LOS ANGELES—Yes, We Have: Expanded, a sweeping overview of Armenian contributions to the United States, has been released by the Armenian Arts Fund.
The 800-plus-page volume comprises over 700 short biographies and US patents awarded to Americans of Armenian descent. The book also includes a number of more extensive entries on such luminaries as Oscar H. Banker (Asadoor Sarafian), father of the automatic transmission and inventor of the multicolor printing press, among others.
“Even after five years of research, I am still pleasantly surprised by the enormous scale and variety of Armenian accomplishments in America; it’s simply breathtaking,” said Stepan Partamian, who compiled the book. “Those accomplishments are presented in Yes, We Have: Expanded in chronological order, encompassing art, culture, literature, politics, technology, cinema and television, sports, journalism, the military, and other fields.”
“As importantly,” Partamian continued, “I am delighted to have learned over the course of my research about the wonderful contributions to American civilization made by a great many Armenian women. This fact, of course, is also amply documented in the book.”
Yes, We Have: Expanded is the fifth, and most extensive, installment of a series of books sharing the Yes, We Have title. Partamian launched the series in 2009.
As with previous installments of the series, proceeds from the sale of Yes, We Have: Expanded will support an ongoing research and publishing project titled “The Armenian World.”
“The Armenian World” is a multi-year initiative which seeks to document all significant expressions of Armenian life in America and throughout the world, including landmarks, institutions, monuments, and pubic signs, with full-color photos and text published in book form. The initiative began with the large-size, full-color volume The Armenian in America (2012), for the preparation of which Partamian drove across the United States and took thousands of photos.
“Just as proceeds from sales of my previous publications have made possible the release of subsequent books, proceeds from Yes, We Have: Expanded will facilitate the publication of the book The Armenian World,” Partamian said. Toward that goal, he explained, he has traveled across the Middle East and Europe earlier this year, documenting “a treasure trove of dynamic aspects pertaining to Armenian life.”
Partamian said he is dedicated to completing the project, by continuing his documentary research in Europe and elsewhere, and aiming to publish The Armenian World by April 2015, the 100th anniversary of the “failed” Genocide.
Partamian appealed to the worldwide Armenian community to support this project by purchasing copies of Yes, We Have: Expanded or making a financial contribution through www.letuseducate.com. “With every $50 you donate, a copy of Yes, We Have: Expanded will be gifted to an American elected official of your choice,” he explained. “What we’re trying to accomplish here is to ‘educate one official at a time’ about the outstanding contributions to American civilization made by Americans of Armenian descent. I think this is an extraordinary way of enhancing the public image of the Armenian-American community, and, ultimately, making sure that our voice is heard at the highest levels of the American government.”
Yes, We Have: Expanded, priced at $40 plus shipping and handling, is available from TheArmenian.com.