Survived to Tell: An Autobiography of Edward Keonjian, Ph.D.

Because I had heard the account of this man's rescue from a snow covered pile of frozen corpses in Leningrad-- and his perseverance against myriad difficulties, discriminations, and other almost unbelievable odds, to become an eminent scientist and inventor, I expected this to be a remarkable story. But it is much more than that.... Skillfully, and appropriately written into this biography are first hand (been there) bits, and relatively unknown facts of world history, in detail: horrors of war, and prison camps, deception, starvation, and other evil practices of communism... as well as deciphering and revealing behind-the-scenes scheduling of world politics. This Armenian, born in Georgia (the Soviet Union)-- after miraculously surviving an erroneous report as "dead"-- built an outstanding career for himself, and made a significant contribution to humanity. Dr. Keonjian created the first transistor radio, earned a doctorate in engineering, mastered four languages, became a U.S. citizen, authored over 100 works in his field, and 27 U.S. and foreign patents... And as leading lecturer, UN scientists and inventors, traveled the world, representing the United States at international conferences, meeting most of the world's rich and famous... And ultimately emerged with the title of honor in his specialty: "Father of Microelectronics." Anyone old enough to remember World War II, the cold war, and life before the birth of our newest technology, will find Dr. Keonjian's life -- and his book, SURVIVED TO TELL, nothing less than fascinating.

This book brings a tear to my eye as it depicts what some of our family have been through. Unfortunately our dear cousin has passed away, so this book is a beautiful memory of all the wonderful stories he once told.

Survived To Tell is the autobiography of Edward Keonjian who is the great-grandson of a Russian serf, and was once brought to the brink of death in a German slave labor camp in World War II. Rescued from a mass grave by a lone woman, Keonjian survived, eventually emigrated to American in 1947 with his wife and young son, and went on to become a pioneer of microelectronics. An amazing personal tale of struggle, perseverance, desperate times and the quest to make a good life for oneself, Survived To Tell is a remarkable story from beginning to end.

This is a short, easy to read autobiography of a man who went through a lot of suffering in the first part of his life. This book is a personal account of the horrors of war in Leningrad and the horrors of communism. This is also an uplifting story of a middle aged man coming to America with no English skills and having a tremendous success. The first part of the book describes his life as a slave, the second part is about his life as a free man.

An absorbing account of life in the Soviet Union, pre-WW ll, and during the incredible siege of Leningrad, for those, who, like the author, did not share the privileges and powers of membership in "The Party". Keonjian's subsequent life and career experiences as a scientist in the U.S., and his tales of meetings and friendships with an astonishing array of notables in various fields thoughout the world make delightful reading. In short, the heartwarming story of a remarkable individual whose life's path ran the gamut from incredible suffering and deprivation to international recognition for his contributions to our modern technological society