Three ZEUS books, a film and an educational web site are currently in the works. Previews of the first Zeus book have started appearing on the project’s web site http://www.theswordofzeus.info, to mark the 70th anniversary of Greece’s defiance of the Hitler-Mussolini Axis.

The first excerpt is the introduction to the first ZEUS book, by Brigadier General Stergios Smirlis, former NATIO liaison for the Greek Army, who says: “N.J. Slabbert’s Sword Of Zeus is not just mesmerizing. It is also vital to our understanding of our epoch.”

Industrialist Aris Melissaratos, senior advisor to the president of Johns Hopkins University, also chairs the ZEUS Project’s Advisory Board. Mr. Melissaratos said it would be fitting to observe the weeks leading up and following Ohi Day as “a special season of World War II remembrance”, with this observance becoming a tradition. During this time Hellenes should recall with pride and gratitude not only Greece’s war experience, but also its colossal contribution to democracy, science and enlightenment worldwide. “I am proud,” Mr. Melissaratos added, “to be part of the ZEUS Project’s encouragement of this season of reflection, by sharing a series of free excerpts of the first ZEUS book as a public service.” He said Mr. Slabbert had conceived "a masterpiece".

Em Saks, Managing Editor of Montague House, ZEUS’s publishers, confirmed that a limited number of previews of the first book were being published free online, in open-access format, to mark the 70th Ohi Day and support the idea that the anniversary should become the high point of a sustained period of reflection. The preview series would be followed by publication of the first ZEUS book and further announcements.

Dr. Peter Yiannos, president of the American Foundation for Greek Language and Culture’s Delaware-based center, remarked: “This is tremendously exciting. Those who have enjoyed the bestsellers of James Michener will find here the Greek story given fresh life by a Michener for the 21st century.” He described Mr. Slabbert, as a “visionary” out to “cut through stale stereotypes and re-tell the Greek saga afresh with exciting new insights and context for the 21st century, not just for Greeks but for the world.”

Mr. Slabbert is an award-winning author and former Reader’s Digest senior editor. A popular book on the history of science, technology and innovation that he co-authored with Mr. Melissaratos recently appeared on a Top Ten reading list compiled by the New York City-based Mediabistro web site. The ZEUS Project was “an extraordinary intellectual adventure, not only into mid-20th-century history but into the psychology of the world we live in today," he said. "It has opened my eyes to contemporary culture’s strange under-appreciation of Greece’s contribution to the making of the 21st century.”