{"product_id":"the-thorny-road-to-freedom","title":"The Thorny Road to Freedom","description":"As an eleven-year-old schoolboy reading about the United States in communist Bulgaria, Peter V. Stoyanoff began dreaming about America and freedom. His opportunity to turn dreams into reality came a dozen years later when, in 1959, Bulgarian authorities allowed him to go on a supervised trip to Czechoslovakia. Returning to Bulgaria when the Orient Express stopped in Belgrade, Stoyanoff made the first of many daring moves to free himself from communism. Thus began a series of both frightening and funny adventures as he made his way through Western Europe and across the ocean to New York. Lacking a passport or other papers worshipped by bureaucrats and border guardians, without funds or friends, Stoyanoff eluded bullets and barbed wire during a daunting two-year trek. He escaped to Italy after eight months in a detention camp in Yugoslavia and from Italy walked five days and nights through the Brenner Pass in the Alps to get to West Germany where the United Churches sponsored his entry to the United States. Only two days after arriving in New York did he start his first job. He joined an English language class and soon after was enrolled in the first of many engineering courses that led to a career with IBM. Today, married and happy, Stoyanoff lives as he once dreamed in Newport, Rhode Island, where he sails his forty-two-foot boat, appropriately named Miracle.\u003cbr\u003eASIN: 1604416343\u003cbr\u003eVSKU: BVV.1604416343.G\u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good\u003cbr\u003eAuthor\/Artist:Stoyanoff, Peter V.\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNote:\u003c\/b\u003e Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition Notes\u003c\/b\u003e: The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact  including the dust cover, if applicable . Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.  \u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Blue Vase Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43338203791421,"sku":"BVV.1604416343.G","price":301.41,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0589\/4225\/9261\/files\/1604416343-0.jpg?v=1783910750","url":"https:\/\/www.bluevasebooks.com\/products\/the-thorny-road-to-freedom","provider":"Blue Vase Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}