A Greek Odyssey in the American West begins with Helen Papanikolas's childhood in Helper, Utah, a way station for the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad. Helper's population was as odd a conglomeration as could be found anywhere in the West: French sheepherders; Chinese and Japanese restaurant owners; African American, Greek, and Italian rail and coal workers; and Mormon, Jewish, and Slav businessmen. This book, however, is not Papanikolas's life story but the story of her parents' individual emigrations to the United States, their meeting and courtship, and their migrations within the West as they pursued job opportunities. Papanikolas re-creates and interprets the experience of parents who try hard to succeed in America without losing their rich heritage and who ultimately enrich the culture of their adopted country.