Armenia and the Near East
| Armenia and the Near East | |
|---|---|
| |
| Author | Fridtjof Nansen |
| Publication Year | 1928 |
| Format | Hardbound |
| No. of Pages | 324 |
| Language | English |
| Category | Genocide, Biographies & Memoirs |
Printed in 1928, this is the first English language edition. 324 pages. Impressively photo illustrated and complete with the b/w folding map. Photos include Mtskhetha, Arax Plain, Sardarabad, Molla-Bajazet, Road to Echmiadzin, Alagoz station, girls spinning with hand spindles, Leninakan, Bezordal ridge, Ararat & Massis, foldout map of Armenia affixed to last page.
This book was written by famous arctic explorer and humanitarian, Dr. Fridtjof Nansen from Norway. Author was the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and led the fact-finding commission to the New Soviet Republic of Armenia prior to resettling refugees there. His book describes their journey, work, brief history of Armenia, impressions of country and people, and their proposals. Nansen was a leader of a special commission to Armenia to study the deplorable conditions of Armenian refugees who escaped genocidal atrocities in Turkey in 1915 - 1922. The commission was sent to Armenia by League of Nation who recognized the destitute conditions under which the Armenian survivors lived in various countries around Near East.
Nansen's journey went from Athens to Constantinople and from there to Batum, Tiflis, Erivan, Leninakan and Echmiadzin. History of Armenia, particularly, its tragic contemporary part is described by Nansen. It should be noted that Nansen's writing is not a dry, indifferent one that could be expected from the head of commission. Instead, it is very passionate and at the same time objective and informative.
The last two chapters give a brief summary of the history of the Armenian nation. This is a remarkably informative book filled with author's firsthand experiences. This book is part of highly collectible field of Armenia.