My Brother's Road: An American's Fateful Journey to Armenia [Paperback]

Markar Melkonian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 2008

What do "Abu Sindi", "Timothy Sean McCormack", "Saro", and "Commander Avo" all have in common? They were all aliases for Monte Melkonian.  But who was Monte Melkonian? In his native California he was once a kid in cut-off jeans, playing baseball and eating snow cones.  Europe denounced him as an international terrorist.  His adopted homeland of Armenia decorated him as a national hero who led a force of 4000 men to victory in the Armenian enclave of Mountainous Karabagh in Azerbaijan.  Why Armenia? Why adopt the cause of a remote corner of the Caucasus whose peoples had scattered throughout the world after the early twentieth century Ottoman genocides? Markar Melkonian spent seven years unraveling the mystery of his brother's road: a journey which began in his ancestor's town in Turkey and led to a blood-splattered square in Tehran, the Kurdish mountains, the bomb-pocked streets of Beirut, and finally, to the Cold War and the unraveling of the Soviet Union. Yet, who really was this man? A terrorist or a hero? My Brother's Road is not just the story of a long journey and a short life --it is an attempt to understand what happens when one man decides that terrible actions speak louder than words.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Monte Melkonian's death left us with a riddle. How could a boy from California's heartland become a terrorist in the eyes of the FBI and a saint in the soul of a faraway nation? Who better to take up that riddle than his older brother, Markar? From the fruit fields of the San Joaquin Valley to the killing fields of the Caucasus, he brings home an unforgettable memoir."--Mark Arax, author of In My Father's Name, Staff Writer for the Los Angeles Times

"An astonishing book...Melkonian's adventures read like a modern odyssey. 'My Brother's Road' gives a little meaning to a life of political extremism. It sweeps aside the polarised views of this complicated figure, presenting him neither as complete hero nor complete villain. In the end we are left simply with a man who found it impossible to live impassively in the shadow of his people's calamity, the Armenian Genocide, and who sacrificed everything to try and correct the wrongs of the past."--Philip Marsden, author of the award-winning The Crossing Place: A Journey among the Armenians

"With a brother's memory and a philosopher's keen judgement, Melkonian reanimates a truly remarkable life."--Nancy Kricorian, author of Zabelle and Dreams of Bread and Fire

"A searing and unforgettable testimony of the revolt against justice denied. This is an excellent book, well-written, and driven by a sense of commitment which never overshoots into sentimentality or chauvinism."--Christopher Walker

About the Author

Markar Melkonian is a teacher, writer and veteran solidarity worker. Melkonian's books include Marxism: A Post-Cold War Primer (1996) and Richard Rorty's Politics: Liberalism at the End of the American Century (1999). He is a founder and a member of the Board of Directors of The Monte Melkonian Fund, Inc., a nonprofit organization that assists the neediest of the needy in the impoverished former Soviet Republic of Armenia (www.melkonian.org). He lives in Los Angeles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: I. B. Tauris (June 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845115309
• ISBN-13: 978-1845115302
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #937,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #84 in Books > History > Asia > Armenia

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great man, who sacrificed so much for his people, February 28, 2006

By 

ISS - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Brother's Road (Hardcover)

I really dont know what else to say. This book details his constant resolve to better the Armenian cause. Though it involves conflicts with other Armenians, his focus is for the Armenian nation (past, during the cold war, present, and future).
He literally gave his life for the Armenian people. Though drawn into political conflicts, he was clearly an apolitical nationalist, and a true hero. May God bless his memory, and his brother, who wrote this book.
I thank Monte and Markar for teaching me so much about Armenian history. Like you, Monte, I am reborn and my spirit will rise up like a phoenix. I am more an Armenian, having learned of your life. You gave yourself for (our) my future, and I will always honor you for it.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT STORY, September 23, 2005

By 

Yeghia Kamrekian "hay" (california) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Brother's Road (Hardcover)

This book is one of most moving books I ever read. It is essential for every armenian to read and understand it, you do not have to agree with the view points.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Honest, Moving and Introspective, April 6, 2006

By 

Ralph R. Rafaelian "Crusader1492" (Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Brother's Road (Hardcover)

The above title are three words that come to mind after reading My Brother's Road. Markar Melkonian puts a human face on an "American-Armenian" legend, noting not only his brother's amazing accomplishments, but also his failings. Never-the-less, this book confirmed the fact that Monte Melkonian deserves the title of a national hero. His selfless ways and unstoppable drive for a cause bigger than himself are deliniated in the context of historical events. In short, one cannot help but admire Monte Melkonian while reading this book.
I thank Makar Melkonian for producing this fitting text about his brother, a revered son of Armenia.