The Gentle American: George Horton's Odyssey and His True Account of the Smyrna Catastrophe

How many lives can one man save? Never enough, Horton realized. As his ship backed away from Smyrna’s wharf, he could better see the helpless, teeming crowd on the waterfront trapped between the sea and a raging inferno. He was not consoled by rescuing his shipload of refugees, nor by the many other Christian, Jewish, and Muslim lives he had saved during his service as American consul. His focus was on the people before him threatened with fire, rape, and massacre. Their persecution, he later said, made him ashamed he “belonged to the human race.” Helping them would not be easy, however. His superiors were blocking humanitarian aid and covering up atrocities with fake news and disinformation to win Turkish approval for American access to oil. When Horton decried their duplicity and hard-heartedness, they conspired to destroy his reputation. Undaunted, Horton pursued his cause until it went to the President and then Congress for resolution. At stake was the outcome of WWI, the stability and liberality of the Middle East, and the likelihood of more genocide. This bold reinterpretation of the life of humanist and diplomat George Horton explores an enduring question. What are the true costs of devotion to human rights, morality, and honesty in American foreign policy when those in power subvert such values…? Horton’s story compels us all to ponder: Is maintaining one’s honor, as he did, ultimately what makes life worth living? -- Dr. David K. Allison, Curator Emeritus, National Museum of American History A fascinating and important account that not only tells the remarkable story of the US diplomat George Horton but also that of the tumultuous history of the [Near East] Asia Minor and the eastern Aegean before, during and after the devastation of Smyrna in the 1920s. A remarkable book. -- Dr. Peter Frankopan, Oxford University Professor of Global History and best-selling author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World [The authors] tell a compelling story of international diplomacy and bureaucratic double-dealing. Their thoroughly researched and clearly written account illuminates aspects of World War I, the emergence of modern Turkey and the Middle East, and the connection of those events to the rise of national socialism in Germany. -- Dr. David Tucker, Ashbrook Center Senior Fellow and Associate Director of the Master of Arts in American History and Government at Ashland University.