Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    My Greek Drama: Life, Love, and One Woman's Olympic Effort to Bring Glory to Her Country
    My Greek Drama: Life, Love, and One Woman's Olympic Effort to Bring Glory to Her Country
    My Greek Drama: Life, Love, and One Woman's Olympic Effort to Bring Glory to Her Country
    Audiobook9 hours

    My Greek Drama: Life, Love, and One Woman's Olympic Effort to Bring Glory to Her Country

    Written by Gianna Angelopoulos

    Narrated by Wanda McCaddon

    2.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    Standing alone in the VIP box of the Olympic Games in 2004, Gianna Angelopoulos began to dance. The world had doubted Greece's ability to successfully stage this global event. She danced to celebrate the efforts of all Greeks-and her own-to host a phenomenally successful event, an effort that showed the world a new Greece, a Greece worthy of its illustrious heritage.

    Little did she know that a few years later her country would abandon the lessons of the Olympics and become embroiled in a political and economic crisis that would devastate Greece, and threaten the economic security of Europe.

    In My Greek Drama, Gianna Angelopoulos-known in her home country simply as "Gianna"-has written a memoir that is as much about Greece's journey as her own. From her childhood in Crete, to law school in Thessaloniki, to Athens, where she overcame male-dominated legal and political cultures to help redefine public service in Greece, Gianna worked her way into becoming one of the most respected women in Greek public life. Balancing motherhood, business, and a place in the upper echelons of world society, Gianna never lost her passion for public service and brought the 2004 Olympic Games back from the brink of catastrophe to what would later be called "unforgettable dream Games."

    Her life, her Cinderella love story, and her intensity of will are equally unforgettable. From stories of handing out basil seeds on the streets of Athens to entertaining royalty and political leaders in London, Zurich, and Athens, My Greek Drama captures the burning ambition of the rebellious girl from the island of Crete who "lit" the Olympic torch. Her story should help rekindle the spirit of the Greek people, and of every person who has ever struggled to change the world.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJul 23, 2013
    ISBN9781452685588

    Related to My Greek Drama

    Related audiobooks

    Biography & Memoir For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Return Of The Woolly Menaces

      Jan 18, 2023

      Return Of The Woolly Menaces
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Brian Phillips

      Dec 7, 2018

      This year I grabbed a lot of books almost totally at random and finished most of them, some in a few hours (hello, Jean Rhys’s gorgeously unnerving Wide Sargasso Sea, which I read in a hotel in Tijuana in the spring), some over many months (looking a

      2 min read

    • Article

      Buyers: Beware

      Feb 14, 2021

      Buyers: Beware
      2 min read

    • Article

      HOW I WRITE Lucinda Riley

      Jun 17, 2019

      Irish-born Lucinda Riley is the bestselling author of over 20 novels. Her Seven Sisters series has topped the charts the world over, and has been optioned for a TV show. I have to write my first draft in total solitude. As we have four kids and our

      1 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Shipstead, Ryan, Walker, and More

      May 17, 2022

      Here’s a quick look at some notable books—new titles from Maggie Shipstead, Eimer Ryan, Sarai Walker, and more—that are publishing this week. Want to learn more about upcoming titles? Then go read our most recent book preview. Want to help The Millio

      5 min read

    • Article

      Your Shout

      Feb 21, 2020

      Hi, my name is Claire, and in 2005 I met my wife through your magazine. We have been together 16 years and married for six years. My wife lives on the Isle of Man and I moved from Spalding in Lincolnshire in 2007 to be with her. I just wanted to say

      2 min read

    • Article

      Gift-Worthy Books

      Nov 17, 2022

      Gift-Worthy Books
      3 min read

    • Article

      About The Author... J.P. Pomare

      Dec 27, 2020

      He grew up on a racehorse farm in Rotorua, left home at 15 and dropped out of university before finishing his degree. He now lives in Melbourne, where he worked in marketing while building his writing career. His real name is Joshua and this is his t

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Books Briefing: The Best Books to Get Lost in This Summer

      Jul 9, 2021

      Memoirs and novels that satisfy the urge for high drama: Your weekly guide to the best in books

      3 min read

    • Article

      I Love Liz Hurley, Topless Or Not

      Jun 2, 2021

      Catching sight of Elizabeth Hurley’s breasts on page 87 of the Spring issue of The Oldie reminded me of several things, as you might imagine. Chief among them, beyond the fact that this magazine never ceases to surprise me, was a sudden vivid recolle

      3 min read

    • Article

      Suffering In Silence, And Out Loud

      Feb 12, 2018

      LISA HALLIDAY’S DEBUT novel, Asymmetry, begins with a lopsided affair—a perfect vehicle for a story of inexperience and advantage. This romance is between Alice, a young woman in publishing, and Ezra Blazer, a literary éminence grise, who resembles a

      1 min read

    • Article

      Plunge Into Summer With The 10 Best Books Of July

      Jul 7, 2020

      Whether you’re hitting the road or staying put, a bumper crop of summer reads offers a welcome distraction. Dig right in.

