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English Summary/英文概要： The first-ever biography of a relentless freedom fighter and journalist who held the secret behind Watergate He was one of the most fascinating figures in 20th-century political history. Yet today, Elias Demetracopoulos is strangely overlooked--even though his life reads like an epic adventure story.
As a precocious twelve-year-old in occupied Athens, he engaged in heroic resistance efforts against the Nazis, for which he was imprisoned and tortured. After his life was miraculously spared, he became an investigative journalist, covering Greece’s tumultuous politics and America’s increasing influence in the region. A clever and scoop-hungry reporter, Elias soon gained access to powerful figures in both governments . . . and attracted many enemies. When the Greek military dictatorship took power in 1967, he narrowly escaped to Washington DC, where he would lead the fight to restore democracy in his homeland--while running afoul of the American government, too.
Now, after a decade of research and original reporting, James H. Barron uncovers the story of a man whose tireless pursuit of uncomfortable truths would put him at odds with not only his own government, but that of the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations, making him a target of CIA, FBI, and State Department surveillance and harassment--and Greek kidnapping and assassination plots American authorities may have purposefully overlooked.
A stunning feat of biographic storytelling, sweeping from World War II to the Cold War, Watergate and beyond, The Greek Connection is about a lifetime of standing up for democracy and a free press against powerful special interests. It has much to teach us about our own era’s abuses of power, dark money, journalist intimidation, and foreign interference in elections.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 这是史上第一部关于一位不屈不挠的自由斗士和记者的传记，他掌握着水门事件背后的秘密
他是20世纪政治史上最引人入胜的人物之一。然而今天却伊莱亚斯•德米崔科普洛斯被奇怪地忽视了——尽管他的生活读起来像是一个史诗般的冒险故事。
在被占领的雅典，年仅12岁的他就已经很早熟了，他英勇地反抗纳粹，为此他遭到囚禁和折磨。在奇迹般地幸免于难之后，他成为了一名调查记者，报道希腊混乱的政治和美国在该地区日益增长的影响力。伊莱亚斯是一名聪明的、渴望独家新闻的记者，他很快就接触到了两国政府中有权势的人物……吸引了许多敌人。当希腊军事独裁政权在1967年掌权时，他勉强逃到华盛顿特区，在那里他将领导恢复祖国民主的斗争——同时也与美国政府发生冲突。
现在，经过十年的研究和原创报道,詹姆斯•巴伦揭示他的不懈追求的故事不仅会让他与自己的政府,还有杜鲁门、艾森豪威尔、肯尼迪、约翰逊、尼克松、福特、卡特和里根政府，还有使他的目标中情局、联邦调查局和国务院监视,希腊绑架和暗杀美国当局阴谋被故意忽视。
从第二次世界大战到冷战，从水门事件到其他事件，希腊人一生都在捍卫民主和新闻自由，反对强大的特殊利益集团。关于我们这个时代的权力滥用、黑钱、记者恐吓和外国对选举的干涉，这本书有很多值得我们学习的地方。（WYL)
Awards/获奖情况： 这是一部宏伟的作品，是详尽的研究和优秀的叙事写作的成功结合。希腊人与水门事件有关的故事是通过一个引人注目的人物的全面传记来讲述的，他从头到尾都吸引了我们的注意力。”——多丽丝•卡恩斯•古德温，《领导力:动荡时代》的作者
“詹姆斯•巴伦告诉我们无与伦比的惊人生活和不知疲倦的伊莱亚斯•德米崔科普洛斯,他在十几岁时就反对二战中的法西斯主义。年轻时目睹这一切的伊莱亚斯，成为了一名真正的泽里格式调查记者，致力于为从杰克•肯尼迪到后尼克松时代的历任总统讲述真相，制造麻烦。这本书里有很多新的历史，特别是关于水门事件的开端。”——西摩•赫什
"This is a magnificent work, a triumphant combination of exhaustive research and fine narrative writing. The story of the Greek Connection to the Watergate saga is told through a sweeping biography of a compelling figure who captures our attention from beginning to end."—Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Leadership: In Turbulent Times
“James Barron has done history a favor by telling the incomparable life of the amazing and indefatigable Elias Demetracopoulos, who spent his teenage years fighting against fascism in World War II and suffering, after the war, as America threw in against those inside Greece who had stood off the Nazis. Elias, having seen it all in his youth, became a real life Zelig as an investigative reporter, committed to the telling of truth and the making of trouble for Presidents from Jack Kennedy through the post-Nixon years. There is much new history in this book, especially about the beginnings of the Watergate scandal.” —Seymour M. Hersh
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