Greek Books Index
Greek Books: Guides and Travelogues |
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You can order most of these books through Greece In Print by using their form, unless otherwise noted. Some of these books you can get directly from the publisher. You can also find many of these books at Compendium Books in Athens on the intersection of Nikis Street and Nikodimou Street near Syntagma Square |
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Athens and Attica: Journal of a Residence
There First published
in 1836, a revised edition with additional
material by Christopher
Wordsworth a nephew of William the poet. In 1832 he
took a gap-year, after his studies in ancient Greek
and Latin classics, to travel back in time over two
thousand years to Pericles’ Athens. The account of his
tour, Athens and Attica (1836), is still the perfect
scholarly companion to the history, topography, and
myths of an area compact in dimension yet vast in
terms of its contribution to Western
civilization.
To order e-mail David Davidson at bar@archaeopress.com |
The Cyclades: Life Among the Insular Greeks
(1885)
by James Theodore
Bent is a wonderful account of a
journey to the Cyclades in the 1880s. In the winters
of 1882-84 he and his wife made extended tours of the
Cycladic islands and in 1885 Bent published what has
become a classic account of their discoveries in
Greece. His island-by-island journals are a
fascinating insight into Greek community living at the
turn of the 19th century, and the work established
Bent as a traveller of note. Most of the major sites
and sights are detailed, as well as references to
customs and costumes, hospitality and hardship,
history, folklore and myth. No account in English,
then or since, has come close in terms of scope and
achievement. To order e-mail David Davidson at
bar@archaeopress.com |
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For more information you can contact the publishers at bar@archaeopress.com |
You can order this book from the distributor at harrynoe@chipsbooks.com |
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You can order most of these books through Greece In Print by using their form, unless otherwise noted. Some of these books you can get directly from the publisher. You can also find many of these books at Compendium Books in Athens on the intersection of Nikis Street and Nikodimou Street near Syntagma Square |
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You can order it at a special discounted rate at: www.greektravel.com/odysseyform |
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World Enough, and Time: The Travel Chronicles of Mrs J. Theodore Bent. Volume I, Greece and the Levantine Littoral Mabel Bent's diaries of 1883-1898, from the archive of the Joint Library of the Hellenic and Roman Societies, London
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“This short guide for children, written by Aliki Ammerman, is a must for families or teachers who want to visit the Acropolis. It’s packed with historical information and includes more than 18 activities to hold any child’s interest during his visit. A time line, Who’s Who, and bibliography complete the book. We used this guide as a textbook for our fieldtrip to the Acropolis for many years. Our students learned the basic facts, and enjoyed the activities. We became scholars and not just “tourists.” This revised edition continues to be child-friendly, comfortable and accessible.” Cheryl Makris, former fifth grade teacher, American Community Schools of Athens, Greece. For ordering as an E-book go to http://www.nostosbooks.com/ |
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Mani: Travels in the Southern Peloponesse
by Patrick Leigh
Fermer is part
travelogue, part inspired evocation of the past and a
glorious fusion of scholarship, imagination and
history by the greatest of Greece's philhellene
writers. Fermer's account of his journey through the
Mani, a remote and untouched region of the
Peloponesse, unlocks the secrets of a people
and culture whose roots stretch back to
Byzantium. This book is a masterpiece by one of the
world's great travel writers. |
Roumeli: Travels in Northern Greece by Patrick
Leigh Fermer is another masterpiece of travel
writing in the area of northern Greece that
was known as Roumeli. Fermer recalls his travels,
delving into its history, creating an intriguing blend
of past and present.
Fermor travels among
Sarakatsan shepherds, the monasteries of Meteora and
the villages of Krakora, among itinerant pedlars and
beggars, and even tracks down at Missolonghi a pair of
Byron's
slippers. Fermer is the
travel writer that inspires all travel writers. |
The Unwritten Places
by Tim Salmon
is an account of the life and times
of the people of the Pindos mountains of northern
Greece during the ten year period that the author
spend wandering the ancient roads. It tells in
particular the story of his friendship with a family
of Vlach Shepherds. The title is the transalation of
Ta Agrafa, called that because it is the least
accessable and least developed area in Greece. I
highly recommend this well written and entertaining
travel journal, especially if you like hiking and
exploring the areas normal tourists and travelers
never see. |
Journey to the Morea
by Nikos Kantzakis
is an account of the author's
search for his own art and being in the culture and
life of modern Greece, or the modern Greece of 1937
when he took the trip that became this book. It is a
deeply felt exploration of Greek history and the Greek
genius combined with the rigorous self-examination of
a man facing his personal and collective past.
