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A
new book published by Pollitecon Publications is My Childhood Memories
- From a Shepherd to Chemical Engineer by Manoli Germanchev (Olie Germantsis).
My Childhood Memories is the story of a shepherd boy in Macedonia who
enjoyed observing and trying to understand the mechanical and technical
objects and events around him. When he migrated to Australia and did
well in school he turned that love of mechanics into a career in engineering
and teaching. His story has many insightful and comic details about
the life and people in a small Macedonian village, growing up as a migrant
in Melbourne, and developing a fulfilling career in engineering. Manoli's
family was from the village of Neret and in 1900 his grandfather moved
to the nearby village of Mala, both near the town of Lerin. My Childhood
Memories - From a Shepherd to Chemical Engineer is Pollitecon Publications’
14th Macedonian book in English. The book is available as a free PDF
ebook and can also be read online. The book is 
Author
Manoli Germanchev did an interview in English with Margarita Vasileva
from SBS Radio about his book My Childhood Memories: From a Shepherd
to a Chemical Engineer. The wide ranging interview is about his childhood
in Macedonia and the self-reliance of Macedonian villagers, why and
how he wrote the book, his desire to understand how things work such
as the climate, machines and cars, how this lead to him to working on
the development of then top secret cluster bombs, the famous 1970s Australian
pop star who was the first person in Australia to really help him learn
English, the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths
(STEM) subjects, how his mother in traditional Macedonian dress was
on the front cover of a magazine in Athens, his love for the design
and construction of cars including hybrid, electric and solar cars and
how he aimed to pass this enthusiasm onto his students, the self-reliance
of Macedonian villagers and other topics. He concludes by affirming
that he and his family are ethnic Macedonians. The interview is 
The
book The Historical Truth About Macedonia and the Macedonians by Aleksandar
Donski has been translated into Greek. This is to make available the
information to Macedonians in Greece, who are not taught to read Macedonian,
said Mr Donski. The book is a summary of Macedonia’s history from the
ancient Macedonians through to modern times, and provides a Macedonian
perspective that readers would not gain in Greece. It includes considerable
discussion of the ethnic and cultural differences between the Macedonians
and Greeks, and refutes many claims about Macedonia and Macedonians
made by Greek propaganda. It also looks at the legacy of the ancient
Macedonians in today's Macedonian culture, the anthropological connections
between the ancient and present-day Macedonians, and the current human
rights situation of Macedonians in the divided parts of Macedonia. The
book is published by the Association of Macedonians from the Aegean
part of Macedonia “Mirka Ginova” of Stip, and the Macedonian Literary
Association Grigor Prlicev of Sydney. The two Associations call on Macedonians
with relatives or friends in the Aegean part of Macedonia to inform
them about this book so they can download it and share it. The book
is 
Makedonija
- 100 Godini od Versaj is a collection of 12 papers that examine key
aspects of how Macedonia has fared since the 1919 Treaty of Versailles
where “the great powers and their Balkan satellites” rejected the creation
of an autonomous Macedonia and instead confirmed the Bucharest Treaty’s
division of Macedonia. The book is very critical of Macedonia’s recent
agreements with Greece and Bulgaria. Among other topics, it discusses
the Macedonian Question, the Macedonian identity, the Macedonian language,
the Macedonian Orthodox Church, VMRO, Macedonian politics and Italian
foreign policy, the Republic of Macedonia, and the Macedonian minority
in Macedonia, migration and the de-Macedonianization of Macedonia. The
book is in Macedonian but two articles are in English: the powerful
introductory article “Death Of A Nation... Or Rather, Of The International
Society As We Thought We Knew It” and the article “Who is “Right”? Profiling
The Right Wing In Macedonia And Europe”. This is a defiant book by 12
eminent scholars about the cultural genocide of the Macedonian people
by the international community. The book is 
The
Life in Aegean Macedonia section of the Pollitecon website has been
significantly expanded with 104 articles by author Slave Nikolovski-Katin.
