There are many Bulgarians who have contributed to the development of this country in the period after the Liberation, but it seems that the society hasn’t heard enough of them. Some of these names are only popular as bus stations or streets. How many of contemporary Bulgarians have ever heard of Assen Yordanov? In 1921 the inventor of the first Bulgarian plane managed to go to the USA at the age of 25, as he had been invited to take part in a flight around the world. The flight never happened due to the refusal of other countries to participate. The man however stayed in the US, quickly learned the language and graduated aerospace engineering, chemistry and physics. He wrote numerous books, devoted to aviation and its maintenance. In the 1950s he became part of the team that invented the airbag. This story is one of those included in “The Bulgarians: the Forgotten Achievements book”. Its authors Delyan Momchilov, Sten Damyanov and Nikolay Manchev tell about 50 renowned persons from the past. Delyan says more about their motivation:

“We are not historians and we don’t look like ones. All the three of us are under the age of 30. Niki and I work more like in the sphere of advertising and Sten is involved in illustrations. The idea was born more than two and a half years ago. I have been interested in world and Bulgarian history ever since my childhood, or to be more specific – in science, art and their development through the years. The time came when I asked myself the question where the Bulgarian researchers, travelers and scientists were, as neither school training, nor universities pay enough attention to those. Prior to the stories’ selection we created the sections: science, art, education, entrepreneurship, society and travels & expedition. Then we selected the persons themselves.”

The first Bulgarian lady who succeeded in touring around the world twice is one of the characters, favorite to the authors. Her name was Anka Lambreva – a nurse, a writer and a traveler. Her first travel was to Constantinople. There she met a wealthy Englishman who lived in New Zealand. The nurse managed to cure the guy and his gratitude came after a while with an invitation to visit him – a steamship ticket booked. Anka left her birthplace – the town of Karlovo and took up a new job in the other corner of the world. Together with her host she began travelling across different countries.

The man who helped for the finishing of the Shipka monument was among those, whose faith found its place in the book. Penyo Atanasov came from a family of masons and had been helping his father in the construction works he did for a living. His talent made him famous and the man was soon invited to contribute to the building of Sofia’s National Library. At the age of 26 he was offered to finish the Freedom Monument. Craftsmen from all over the country helped him and after 6 years of hard work the monument was finished and officially unveiled on 26 August 1934.

The stories in the book are understandable and easy to read. That distinguishes it from the numerous vague and puzzling academic editions that push the reader away. The readable style doesn’t make the book less justifiable. All the facts inside have been checked and consulted by historian Prof. Plamen Pavlov.

A book of this kind could be a wonderful gift for the forthcoming holidays. Anyone can benefit from it, as he or she will find inside something new, alongside numerous reasons to be proud of our predecessors’ successes.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev