Customer Reviews

Letters and Journals of Samuel Gridley Howe: The Greek Revolution (2 Volumes) (American Biography Series)

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First hand account by an obviously intelligent young Ameican doctor of his part and his knowledge of this struggle against the Turks. He not only went back to America to raise more money , but he returned to Greece ! After what he had been through the first time, he was a hero of that fight by Christians against the Ottoman Empire. He not only performed work as a a surgeon but was in charge of distributing food and other aid to starving and homeless people, built a hospital and generally provided the type of organisational skills which were so sorely lacking in the Greeks themselves at that time .

For those interested in re-living that period in the history of Modern Greece, this is a great read. It covers the period 1824 -1831. It gives you an insight into why these Philhellenes put their lives at risk. Some would say they were romantic fools, but what better cause than to say that you helped free the descendants of the Ancient Greeks ( and yes a lot of them were !! ) and that such a famous land was back in the hands of its European Chritian inhabitants.

The reproduction of these long out of print books is a treasure trove for history buffs like me.