Titled Notable People From Aegean Macedonia - Lichnosti od Egejska Makedonija,
most of the articles are profiles of well-known Macedonians in Australia,
Canada, USA and Europe. Among them are, from Australia: Stojan Srbinov,
Petre Bozhanin, Risto Altin, Michael Veloskey, Michael Radin, Jim Thomev
and Tome Miovski. From Canada: Foto Tomev, Steve Pliakes, Alex Gigeroff,
Mary Kondoff, Risto Stefov, John Bitove, Lefter Manche, James Nikoloff
and Michael Close. From USA: Atanas Bliznakov, Leon Sperov, Meto Koloski
and Zhivko Angelushev. From Europe: Antonije Shkokliev-Doncho, Dimitar
Keramichiev, Kole Manev and Petre Nakovski. There are also articles
on the author’s Travels and Experiences in Aegean Macedonia. A section
on Notable Macedonians from Albania, Bulgaria and Serbia includes Edmond
Temelko, Vasil Stejovski, Stojko Stojkov and Dr Igor Janev. The section
Friends of Macedonia and the Macedonians includes stories on: Professor
Reginald de Bray, Victor Friedman, Ferid Murad, Esma Redzepova-Teodosievska
and Mother Tereza. Written over many years, the collection is a unique
opportunity to read about many of the well-known and or high achieving
Macedonians from around the world. The articles are 
-
Tga Za Jug- T’ga-Za-Jug - Longing for the South is about the
Macedonian intellectuals and brothers Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov
from Struga, whose collection of folk songs and stories was published
in June 1861. The play is about their struggle against the Greek Patriarchate.
They were slandered by Greek Church officials, accused of working against
the Ottoman Empire, and imprisoned in Istanbul where they died under
mysterious circumstances. Dimitar was imprisoned on February 16, 1861.
He was defamed by a Greek archbishop who accused him of being a Russian
agent. Dimitar had organized a petition asking for a Macedonian bishop
to be appointed and for the schools and churches in Macedonia to use
the Macedonian language, not Greek. Konstantin went to Istanbul to help
Dimitar but was imprisoned on August 5, 1861. They both died in 1862.
The short monodrama is in both English and Macedonian versions. The
book is 
-
Chento is about Metodia Andonov Chento, the first president of
the independent Republic of Macedonia. Although Chento is a national
hero for his work for a free and united Macedonia, he was ousted from
office by his political enemies and sentenced to eleven years in prison.
The short play is set in prison where Chento delivers a monologue at
a crucial time in his life. The book has English and Macedonian versions
of the play. The book is 
-
Posledniot Makedonets is set in Macedonia during the Color Revolution
and is full of political and social references about these and other
topical events in Macedonia. Amid these circumstances there is a murder,
Macedonian characters who wander around the world looking for meaning
and what it means to be Macedonian, and a love story. The play works
as a drama, and also symbolically as political and social commentary
on Macedonia and its people. The book is 
-
Kamenot od Robi - The Stone of Robi is a monodrama dedicated to
the child refugees of Aegean Macedonia. The play is about Pavlina Montisheva,
a refugee who after many years returns to her village of Robi to find
her childhood home is occupied by a Greek settler. The play explores
many personal as well as political themes. The book has English and
Macedonian versions of the play and the Macedonian version uses the
Lerinski dialect. The book is 
Lifelong
Noose is a political novel by Dragica Najcheska about the struggle of
the Macedonian people in the Republic of Macedonia during Tito's rule
and especially during his tiff with Stalin. The story follows a family
that is accidentally caught up in the conflict around the Inform Bureau,
and includes the infamous Goli Otok prison, an island in the Adriatic
Sea where Macedonians were tortured by the authorities. The book was
translated from Macedonian to English by Risto Stefov. The English version
is 
Although
it was written in 1991, the Helsinki Watch report Destroying Ethnic
Identity: Selective Persecution of Macedonians in Bulgaria is as relevant
today as it was then. It says: "In Bulgaria, there are estimated
to be more than one million citizens (out of a population of nine million)
whose ancestors inhabited Macedonia. Although many continue to live
in the Bulgarian Macedonian region, known as Pirin Macedonia, Bulgarians
with Macedonian ties live throughout the country. The ethnic identity
of these people is hotly debated. The official Bulgarian position is
that individuals of Macedonian ancestry who live within Bulgaria are
ethnic Bulgarians. However, a small proportion of these Bulgarian citizens
– perhaps several thousand – call themselves Macedonians and
say that they have a Macedonian consciousness. They claim that their
number would be much higher if the government did not repress their
rights. The official government position has created substantial human
rights problems for them. One Macedonian explained to Helsinki Watch:
"I have suffered all my life. I was in prison twice, fired from
my job twelve times, not allowed to have a private home, cannot practice
my profession as a teacher, and live knowing that my children have been
fired from their jobs on account of my activities." Another said:
"For the past 45 years, Macedonians have been assimilated."