      2 min read

    • Article

      Beetlemania

      Oct 9, 2020

      Beetlemania
      4 min read

    • Article

      Viva

      Feb 25, 2022

      Viva
      19 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for My Greek Drama

    2.5/5

    22 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      This book is a memoir by Gianna Angelopoulos, who headed up the Athens Olympics in 2004. Parts were interesting, but she spends a lot of time name-dropping and talking about how wealthy she is. Towards the end, it almost seems like she is running for office. By that time, I was skimming, just to get through it.
    • 1/5
      Not a drama, but a farce. My feelings for the author as I went through this book went from irritation, anger, scorn to pity. The woman comes across as a delusional megalomaniac, a gold digger and possibly a psychopath. No doubt she made things happen, but you leave this book thinking it was only done through bullying, flirting and conniving. Her name-dropping is preposterous, her management style is atrocious ("never tell your employees the big picture; it will distract them from their tasks") and her memory - sporadic at best. Nowhere will you find a logical explanation for her seemingly fortuitous successes. Instead, the book reads like a personal exoneration for any negative fall-out from the Olympics that bankrupted her country, and especially like a settling of accounts with Greek politicians. Angelopoulos is bipartisan insofar that she will have something bad to say of politicians on both side of the divide. This book should be made into a sitcom, starring some over-the-top tranny. Maybe then I'll find it funny.
    • 3/5
      Just your run of the mill memoir, like many memoirs it is interesting to read for how do we deal with oral stories, one that change over time. With the facts getting blurry and memories hazy. Not the worst that I have ever read, but not the best; it is your standard story of one women's struggles to make it in a male dominated society. It is a inspiring story for some people, but others will find it repetitive.
    • 4/5
      Gianna Angelopoulos has written a story of her accomplishments in bringing the 2004 Olympic Games to succesa. She is a person with terrific presence and drive. When she came into rescure the preparation for the Games, the world was skeptical that the Olympic would come off. She had to battle government bureaucracy and firms that were not on-board for performance. One can see quite a bit of self-congratulation in this book, but we need her story for the historical record.Angelopoulos also presents the story of her family: her growing up in Crete, her marriage to Theodore, her three children, her involvement in Greek poitics and her strong connection with the Kennedy School of Government (connected with Harvard University).
    • 4/5
      I found this book very interesting, well written and kept you interest all the way through. The story covers Gianna's life through organizing the Olympic games that were held in Greece and her struggle to get the cooperation of the politicians. With the way things are going in the USA today I could understand her anger with dealing with them.
    • 1/5
      Nicely written autobiography, but a little bit all over the place. Names are dropped in every chapter which becomes tiresome. The author is a very wealthy woman and it is assumed we would all know the staff is numerous, no need to give the dynamics of her household. Side snippets such as "and, believe me, we have a world-class art collection" just sound elitist. Ditto with telling us Prince Charles telling her that her garden is the second largest in London. I got through it, but was bored halfway through.
    • 3/5
      This is the life story of a business women, Gianna Angelopoulos Daskaaki, an in depth look into her her families hardships and accomplishments, with her drive towards educational achievements and goals, a political career in law and government (Greek Parliament) with a "can do and will do attitude." She is best known for being the president of the bidding and organizing committee, which awarding Athens, Greece the 2004 Summer Olympic games.
    • 1/5
      In my opinion, this book was extremely boring. It didn't hold my interest at all and I was disappointed in it overall. I'm sure some may enjoy it, but not this reader.
    • 3/5
      Although I try not to read other reviews before starting a book, I did in this case. I agree that Gianna has an extraordinary sense of self. Also, her fixation on powerful people and couture bleeds through on to the pages. However, it is a different culture and she was resourceful in how she achieved her accomplishments without sacrificing her standards. I appreciate her patriotism and her sense of family. She walked into bureaucratic nightmares repeatedly and with unflagging energy and tenacity went after what she wanted. It should be be applauded. Not a great book but a good read if you are interested in female politics in Greece or the Olympics.
    • 5/5
      When I received the Gianna Angelopoulos memoir, I wasn't ready for the size of the book, but jumped right in,since I promised Librarything a review. As she described her life from a young Greek girl to becoming a politician, I was hooked from the first paragraph. Her dream while growing up was to be an Ambassador, and her story details how this happened , with much happening between childhood and the Olympics bid. Ms. Angelopoulos tells of her meeting her beloved husband, Theodore, and giving birth to her three children,. I enjoyed this part to her story, as it made the understanding and appreciation of her more available to me. She became reality, rather than a wealthy figure from the news. She writes with such honesty that this romantic and intimate portrait of her leveled the candor. I wanted to know more about her fascinating life as I read further and further..... further.Being as passionate as she is about Greece, when called upon to lead the organizational committee for the Olympics,she was able to use this passion to push the Greek Olympics bid into a winning bid. Giving credit to her husband and the thousands of volunteers who helped make the Athens event a memorable Olympics, the author was able to impress me with her generous attitude. Because a woman did this, I was challenged as to what can be done regardless of gender, using the passion one has for a cause. The many photographs tell their own story and allowed me to put faces with names in her life account.I recommend this to anyone who struggles with women's worth. Her love for what she believes in comes through on every page and the reader can learn from the book that we need only to try. What a tremendous gift to a graduate or anyone wanting to be inspired to a higher level in their life.
