Today’s the last day to take advantage of our Fourth of July promo and join Chuck Holton’s Locals community with your first month free.

Today’s the last day to take advantage of our Fourth of July promo and join Chuck Holton’s Locals community with your first month free.
Happy birthday.Chuck. i'm glad you get to spend some time with your family.You deserve it my friend.
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We’ve got a lot on the board: the recovery of two hostage bodies from Gaza, the renewed push into Gaza City, Israel’s clever strike on Houthi leadership, a consequential dust-up with Turkey, and a reminder—uncomfortable but necessary—of why this war began and why it must be finished.
The IDF and Shin Bet located and recovered the bodies of two hostages from Gaza—one identified as Elon Weiss, an emergency responder murdered on October 7 and dragged across the fence. That grim accounting leaves 48 hostages still in Gaza; Israeli officials believe about 20 are alive. Israel has suspended “tactical pauses” around Gaza City to accelerate the hunt. The IDF’s 7th Brigade is pushing again into Zaytoun—for the eighth time—determined to hold ground they’ve cleared repeatedly. Why go back? Because every entry leaves behind eyes and ears—“various different kinds of intelligence-gathering devices”—that start painting a picture the moment Hamas and civilians flow back in. That picture is how you find hostages.
Armenia is a land where history runs deep—etched into mountains, monasteries, and memory. Whether you are drawn to the haunting testimonies of the Armenian Genocide, the sweeping narratives of classic Armenian novels, or modern reflections on diaspora and identity, books offer one of the richest pathways into understanding Armenia. In this post, we’ll explore some of the most powerful and essential works—histories, memoirs, fiction, and travelogues—that illuminate the Armenian experience for readers around the world.
Philip Marsden’s The Crossing Place: A Journey Among the Armenians (1994 Somerset Maugham Award) is a vivid travel narrative written as the Soviet Union collapsed and Armenia faced war and hardship. As a young Englishman, Marsden journeyed through Eastern Europe and the Middle East to reach Armenia, encountering scattered Armenian communities along the way. Rather than centering on Mount Ararat or solely on the Genocide, he explored how Armenians endured exile, preserved identity, and carried a legacy of resilience. With crisp, lyrical prose, Marsden captures both landscapes and people, portraying Armenians as not just a footnote to history but a subtext—restless, tough, and bound together across borders.
Vasily Grossman’s An Armenian Sketchbook is a short, intimate account of the two months he spent in Armenia after the Soviet regime “arrested” his masterpiece Life and Fate. Initially taking on the trip for work and money, Grossman found himself captivated by Armenia’s mountains, ancient churches, and people. Written with warmth and spontaneity, the book feels like a candid conversation with the author, blending travel impressions with personal reflection. More than a travelogue, it’s a self-portrait of a writer searching for meaning amid exile and change, offering readers a wonderfully human glimpse into both Armenia and Grossman himself.
Peter Balakian’s The Burning Tigris is a national bestseller that offers a powerful narrative of the late 19th-century massacres of Armenians and the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Drawing on rare archival documents and eyewitness testimony, Balakian exposes how the Ottoman Turks carried out the first modern genocide under the cover of World War I. At the same time, he uncovers a forgotten chapter of American history, when ordinary citizens and leaders rallied to aid Armenian survivors, making this both a chilling history and a story of humanitarian response.
Edgar Hilsenrath’s The Story of the Last Thought tells the tragic tale of an Armenian village destroyed during the 1915 Genocide, framed as the dying vision of Thovma Khatisian. Guided by the storyteller Meddah, Thovma’s final thought becomes a journey through his family’s history and the suffering of his people. Mixing historical fact with the style of an oriental fairy tale, Hilsenrath blends myth, memory, and meticulously researched detail. The result is both a cruel yet compassionate novel—one that mourns loss while affirming hope, and speaks to the plight of all genocide victims.
Michael J. Arlen’s Passage to Ararat (winner of the National Book Award in 1976) is both a personal and historical exploration of Armenian identity. Seeking to understand what his famous Anglo-Armenian father had tried to forget, Arlen travels into Armenia’s past and present, confronting the legacy of genocide, exile, and survival. What emerges is a narrative as sweeping as a people’s history yet as intimate as a father–son relationship, blending cultural discovery with the painful and affirming truths of kinship and belonging.
If you like watching movies, here are some recommendations.
Bill (Jamie Kennedy) is forced to take a vacation in Turkey after a bad breakup and a parasailing accident leave him stranded in a small Armenian village. He meets a young woman (Angela Sarafyan) there who helps him escape from his misfortunes.
The film tells the story of Michael (Oscar Isaac), a young Armenian who dreams of studying medicine. When he travels to Constantinople to study, he meets Armenian Ana (Charlotte Le Bon) and falls in love with her, although she dates the American photographer Chris (Christian Bale), sent to Turkey to record the first genocide of the 20th century when the Turks exterminated the Armenian minority. A love triangle settles amidst the horrors of war.
Armenian-American repatriate Charlie Bakhchinyan is arrested for the absurd crime of wearing a tie in Soviet Armenia. Alone in solitary confinement, he soon discovers that he can see inside of an apartment building near the prison from his cell window. By watching the native Armenian couple living in the apartment, day in and day out, Charlie soon discovers everything he returned to Armenia for.
Amerikatsi is about hope and the art of survival in the worst of conditions.
The incredible true story of an Armenian family forced to flee their home during the collapse of the Soviet Union, and embark on a journey to find a community to call their own.
Israeli commando units, supported by helicopters and about 15 airstrikes, carried out a daring raid on a military base just five miles south of downtown Damascus. This was in a Damascus suburb, practically in the Syrian capital itself.
Syrian soldiers stationed at a former military facility in the town of Aliswah. The strikes softened up the site and cut off nearby roads to delay reinforcements. Then Israeli commandos hit the ground for what’s called “sensitive site exploitation” — essentially gathering intelligence, dismantling surveillance devices, and recovering equipment of value.
Reports indicate those devices had been placed there by Turkey, possibly more than a decade ago, giving Ankara a window into Israel’s activities. Removing them was a clear message: Israel will not tolerate hostile eyes watching its borders.