Ships of Mercy, the Smyrna Rescue Story, Goes Global

Ships of Mercy, the Smyrna Rescue Story,
Goes Global

Rye Beach, NH, USA, Athens, Greece, and Burleigh, Australia--Papco World Publications is pleased to announce new contracts between Christos Papoutsy and prestigious publishing houses in Athens, Greece and in Burleigh, Australia to meet global demand for the author's book about Smyrna.

Due to significant demand for Ships of Mercy, Kastaniotis Editions publishers in Greece and Zeus Publishing house in Australia have arranged to publish the book in Europe and in Southeast Asia. Mr. Thanasis Kastaniotis, owner of the well-respected eponymously named publishing house, is translating the English-language manuscript into Greek. Senior management have set a publication date of December 2008 for the foreign-language version.

ISBN: 9781913807661
Hardcover, 280pp;
Price USD$30.00

Kastaniotis Editions was founded in 1968 by Thanasis Kastaniotis who catapulted the company successfully into a national publishing giant. His company has won the favor of a large and demanding public in Greece. The Hellenic market has responded positively to the high quality and fine selection of titles: for over ten years Kastaniotis Editions has been the publishing house with the biggest annual production of new titles in Greece. Its catalogue of publications today comprises over 3,000 titles covering contemporary Greek and international literature, children's and young readers' books, psychiatry, politics, history, theatre, poetry, essays, education and studies, and art books.

Bruce Rogers of Zeus Publishers in Australia will produce the South Pacific edition of Ships of Mercy. Established in 1997, Zeus Publishers produces works of all categories of fiction and non-fiction. Rogers and his team have developed a plan to meet expected heavy demand from Australian Greeks for the book.

Ships of Mercy reveals the true heroes of Smyrna, later forgotten by history. The book is based on more than ten years of research by the Papoutsys, who traveled extensively in their quest to uncover and document the truth about the rescue of hundreds of thousands of Greek refugees from Smyrna. They discovered a compelling story and found previously unpublished materials. Vintage photographs, exhibits, naval war diaries, and captains' logs appear for the first time in the pages of this volume.

Book Tour
Schedule

Book Flyer

The book by Papoutsy dispels common myths about the evacuation of the refugees and clearly documents the real heroes in this enormous tragedy. It also clarifies the role of the U.S. Navy, showing how U.S. naval officers, horrified by the plight of the refugees, worked with Asa Jennings and organized the ships in the area into a large-scale rescue operation. During the fall of 1922, vessels from the United States, Great Britain, Italy and France evacuated thousands from the shores of Asia Mnor. The American vessels also provided desperately needed food and medical care, and delivered supplies to the refugee camps in Greece.

How these events became lost to history can only be speculated upon, but at last the true story can be told. Ships of Mercy is the account of these forgotten heroes. Surprising and powerful, it is a story that needs to be told.

Using a combination of imagery from his book and unpublished research materials, author Christos Papoutsy discusses this daring rescue in a one-hour power-point presentation and book-signing. The two-year book tour will span the globe. To schedule a presentation in your area, contact Melissa Dickinson: (tel.) 603-379-8140 or (email) papcoholding@papcoholdings.org. For more information about the book, visit the its webpages at the URL http://www.helleniccomserve.com/images/SmyrnaFlyerWeb208NEW.pdf . To view a current schedule of the author's book tour, see the listing hosted by Hellenic Communication Service at http://www.helleniccomserve.com/shipsofmercytourschedule.html .

(Posting date 08 May 2008)

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