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Peter Balakian’s The Burning Tigris Debuts on New York Times Nonfiction Bestseller List at No. 4: Author to Speak at Colgate Bookstore

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Monday, October 20, 2003

 Hamilton, N.Y. - The Colgate Bookstore will host Peter Balakian in the Class of 2003 Event Room (third floor) on Wednesday, October 29, at 7 p.m., for a discussion of his new book The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response, which debuted at No. 4 on the New York Times’ Nonfiction Bestseller List on October 19, 2003. The book was also listed as No. 7 on the Publisher’s Weekly list, and No. 50 on the USA Today list. A reception will follow and all are welcome. THE BURNING TIGRIS: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response tells the parallel stories of the twentieth century’s first genocide and America’s first international human rights movement. Drawing on hundreds of U.S. State Department documents, recently uncovered official Turkish military records, and the letters and memoirs of Armenian witnesses and Armenian survivors, Balakian presents vivid, detailed accounts of massacre, sexual violence, and deportations—crimes that were meticulously planned and executed—as well as extraordinary acts of activism, altruism, and heroism. With historical depth and narrative power, he traces the plight of the Armenian people and its effect on America from 1894, when Julia Ward Howe, then a revered voice of conscience in her seventies, launched an international relief effort for the Armenians, through the early 1920s, when the United States officially abandoned its effort to take a mandate for Armenia or help bring Turkey to justice. PETER BALAKIAN is the author of seven previous books, including his acclaimed memoir, Black Dog of Fate, which won the 1998 Pen/Martha Albrand Award and was a New York Times Notable Book. He is the Constance H. and Donald M. Rebar Professor of the Humanities at Colgate University, where he was the first director of the Center for Ethics and World Societies. He holds a Ph.D. in American Civilization from Brown University and is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. He is also a prize-winning poet and a prolific essayist on literature and art. He lives in Hamilton, New York, with his wife and two children. Founded in 1819, Colgate University is a highly selective, residential, liberal arts college enrolling nearly 2,750 undergraduates. Situated on a rolling 515-acre campus in central New York State, Colgate University attracts motivated students with diverse backgrounds, interests and talents. ###




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