Members of two unofficial Bulgarian organizations that defend the rights
of Macedonians "have experienced numerous human rights violations,
including restrictions on petition gathering, inability to hold a congress,
confiscation of their passports, and intimidation by State Security
(the secret police). Their organizations have been denied registration
by Bulgarian courts." 
The
Baron’s Pledge by David Trajkov is an historical novel about Constantine
von Belio - "The Macedonian", who arrives in Vienna as a refugee from
Kostur and rises to become a great banker and baron. The story includes
a wide range of famous European historical figures and less well known
Macedonian figures. The publisher says the novel is about the effects
of war, love and spiritual suffering, and how Constantine leaves a rich
legacy including psychological reflections and life philosophies. The
novel is the first part of a trilogy, and was translated into English
by Risto Stefov. The book is 
Big
Sky Macedonians - A Study of Montana’s Macedonian-Americans by Victor
Sinadinoski is about the little known story of migrant Macedonians who
lived in Montana. The author says Macedonian immigration to Montana
was a significant part of the Macedonian experience in the early 20th
century, and the best-known description of the experience is from well-known
author Stoyan Christowe who first settled in Missouri and with an uncle
soon left to work on the Great Northern Railway in Montana. The book
names 645 Macedonians who lived and worked Montana for a time, most
of them on the railway. It also gives brief biographies of many of these.
Many later returned to the Mid-west or Macedonia but some remained and
there are now around 500 Americans in Montana with some portion of Macedonian
ancestry. The book is part of Victor Sinadinoski’s Macedonians of America
series. The book is 
The
book In the Footsteps of Demetrius Vishanoff - Protestant Preacher and
Macedonian Nobleman tells the story of a Macedonian who, in 1885 was
among the first group of Macedonians to arrive in America. Author, Victor
Sinadinoski, says American ignorance about modern Macedonia gave Vishanoff
an opportunity to tell the story of Macedonia and the Macedonians from
the point of view of a Macedonian. Vishanoff was from Salonica and from
a wealthy family, giving him a different point of view to Macedonian
subsistence farmers. He attended university and theological college
in America and among his many skills he lectured and wrote on Macedonia
and on Protestantism, to which he had converted. Sinadinoski says that
“his Macedonian identity, and his view that ‘Macedonian’ was a separate
and unique identity from surrounding Balkan identities, is also unquestionable.
In scores of newspaper announcements, he talked only about Macedonia,
the Macedonian language, and Macedonian traditions and customs.” The
book is 
Author
Victor Sinadinoski has published 50 Forgotten Macedonian Folk Songs,
a collection of 50 songs with old lyrics, new melodies and English translations.
