Greek Fire [antikvár]

Foreword Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits dawn and considers jmt how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs. Rebecca West, The Art of Skepticism "All biography," a college professor of mine liked to say, "is a kind of murder," Until I began the research for this book, I had no idea how true this aphorism could be. Maria Callas and Aristotle Socrates Onassis are the two most famous Greeks of the twentieth century. As the bibliography at the end of this book suggests, an astonishing number of people have chronicled their lives. It seems that everyone who ever met Onassis or Callas felt compelled to put pen to paper, Onassis is the subject of books by one of his secretaries, his masseuse, an assistant steward on his yacht, one of his first lovers, and half a dozen reputable journalists, biographers both authorized and unauthorized. All portray him as the most colorfial of the Greek shipping tycoons—the one who transformed a conservative and secretive fi"aternity with his innovative and controversial business deals usually fiinded with Other People's Money, They detail his penchant for acquiring famous playmates and priceless toys while enjoying an international lifestyle that kept his name in the headlines and inspired such terms as "jet set," All agree he capped his high-profile exploits in 1968 when he married Jacqueline Kennedy, earning the epithet "Daddy O"—for him the ultimate coup in a life devoted to collecting tokens of status. For her part, Maria Callas inspired books written by her sister, her Xlll