128 pp. First and only edition. Text in Armenian. In late owner’s binding, with the original front wrapper mounted to the front board. The last few leaves have been repaired with paper strips, stains on the publisher's wrapper and several pages. Otherwise in good condition.

This book came out as a fourth volume in the series Armenian Reconstruction. It was likely issued in cooperation with the Armenian Reconstruction Committee, in which the author himself was involved. Professor Mikael Minasyan (1865–1936) was the author of both popular and scholarly works on Armenian history, ethnography, and cultural studies. There is very little information about his life, but it is known that in 1916 he was sent by the Committee to the city of Van (now eastern Turkey), which at the time was under Russian military administration after the Armenian uprising of 1915.

The book was published by the Nor Or (Նոր Օր=New Day) publishing house. It is an Armenian-American bilingual newspaper established in Fresno, California, in 1922. It has served as the official political organ of the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party or the Ramgavar Party and remains active today (now published in Altadena).

At the opening of the book is a letter from the Canadian missionary Frederick MacCallum. He addresses Minasyan, requesting assistance in distributing Minasyan’s works among Armenian refugees in Greece, who were struggling without work. Dr. Frederick William MacCallum (1863–1945) was a Canadian missionary, physician, and scholar. In 1890 he went to Erzurum in eastern Turkey as a missionary under the American Board of Foreign Missions and later served in missions across central and western Turkey. He remained in the region until 1934. During the Second World War he and his wife were evacuated from Greece to Cairo and then India following the German invasion. They stayed in India until early 1945. He died in Istanbul. For many years he delivered Canadian aid to Armenians in Turkey, and there are numerous references to his help during the Armenian Genocide. Notably, he gave refuge to Aurora Mardiganian, author of the well-known book Ravished Armenia (1918).

The work is devoted to racial theory as applied to Armenians. The author examines various traits attributed to the “Armenian race,” both positive and negative, using the terminology and conceptual framework of early racial anthropology. From these racial characteristics he derives cultural, psychological, and even political tendencies. He emphasizes what he sees as an Aryan component (particularly within the aristocracy) as well as a Semitic one, tracing the creative abilities of Armenians to the latter. Special attention is given to the impact of forced deportations and massacres during the Armenian Genocide and their supposed influence on the future development of the nation. In conclusion, Minasyan offers his own vision of the Armenian nation’s future, based on its perceived racial endowments and “civilizational value.”

Worldcat locates 10 copies at Harvard University, Clark University, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, Cleveland Public Library, University of Michigan-Dearborn, University of Michigan, California State University,  University of California Los Angeles and University of Southern California.