Who Killed George Polk?: The Press Covers Up a Death in the Family
Brand: Brand: Temple University Press
Categories: Books, Politics & Social Sciences, Social Sciences


Used Book in Good Condition

Dimensions: 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-13: 978-1566393676
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1566393671
Publisher: Temple University Press
Print length: 322 pages
Publication date: July 28, 2005
subtitle: Hardcover – July 28, 2005
author: Visit Amazon's Elias Vlanton Page search results Elias Vlanton Zak Mettger
review: Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly This so-called expose by two freelancers is ultimately unsatisfactory because it concludes that "there is still no certainty about who killed George Polk." Polk, a CBS correspondent in Greece, was murdered in Salonika in 1948, at a time when that country, still ravaged by the WWII Nazi occupation, was torn by a civil war between a fascistic government and a communist guerrilla army in the hills. Polk reported the weaknesses of each side even though the U.S. had just enunciated the Truman Doctrine of aid to Greece and Turkey to keep them from becoming communist. When his murder was attributed to the left, Salonika authorities tortured and otherwise coerced people into confessing. Although the killing may never be solved, the book has value in showing how the U.S. government can use the press as an instrument of policy and how the press in this case allowed itself to be steamrollered. Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library Journal The 1948 murder of journalist George Polk has attracted new attention in recent years. Serious questions have been raised about the original verdict, that Greek Communists killed the reporter. Two recent books, Edmund Keeley's The Salonika Bay Murder (LJ 6/1/89) and Kati Marton's The Polk Conspiracy (LJ 8/90), offer alternative and separate solutions. In this third book, Vlanton, who has devoted 19 years to studying the evidence and investigations of the Polk murder, proposes yet another solution to the mystery. Vlanton places a large share of the blame for what he considers a manufactured conviction on the failure of the American press to investigate the Polk murder independently. He makes impressive use of primary sources, and curious readers following the Polk case will appreciate the extensive notes supporting the arguments. Libraries with the earlier Polk books will want to add this one to their collections.?Judy Solberg, Univ. of Maryland Libs., College Park Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. From the Publisher An intriguing new answer to a puzzling international conspiracy Philadelphia Book Clinic Certificate of Award American Graphic Design Award From the Inside Flap "Vlanton has maintained an unflagging interest in the mystery and the ugly circumstances surrounding a major event in journalistic history. Now, nearly half a century later, his investigative reporting has produced what should likely be the definitive work on the subject." Robert D. Spector, Chairman, The George Polk Awards "Beyond a very competent presentation of the facts, Vlanton demonstrates that, succumbing to Cold War pressures, the American press failed to scrutinize with vigor and courage the way Greek and American authorities handled Polk's murder and the ensuing investigation and trial. He effectively challenges the theory that prominent Greek conservatives were responsible for the crime, and that there was a massive cover-up extending from Athens to Washington. Unless substantial new evidence surfaceswhich is highly unlikelyVlanton's meticulously researched and dispassionate account ought to be the last book on the Polk affair." John O Iatrides, Southern Connecticut State College "For almost fifty years, scholars, journalists, and politicians have asked, Who killed George Polk? In this superbly researched, engagingly written, and exciting book, Elias Vlanton solves the mystery of Polk's murder once and for all, providing conclusive evidence about the identity of Polk's assailants. But in the course of solving one crime, Vlanton discovers many others. He shows how Walter Lippmann and other distinguished journalists failed to pursue the Polk case for fear of undermining U.S. foreign policy, how covert action and suppression of the truth in Greece helped pave the way toward the U.S. debacle in Vietnam, and how a few brave reporters devoted to finding out the truth in the Polk case suffered for their efforts." George Lipsitz, University of California, San Diego About the Author As a Washington, D.C. writer, researcher, and Greek-American community activist for 20 years, Elias Vlanton has been deeply invloved in U.S.- Greek relations. An authority on U.S. government archieves on Greece, his writings have appeared in the Nation, the Village Voice, and several other United States and Greek publications. Zak Mettger is a published writer-editor living in Washington, D.C., who works for non-profit advocacy organizations. Read more