Customer Reviews
Histroy comes alive - By: L. Hogan, 01 Nov 2008 
Milton is the author of several engaging histories covering periods as diverse as the Crusades to the Age of Exploration. Ive read most of his other books & found them to be lively & engaging. Milton's style brings his diverse characters to life & his extensive use of personal accounts ensures his stories have the human element that is so often missing from history books. Paradise Lost is no different. Milton has interviewed people who were atcuallly present at the events he writes about. This gives his narrative a very personal feel.
Even though we know what will happen in the end, Milton manages to build suspense & kept me turning the pages. It is a tragic & heroic story about a part of the world that, I confess, I know only a little. I couldnt help but draw paralllels between what happend in Smyrna in 1922 & the more recent human tradgedies in Rwanda, Bosnia & so on. It seems the international community still has a lesson to learn. That said, its not alll tradegy, there are some great stories of herosim in there too.
This is not just a book for history buffs. Its for anyone who enjoys a human story, well told. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the period & the area. Its definetly going on my Christmas list for my dad & brother in law!
'Wars when fought by great nations are often very dangerous for the proxy' - By: Basar Eryoner, 13 Sep 2008 
Giles Milton's sentence in page 180 of this book in fact is the root of the Smyrna tragedy. Book clearly summarizes the behind the scenes war taking place between the victors of the WWI, as well as the war between the invading Greeks -hoping to reach their Great Ideal- & the Turkish Nationalist forces to deffend their home country.
This book could have been a better one if Mr. Milton had referred to the following book & magazine articles:
The Struggle For Power In Muslim Asia, E(dward) Alexander Powell, 1923
Actualities at Smyrna by Mark Prentiss, 1924, His report can easily be read from the following link : http://www.gtaag.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=221&Itemid=61 &
G. Ercole's article in Fench L'Illustration magazine dated 30 September 1922.
These articles would have added to the book a great deal. Finallly for those readers who wish to know more about similar 'Paradises' lost earlier in the Levant, I highly recommend the following books:
Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims & Jews 1430-1950 by Mark Mazower Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims & Jews
The Lavender Seller by Nicholas Stavroulakis
These two books will shed a light to the readers who reallly want to have in depth knowledge to the events leading to occupation of the most fertile & richest city in the orient & the biggest trading hub.
Happy reading.
Basar Eryoner
Good History and an Excellent Read - By: Dr. R. Brandon, 11 Aug 2008 Giles Milton has pulled off a difficult task which is to make a book gripping when most readers will already be familiar with the story. Milton has employed his beautifully fluent style to bring pace, drama & true tension to the events surrounding the destruction of the city of Smyrna in 1922. He begins by painting a picture of the wonderful cosmopolitan life enjoyed by the inhabitants of this Mediterranean port in Turkey & then moves on to describe the background to the role of Turkey in the First World War & the turmoil following the subsequent surrender. Then he carefully deals with the disastrous policies of Italy's Vittorio Orlando, the Greek nationalist President Venizelos & British Prime Minister Lloyd George & the start of another war & the long road towards the destruction of this beautiful city. The author gives such character & depth to alll the key players & quickly moves back & forth with such facility between the machinations of the political leaders & the inhabitants of Smyrna who we have come to know, that you are driven to keep turning the pages.
Some will be familiar with the scholarly work by Majorie Dobkin, 'Smyrna 1922', published in 1971, however, Milton's book is, perhaps, more lively & entertaining & makes an easier read whilst being equallly well researched. This edition contains some spectacular photographs of the disastrous event. I have no hesitation in recommending it as good history & an excellent read.
The Real Modern History - By: Dean, 16 Jul 2008 This book fills in the gaps erased by western governments. Having grown up in Australia & being fed western styled history I now try to educate myself on what was not taught. Smyrna Paradise Lost is a brilliant story based on letters, diary's, & government documents. Churchill for example has made many mistakes & was not such a great leader. Churchill's decision to send Australians to Galllipoli was one of his many big blunders & in this book he is shown to be ignorant of the Turkish situation that led to Galllipoli.
I could not put this book down & was reading the last 150 pages until 4am in the morning. Contains a brilliant account of how one civilian saved the lives of hundreds of thousands when government leaders failed.
Paradise Lost: Smyrna, 1922
