Smyrna, September 1922

March 16, 2015
Ureneck (Backcast), a professor of journalism at Boston University, uses wartime archives and private papers from the principals involved to revisit the inferno of Smyrna, the concluding tragedy of the decade-long campaign of religious and ethnic cleansing that “killed more than three million people” across Asia Minor and marked the end of the Ottoman Empire. Talks with WWI allies—including England, France, Italy, and Greece—broke down when former Ottoman army officer Mustapha Kemal rejected old treaties, sparking conflict between Greek occupation troops and Turkish nationalists that led to deportations and executions of local Christians, primarily Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians. Ureneck highlights the resourcefulness of U.S. Navy Captain Arthur J. Hepburn and his sailors, who formed a buffer to get a number of terrified Americans through the fire—and enraged mob—to safety on a destroyer offshore. Recounting the personal and political activities of key figures, Ureneck wisely underscores several essential themes of the West’s relationships with Muslim countries that remain concerns today: a fragile American foreign policy, human rights violations, and ambitions to control regional oil supplies. Surprisingly fresh, haunting, and potent, Ureneck offers a new perspective on the unforgiveable tragedy at Smyrna and the modern religio-ethnic conflicts that continue to trouble the region.

April 1, 2015

Ureneck (journalism, Boston Univ.; Cabin) tells the story of a group of Americans--led by sickly pastor Asa Jennings along with a colorful group of U.S. Naval officers--as they rescued countless Armenian and Greek Christian refugees from the Great Fire of Smyrna in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide in 1922. This is an unusual angle to take in describing this historical event. The book features impressive research from primary resources from the Turkish region and puts considerable focus on the coordination among these Americans as they attempted to save refugees. While this creates an intriguing perspective, it sometimes shifts the focus away from the fire itself and the larger genocide that it was a result of. The narrative is fairly accessible but is nonlinear at times, making it somewhat disjointed. VERDICT This account is written with fans of popular narrative history in mind. Despite the muddled material, many will find this a worthwhile read. Students of this dark part of history, however, will most appreciate Ureneck's research. [See Prepub Alert, 11/17/14.]--Ben Neal, Richland Lib., Columbia, SC

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