its Christian Armenian subjects. Yet, the Morgenthau version of the 1915 events is abslutely irrefutable, and I strongly recommend this book to those interested in finding out what has really happened during the agony of the "ill man of Europe".

66 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book to Read!, June 15, 2000

By 

Vartan Gevorgyan (North Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ambassador Morgenthau's Story (Paperback)

This is a book to read if you want to know about World War I, and it is the book to read and reread if you want to know about the Armenian Genocide. Morgenthau was really at the center of the action in Turkey in 1915 and 1916. He had innumerable meetings with the top officials (Talat Pasha, Enver Pasha, and all the other authors of the atrocities against Armenians). He got reports from all over the place--the consuls and missionaries stationed in different places in the interior. He knew the score and tried to do something about it.

The thing that really got my goat was the insurance incident. The Turks came to Morgenthau and told him, Well, the Armenians are dead. Their heirs are dead. So their life insurance awards revert to the state. Get them for us. [Shudder] What gall!

62 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book on the first Genocide of the 20th century, December 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Ambassador Morgenthau's Story (Paperback)

This is an excellent book to read if you want to learn about the true atrocities of the first genocide of the 20th century. This book is not for the feint-hearted but I recommend it highly as it is very accurate and comes from a very reputable source who was directly involved with the Turkish government and the Armenians during the early 20th century.

Keep in mind the following when you read the other reviews posted here:

"The French National Assembly has formally recognised as genocide the slaughter of more than a million Armenians living in the Ottoman empire between 1915 and 1917."

Additional facts/quotes:

Adolf Hitler

While persuading his associates that a Jewish holocaust would be tolerated by the west stated...
"Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

Yossi Beilin

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister. April 27, 1994 on the floor of the Knesset in response to a TV interview of the Turkish Ambassador
"It was not war. It was most certainly massacre and genocide, something the world must remember... We will always reject any attempt to erase its record, even for some political advantage."

Gerald Ford

Addressing the US House of Representatives.
"Mr. Speaker, with mixed emotions we mark the 50th anniversary of the Turkish genocide of the Armenian people. In taking notice of the shocking events in 1915, we observe this anniversary with sorrow in recalling the massacres of Armenians and with pride in saluting those brave patriots who survived to fight on the side of freedom during World War I."
-- Congressional Record, pg. 8890

Additional books I recommend:
Peter Balakian's "The Burning Tigris" and "Black Dog of Fate"

All over the world for many centuries, religious and ethnic intolerance have caused much pain and death to humanity. We should never forgive or forget any holocaust or genocide, no matter how large or how small, and the world's leaders and governments should do everything and anything in their power to recognize and prevent such atrocities in the future.