The Greek Connection

March 15, 2020
Biography of a defiant journalist who worked tirelessly for the cause of Greek democracy. Barron, founding advisory board member of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, draws on numerous sources--archives, oral histories, presidential libraries, government documents, legal cases, and broadcast transcripts--to create an overwhelmingly detailed biography of Greek journalist and activist Elias Demetracopoulos (1928-2016). Growing up in war-torn Greece, Demetracopoulos joined the resistance; at age 14, he was incarcerated and tortured by Nazi occupiers. Recognizing the impact that journalists made on shaping public opinion, Demetracopoulos was determined to join their ranks. By the time he was 21, he had gained a position on "the most prestigious and influential paper in Greece," which gave him access to powerful Greeks and the many Americans who had come to help shape Greece's economic and political future. Eager to go abroad, Demetracopoulos arrived in the U.S. in 1951 to report for his home paper. He carried with him 24 "letters of introduction to high-ranking officials," and he quickly came to the attention of the CIA, which offered him a part-time job sharing intelligence. He declined, returning to Greece, where he once again found himself roiled in politics when a military junta came to power in 1967. Barely escaping, he made his way to the U.S., where his outspoken opposition to the junta made him a subject of intense interest to the CIA, FBI, and State Department for the rest of his career. Barron offers an evenhanded portrait of a complex man: Detractors called him egotistical, self-aggrandizing, and narcissistic; admirers praised him as "a highly intelligent, well-informed man of influence, generous in doing favors, and a loyal friend." Tireless and bold, he cultivated a network of sources who afforded him a close view of political intrigue; Barron gives ample evidence of the tangled machinations that characterized American policy toward Greece from Truman to Reagan. A deeply researched life of a man at the crossroads of history.

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March 27, 2020

Lawyer and investigative journalist Barron writes the first biography of prominent Greek journalist Elias Demetracopoulos (1928-2016), who is hardly a household name though he should be. Barron spent a decade working on this biography, personally knowing his subject for five years. He describes how, as a young teenager, Demetracopoulos joined the resistance movement in Greece against Nazi occupation. Eventually caught, he was tortured and only narrowly escaped execution. Then he lived through the Greek Civil War of 1946-9, followed by American involvement with the Marshall Plan during the Cold War. His life as an activist is again threatened during and after a military coup in Greece in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The author shows his subject's relevance to the American politics as Demetracopoulos becomes entangled with the CIA and FBI while living in exile in the United States--he later learned he was being surveilled by American intelligence. Though he escaped to the United States, Demetracopoulos faced ongoing bureaucratic and deportation efforts for his reporting and efforts to clear his name as a political consultant during the Watergate era. VERDICT Barron's page-turner will appeal to readers interested in modern Greek history, the Cold War, and Watergate. Highly recommended.--William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport

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