Ιθάκη
In his new book “Ithaca”, Alexis Tsipras records with unique force the events that shook Greece – and Europe – during the years 2015–2019. The brutality of the lenders, the plans to expel the country from the European Union, the closed banks, the referendum, the meetings with foreign leaders such as Merkel, Hollande, and Putin, the reactions of the then opposition, and the desperate efforts of the Greek government to free the country from the spiral of the memoranda turn the narrative into a political thriller.
It is, in short, a fascinating account, in whose 11+1 chapters the reader will confront the truth, documented with evidence, meeting minutes, and dramatic dialogues with all the leaders of the time. They will also understand the thoughts and concerns of Alexis Tsipras back then, as well as his critical perspective today on that period.
Furthermore, the reader will share in the values, paths, and circumstances that shaped both the author himself and the course of the country. They will find answers to the how and why, beyond the distortion that the truth has suffered from the propaganda of recent years. They will also find answers about developments after 2019—about the how and why of the SYRIZA crisis, a party that evolved from a small protest movement into a major party of power, won the battle to free the country from the constraints of bankruptcy, but lost the battle against its internal pathologies and itself.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly for today’s citizen who looks toward the future, Ithaca by Alexis Tsipras is not a book about the past, but a declaration of hope and perspective for the future. Every event, every revelation, every critical or self-critical assessment is not treated by the author as a matter for filing away the past, but as a matter for reflection on the present and the future. As an opportunity for him—and for all who still hold to the vision of a just Greece—to contemplate not simply “what we did,” but “what we must do.”
It is a work that aims to bring the energy of yesterday into the engine of today.
(From the presentation on the back cover of the book)
