I, Giorghos: A Novel

by William J. Lederer

“I am stunned by I, Giorghos . I was completely carried away by the beauty of the thought, the vigor of the writing and the absolute truth of the whole. I read far into the night until I had finished it and then lay awake thinking about it. I have rarely been so impressed or inspired by a book. It raised up my spirit, and the perfect line of the plot, from initial imperfection and degradation to what was exactly the right ending, gave me enormous satisfaction. What a wonderful journey that was, too, between beginning and end, with interesting development of character and philosophy, expressed in shining phrases, many of which I copied out because I couldn’t bear to lose them. It’s a triumph.” ―Noreen Maxwell After a life spent in a successful writing career that has left him bereft of creativity and worn in body and spirit, George Adamson goes to Greece on a journey of self-discovery and renewal.

292 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1984

About the author

William Julius Lederer, Jr. was an American author.

He was a US Naval Academy graduate in 1936. His first appointment was as the junior officer of a river gunboat on the Yangtze River.

His best selling work, 1958's The Ugly American, was one of several novels co-written with Eugene Burdick. Disillusioned with the style and substance of America's diplomatic efforts in Southeast Asia, Lederer and Burdick openly sought to demonstrate their belief that American officials and civilians could make a substantial difference in Southeast Asian politics if they were willing to learn local languages, follow local customs and employ regional military tactics. However, if American policy makers continued to ignore the logic behind these lessons, Southeast Asia would fall under Soviet or Chinese Communist influence.

Reviews

[Thom Dunn]

publ. 1984. Story of "George Adamson", his flight from his psychological problems having to do with women, and from America in general--to seek renewal in Greece.