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by Dr Con Aroney

For many centuries, Smyrna was a prosperous trading city in the Mediterranean. In the aftermath of World War I, Smyrna was one of the greatest post-war casualties. Decisions made by the victors sitting in remote London when they divided the spoils of the war, had huge unintended consequences.

This book is a powerful reconstruction of the resultant wave of violence that destroyed a hitherto peaceful and prosperous city and destroyed or dispersed its multicultural inhabitants. Many Australians are here today because their forebears survived this tragedy. This is a history which must be told.

A powerful historic novel about one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th Century, the destruction of a beautiful city, the massacre of hundreds of thousands of its citizens and the displacement of millions of people. For hundreds of years, Smyrna had been a prosperous trading city on the shores of the Mediterranean, with many cultures living side by side. But it was a predominantly Greek city within Turkey.

All major events including the battles leading up to the destruction of Smyrna, the great fire, the evacuation and the aftermath are closely based on the actual historic events, although the specific military and social actions of some of the characters are in part fictionalised.

This book is an account of the events before, during and after the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922, including its tragic effects on the lives of the Girdis and Caristinos families, and the heroic life and actions of Asa Jennings, an American YMCA worker and Methodist pastor, based on historic records.

283 pages, 210 mm x 135 mm, soft cover, section sewn. ISBN 978 1 921452086