Most of the songs were collected and published by Dimitar and Konstantin
Miladinov over 160 years ago. However, Mr Sinadinoski says the brothers
did not notate the songs’ melodies so many of the melodies were lost
or never gained fame in the Macedonian folk music scene. As Macedonians
remember history predominately through folk music, the songs’ historical
and cultural significance were at risk of fading away without musical
interpretations. So he composed melodies for the 50 old songs. The melodies
are in a traditional or modern Macedonian folk style, but with some
subtle elements from other musical styles and genres. The free ebook
is 
-
Se od Ljubov - Za Poreche I Porechani has a 90 page essay about
the Poreche region, the village Gorno Botuse and Makedonski Brod in
western Macedonia. The discussion includes the region’s geography, history,
culture and people, and there are numerous photographs. The book is
The
book Makedontsite vo Svetot by Slave Nikolovski-Katin is a detailed
look at the Macedonians around the world, with a focus on church communities,
media and associations. Among less well-explored communities are the
Macedonians in Eastern Europe, Turkey and Israel, as well as discussion
of the Macedonians in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and the neighbouring
countries of Greece, Bulgaria, Albania and Serbia. With 522 pages, Makedontsite
vo Svetot is a well-researched and very informative book. The ebook
is 
Literature
of Fact in Petre Nakovski's Novels by Tatjana Pelivanova discusses the
representation of historically authentic events in the novels of Petre
Nakovski. The novels are about the Macedonian minority in Greece and
its experience during the Greek Civil War. Ms Pelivanova says that one
of the aims of her paper is to emphasize Nakovski’s literary value as
the novels reveal the tragic fate of those who suffered during the Greek
Civil War, their resilience while facing suffering and death, and their
trust, faith, heroism and hope. She also asks the question of whether
the traumas ended for the Macedonian people who experienced the exodus?
The novels are Postela za Chemernite (A Bed for the Wretched), I Kamenot
e Zemia (A Stone too is Soil), Golemata Udolnitsa (The Great Decline),
Golemata Izmama (The Great Lie), and Na Pat so Vremeto (On the road
of Time). The book was translated from the Macedonian by Risto Stefov.
The English version is 
Trajan
Belev – Goce is the subject and title of the book by Gjorgi Dimovski-Colev
about the Macedonian revolutionary. The Belevi family were from the
village of Gjavato near Bitola and Trajan was a young child during the
Ilinden Uprising when the village was bombed by the Turks. As a young
man he was deported from the USA for communist activities. He returned
to Gjavato, re-established his family and became politically active.
But his activities around the occupation of Macedonia and with the Communist
Party of Yugoslavia led to him being noticed by the Serbian authorities
and he was often jailed in the lead-up to elections. He later became
an illegal as he evaded police capture, and then a partisan in Aegean
Macedonia. He died in Yugoslavia in 1943 defending the liberated part
of Macedonia against the Germans and the Albanian ballisti. The book
is part of the “Unforgotten” series by the Municipal Council of the
Union of the Fighters of the NOB – Bitola to commemorate famous people
and events from the recent revolutionary past of Bitola. The book was
translated into English by Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart, and is 
The
idea that the Balkans is more violent than other parts of the world
is challenged in the PhD thesis Balkan Wars Between The Lines - Violence
and Civilians in Macedonia -1912-1918 by Stefan Sotiris Papaioannou.
The author does this by examining how the inhabitants of Macedonia endured
the Balkan Wars and the First World War. He concludes “that members
of this majority-Orthodox Christian civilian population were not inclined
to perpetrate wartime violence against one another. Though they often
identified with rival national camps, inhabitants of Macedonia were
typically willing neither to kill their neighbors nor to die over those
differences. They preferred to pursue priorities they considered more
important, including economic advancement, education, and security of
their properties.” He says “National armies from Balkan countries then
adjacent to geographic Macedonia (Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia) and
their associated paramilitary forces were instead the perpetrators of
violence against civilians. In these violent activities they were joined
by armies from Western and Central Europe during the First World War.”