    • 4/5
      When a person sits down to write an autobiography a person has to have two things - an interesting story to tell and a healthy ego to think that others might want to read it. Ms, Angelopoulos has both. Her claim to fame is that she was the principle architect and driving force behind bringing the 2004 Olympics to Athens and then its ultimate success. However, she has no qualms about throwing people who disagreed with her along the way under her literary bus. It seems that in her entire life she has only made 1 or 2 wrong decisions (One being marrying her first husband excluding their daughter). Also, she has dozens of glossy photos of herself in three sections which mostly show her with the worlds rich and famous. So, it is a well written book and I learned a lot about not just her but Greek culture but you have to get by her over developed ego to enjoy it.
    • 2/5
      They say you should write about what you love, and Gianna Angelopoulos certainly loves herself. From the 81 photos of her on the hardcover (and another two on the dust jacket… and another 161 in three separate inside photo sections), to the boastful and self-congratulatory tone (“I was – and I remain – an innovator and a problem solver.”), she lives across 300 pages showing no hesitation about bravado or concern for the appearance of self-promotion. Is this attitude admirable or deplorable? In the Greek society she grew up in, it certainly was necessary if a woman wanted to succeed outside the home. And Angelopoulos certainly has a number of accomplishments that would seem to warrant such an attitude.One of the first women to see success in modern Greek politics, she won a spot on the Athens city council and later a seat in Greek Parliament, giving and taking during the infighting and back-room dealing so common in politics. Along the way, she worked diligently to improve the quality of life for residents, and education for children in the cities (a problem described as “mission impossible”). Her work on education – an assignment given to her in an attempt to minimize her political influence and visibility – was especially ironic, given her demonstrated indifference to her own education as points in her life: “Before the [commercial law final exam], I spied a very attractive, well-dressed man, no more than 40 years old, watching from the side of the packed auditorium. I uttered an appreciative ‘wow’ to one of my friends and asked if she knew ‘the hot guy.’ ‘That’s our professor, Lampros Kotsiris,’ she informed me. The class was held from eight to ten in the morning so I had never attended.”It wasn’t the only poor choice she made in life, but to her credit, she doesn’t try and hide this fact. Her first marriage was a failure, and one she stayed in longer than she should have. Her second – to industrialist Theodore Angelopoulos – began with an affair. She worked hard to keep the relationship a secret as long as she could, telling only her assistant, and, eventually, her young daughter, Carolina. When it came time to get married – shortly after she finally divorced her first husband – she printed the newspaper announcement in a small town newspaper, far from where she lived. Her wedding dress – actually a business suit, with modified buttons – was purchased under the guise of needing summer meeting attire. This marriage would result in two sons, and take her away from Greece and to other parts of Europe for years.Angelopoulos the elected and appointed demonstrates keep insight into politics – both the retail version that occurs when a politician is shaking hands and kissing babies (and in her case, mailing voters basil seeds), and the backroom dealings that so often decide an issue before most people know the issue exists. “Between voters and elected officials, trust was the rarest bond of all,” she notes at one point. Later, describing the Mayor of Athens, Dimitris Avramopoulos: “He proved to be your all-too-typical politician who does none of the real work but is quick to take credit for what others accomplish.” Her decision to quit the Greek Parliament after getting married still irritates many Greek citizens who felt she was making great progress, and would have continued to do so, even if her married life took her outside the country. It wasn’t to be. “I had married my prince and would be content to live out the fairy tale happily ever after in a distant castle.”A half decade later, after spending time with her family and in service to Harvard and to the Greek expat community around the world, Angelopoulos would receive a phone call while at home in her “distant castle” in London, asking her to come back and serve her country one more time. Greece – the birthplace of the modern Olympics – had been snubbed in a recent bid to host the 1996 centennial games, and the country wanted to make sure their next bid was more successful. The story of how her team accomplished that – which makes up the second half of the book – is impressive, and came at great expense: Her husband paid the $100,000 proposal filing fee when Greece wouldn’t write a check, the start of what would eventually total $15 million paid out of their pockets. Her political skills, honed earlier in life, would also be put to the test, both while managing international delegates and members of the International Olympic Committee, and also while dealing with infighting and posturing among politicians at home.Despite all these accomplishments and experiences, the book is hindered by the writing and storytelling elements. Whole chapters read like middle school textbooks, with sentences like: “Today, the Greek American community is a large and thriving part of American society. There are now an estimated 1.3 million Greeks living in the United States.” Similarly, her self-references are irksome, and likely unnecessary. Think you’ve heard about this before? If so, she’ll let you know. “As I’ve shown in earlier chapters…” and “As I mentioned earlier…” and “…who you met in chapter 6” and “You’ll read in chapter 24 that…” abound. There is name dropping throughout, and important events are deflated with details of what Angelopoulos was wearing, or information about who had once owned the carpet the Prime Minister was standing on.Ultimately, her story is exceptionally compelling, but not well told. Her remarkable life story is worthy of the attention of a skilled biographer, and deserves better than it got here.