Armenian Greats - Known and Unknown

Vahe H Apelian

Recently Jirair Tutunjian gifted me a copy of his latest book ““Armenian Greats - Known and Unknown”. In fact, I can tell you the exact date I received the copy. It was on November 7, 2024. There is a reason I am pin pointing the date. I do not recall of ever writing about a book, a few days after having received the book. But, this book is not an ordinary book. It is a collection of highly readable forty stories that have to do with Armenians. 

Donald Rumsfeld once famously said: “We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tends to be the difficult ones.”

 Jirair has made a going to uncover the unknowns we did know that we do not know, and offers their stories to the interested reader along with some we knew, but we did not know that their stories could be revealed and told the way Jirair has captivatingly captured them. Jirair, who continues to be affiliated with Keghart.com on line journal, is, an experienced journalist and a master of the English language.

In the preface, Jirair wrote: “The Armenian nation is blessed with countless greats who have made a name in innumerable fields. These forty profiles are overwhelmingly about remarkable but often unsung Armenians whose Armenian identity is not known even to Armenians. They are often people who had humble beginnings but who rose to the top through hard work, talent, brains, pride, and ambition.” David Boyajian, in his foreword, rightfully noted that we owe the unearthing the stories of these Armenians to “Jirair Tutunjian's insatiable drive to investigate all things related to Armenians and Armenia.”

I invite the readers to watch this clip

You may wonder what this chess game has to do with Armenians and Armenia. You will most likely remain wondering the same reading the titles of the forty stories Jirair has pianistically researched. Citing a story in increments of five -  you will wonder what titles such as – citing the first after five stories – has to do with Armenians and Armenia. Story no 1: “Meeting World’s Top Color Photographer”; no 6: “The Talented Mr. Sheybal”;  no, 11, “Finding the Elusive Roy Tash”; no.16: “The Fixer who deffused the Cuban Missile Crisis”;  no. 21: “A Jesuit of Remarkable Acuity”;  no. 26: “Literature the “Homeland” of Prolific Writer”; no. 31, “Prominent British Writers and Michael Arlen”; no, 36: “Adrift in War” and the last story, no. 40: “Famous Armenians…Insufficiently Verified.”

Do not get discouraged. These forty stories are told in 100 pages. You may read the first and continue reading with an insatiable appetite to get to the next. The book including the foreword, preface and Jirair’s biography is 107 pages long. The book retails for $20 plus $12 for shipping and handling and maybe purchased by contacting him: Jirair Tutunjian, Toronto, jerry_travel@hotmail.com.