The world had doubted Greece's ability to successfully stage the 2004 Olympic Games. In rescuing the Athens Olympics and delivering what IOC President Jacques Rogge called an "unforgettable dream games," Gianna Angelopoulos also delivered a new Greece, a modern can-do nation, a Greece worthy of its illustrious heritage.

Little did she know that a few years later her country would abandon the lessons of the Olympics and become embroiled in a political and economic crisis that would devastate Greece and threaten the economic security of Europe.

In My Greek Drama, Gianna Angelopoulos--known in her home country simply as ''Gianna''--has written a memoir that is as much about Greece's journey as her own.

From her childhood in Crete, to law school in Thessaloniki, to Athens, where she overcame male-dominated legal and political cultures to help redefine public service in Greece, Gianna worked her way into becoming one of the most respected women in Greek public life.

Balancing motherhood, business, and a place in the upper echelons of world society, Gianna never lost her passion for public service and brought the 2004 Olympic Games back from the brink of catastrophe.

Her life, her Cinderella love story, and her intensity of will are equally unforgettable. From stories of handing out basil seeds on the streets of Athens to courting the world on behalf of her country, My Greek Drama captures the burning ambition of the rebellious girl from the island of Crete who ''lit'' the Olympic torch. Her story should help rekindle the spirit of the Greek people, and of every person who has ever struggled to change the world.