The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled [Hardcover]

George Jerjian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2003

This is a powerful combination of a touching family story, a compelling legal argument and a visionary olive branch solution to one of history's most intractable dilemmas. This book is a catalyst to ignite dialogue between Armenians and Turks. "Reconciliation can only take place when truth and truce are declared. What has happened cannot be undone, but we need not be prisoners of the past. The truth will set us -- Armenians and Turks -- free." The book shows that while the truth is not negotiable, the terms of reconciliation are. For nearly a hundred years the truth has been held hostage. In the final analysis, if Turks and Armenians cannot resolve this between themselves, no one else can. Now the truth may be rescued. Turks and Armenians need a new vision; a new vision to demolish the wall; a new vision for a new century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

George is also a pioneer; a pioneer in the complex restoration of relations between the Armenians and Turks. -- Former Senator Bob Dole, Washington DC

Jerjian rises to the task in this eloquently written and powerfully argued book. -- Hirair Hovnanian, Chair, Armenian Assembly of America, Washington DC

This book should be read in every high school and studied and carried by every lawmaker. -- Michael Chapman, Editorial Director, Cato Institute, Washington DC.

This book should be read in every high school and studied and carried by every lawmaker. -- Michael Chapman, Editorial Director, Cato Institute, Washington DC

From the Publisher

Armenians and Turks Reconciled is simply unimaginable. Yet the unthinkable is possible and even highly probable. Back in 1985, if anyone had predicted the fall of the Berlin Wall, they would have damaged their careers. In that same year, if anyone had predicted that Robbin Island-prisoner Nelson Mandela would become President of an apartheid-free South Africa, they would have been ridiculed as naive dreamers. In 2002, George Jerjian predicted that the Turks, in wanting more democracy, would be compelled to face the truth about the Armenian genocide and reconciliation would ensue. Without a doubt, people are chuckling now, but for how long?

We all tend to think that big results require big efforts, efforts beyond the ability of one individual. In "The Tipping Point", author Malcolm Gladwell shows us that one imaginative person applying a well-placed lever can move the world. Jerjian believes Armenians and Turks are almost at the "tipping point".

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 109 pages
• Publisher: GJ Communications (August 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0954459903
• ISBN-13: 978-0954459901
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,129,267 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A creative & courageous proposition, November 26, 2003

By 

aline izmirlian (Stanford, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled (Hardcover)

GeorgeJerjian goes beyond the repetitive attempts to prove the Armenian genocide, which is already been proved
beyond doubt. He offers a SOLUTION. He also points out that while Turks want reconciliation without the truth, Armenians want the truth without reconciliation.
Jerjian's proposition is creative,courageous and builds bridges in times when divisions and hatred of the other is prevalent. We all need to be exposed to solutions that can bring opposites together. This book is truly a remarkable and inspiring achievement because it instills hope in a very original way.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read this sensitive and insightful text, November 21, 2003

By 

John Kuhn Bleimaier, Esquire (Mathey College, Princeton University (Fellow)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled (Hardcover)

Anyone interested in the history of the 20th Century, who cares about the resolution of national conflicts in the 21st, must read Jerjian's fine book. The Armenian genocide was perhaps the most ghastly atrocity committed during the last century. Mr. Jerjian treats his subject with the restraint of a gentleman and the sensitivity of a poet. His optimistic vision for the future is both deeply touching and extremely encouraging.

3.0 out of 5 stars Offers some respite in between all the soul-crushing books, May 31, 2008

By 

E. Safak - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Truth Will Set Us Free: Armenians and Turks Reconciled (Hardcover)

In this very short book George Jerjian, a British citizen of Armenian blood, implores Turks and Armenians to make peace.

He starts the book with the story of Cain and Abel, which he notes is also in the Koran). Next he recounts the story of his maternal grandmother, and her family's entanglements with the governor of Samsun and Sivas, Süleyman Necmi Selmen, who became "Prisoner Number 2812" upon being interned Malta.

Jerjian goes on to relate both the Armenian and Turkish perspectives, bolstering his case with selected incriminating quotes. They will be familiar to those who have read the literature but they should have been sourced.

Jerjian devotes the remainder of the book to presenting his dream solution (chiefly, admission of genocide and restitution), and explains the purported benefits (for example, regarding restitution: "If [governments] did not intend to invest in [a] part of the country, they were better off devolving it. The less territory a country had, the less their costs, which meant there was more money left over." See pg.75).

Thankfully the tone is not vituperative, but the logic is shaky at times. I appreciated the British Foreign Office document reproductions in the Appendix.

If Mr. Jerjian is planning a new edition, he might like to correct the spelling of the parenthetical Turkish translations, and not comparing Atatürk to Franco and Lenin if he wants his Turkish readers to pay full attention past page 70.