He says that “Contemporary and retrospective accounts give qualitative
evidence that noncombatant men, women, and children in Macedonia were
the victims of murder, torture, arson, plunder, rape, deportation, and
forced labor on a large scale... Although overall figures for civilian
deaths in geographic Macedonia are not available for the Balkan Wars
of 1912-1913, the profusion of descriptive accounts suggests that they
too were significant.” The paper is 
The
book Del od Istorijata na Egejska Makedonija (Part of the History of
Aegean Macedonia) is a collection of 23 articles by authors Risto Stefov
and Slave Katin. The articles are excerpts of Stefov’s book Istorija
Na Makedonskiot Narod od Antichki Vreminja do Denes (History of the
Macedonian People from Ancient Times to Today). The 23 articles are
colourfully illustrated and published by Slave Katin. The articles cover
modern history starting with the Balkan Wars and cover all major historical
events including the World Wars, the Metaxis Dictatorship, the Greek
Civil War, the partizans, the Child Refugees and the exodus from Aegean
Macedonia. There is also much discussion about what this period means
for the Macedonians from the Aegean part of Macedonia and for all Macedonians.
The book is 
An
analysis of the dialect of the village Dihovo near Bitola is the subject
of the book A Structural Description of the Macedonian Dialect of Dihovo
by BM Groen. The author says the dialects of Bitola belong to the Central-Macedonian
group, but that at the time he wrote the book in 1977 there was, surprisingly,
no linguistic literature about the Bitola region. At that time Dihovo
contained about 140 houses and the 750 people were 100 per cent Macedonian
and monolingual. The book is 
A
huge number of Macedonian migrants to Australia are mentioned in the
new book Pechalba Down Under: Macedonians in Australia by Melbourne
author Nick Anastasovski. Nick is an excellent researcher and writer.
For the book he consulted a huge number of organizations, newspapers
and other sources, and did 55 interviews. The Macedonians came from
hundreds of villages seeking work and a better life. The book is full
of their stories, anecdotes and photographs from all parts of Australia.
It discusses many key social organizations and events, work patterns
and places, family reunions and community leaders. Nick’s first book
was the very successful The Contest for Macedonian Identity 1870-1921.
The new book is a worthy follow-up. It is a handsome hardcover edition
and can be purchased 
Chris
Milanko of Adelaide has authored a fantasy novel titled REN-SHEN Half
Spirit, which is about a young man of Macedonian ancestry who ends up
becoming a God. The hero, Steve Nedelkin, undertakes a journey into
the supernatural world, and after a series of tragic events at a martial-arts
fighting tournament, he begins to learn the truth of his ancestral ties.
The author says the book will be a series of novels and has been very
well received so far. An extract is available on the website: 
A
new book by Victor Sinadinoski, Defining the Macedonians: Western Perspectives
on the Macedonian Identity in the Early 20th Century, looks at the effects
of the propaganda campaigns by Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia that used
priests, teachers, and armed bands to convince the Macedonians that
they were really Bulgarian, Greek or Serbian. Sinadinoski says that
when Westerners arrived, they encountered a people who had been subjected
to propaganda and abuse, and they struggled to understand why and how
the Macedonians were being defined and labeled in certain ways. The
Westerners tried to paint a picture of the Macedonian situation and
many published books about their experiences and observations which
usually differed from the narratives by Macedonia's neighbours. Sinadinoski
explores these Western books and demonstrates that the vast majority
of impartial and objective visitors to Macedonia considered the Macedonians
to be a separate people. The book is available in paperback and Kindle
versions 
A
reminder that Canadian Macedonian Books has a great selection of Macedonian
books in English from around the world. These include non-fiction, fiction,
children's and cook books. Canadian Macedonian Books is run by Virginia
Evans, a former co-president of the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society
and founder of the Macedonian Film Festival in Toronto. Canadian Macedonian
Books is
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