Kazantzakis was the greatest of the modern Greek
writers and at least 16 of his books have been
published in English including Zorba the Greek
and The Last Temptation of Christ. This book is
out of print so if you find a copy buy it, and if you
are a publisher, what are you waiting for? |
The Greek Islands by Lawrence
Durrell was published in 1978 and is a very
personal guide that weaves together evocative
descriptions, history and myth, architectural and
archaeological study and personal reminiscence. With
one hundred outstanding photographs, this book is
another classic by Durrell who knew Greece as
well as anyone in history as well as a systematic
exploration of the many islands of the Aegean Sea some
well-known and others more obscure. |
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The Flight of Ikarus: Travels in Greece During A Civil
War by Kevin
Andrews is acknowledged
as one of the great books about Greece by no less an
expert than Patrick Leigh Fermer. The book takes us on
a journey through the Peloponessos during a time of
turmoil and provides one of the most vivid, candid and
memorable pictures of modern Greek peasant life, while
reading like a good novel. Kevin Andrews is one of my
favorite writers. Great companion reading for a trip
through the Peloponessos. |
Athens Alive
is a book of writings about Athens
collected and put together by the late Kevin
Andrews. Beginning with Ovid in 7AD to Ernest
Hemingway in 1923 and into the forties, it also
features Gustav Flaubert, Lord Byron, C.P. Cavafy, and
many others. It is a remarkable tourist's companion to
the city. Finding a copy could be tough though.
Published in Athens in 1979 by Hermes, this needs to
republished either by a Greek company or better still
a University press. If you love Athens you will want
this book. |
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You can contact her by e-mail at matpsy@otenet.gr |
Greek Salad: A Dionysian
Travelogue
by Miles Lambert-Gocs
is a rollicking odyssey
through the Greek islands and mainland with Grecophile
and ex-Athenian wine reporter Lambert-Gocs
whose book The Wines of Greece won awards from
the Wine Guild of the UK and the Angelo Hellenic
League. Exactly the kind of guy I would want to travel
around Greece with, or would any Greek-American who
has seen the movie Sideways and would like to try it
in Greece. This book is the next best thing, a medly
of wit and insight about Greece with local wine and
food as the backdrop. |
Dinner with Persephone: Travels in
Greece
by Patricia Storace
is one of the best travelogues
written in the last ten years about any country.
I say this because all the people I know
who have lived in Greece and have planned to write a
travelogue like Patricia's are all pissed off that she
did it first and all she did was spend a year in
Greece. She is pretty much on the mark throughout the
book and besides the people who were jealous of her
(like me) nobody who has bought this book has been
disappointed, myself included. It is beautifully
written, full of insight into the Greek character
and the country. |
From The Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of
Byzantium by William Dalrymple is a highly
acclaimed travel journal about a trip to Mount Athos
as well as a journey to some visits to Israel and
Egypt, all of which take place in a single summer. In
the spirit of Patrick Leigh Fermer, which means very
readible and at the same time informative and
enlightening the book is a remarkable mixture of
history and travel narrative spiced with anecdotes.
For those men planning to go to Mount Athos this is a
great introduction and for women, this is as close as
you will get to the Holy Mountain. |
Travelers to an Antique Land: The History and
Literature of Travel to Greece
by Robert
Eisner, a professor of
Classics and Comparative Literature at San Diego State
University is a travelogue of the author's journey
through Greece mixed with quotations from other
travelers from the near and distant past. Eisner has
written one of the notable travel books and there is
an immense amount of material crammed into it. A nice
blend of history and travel this book could fit just
as easily in my history section as in travel. |
Traveler's Tales: Greece
is part of a series that as the
name implies excerpts from well-known and some not so
well-known authors who have visited Greece. Among them
is Paul Theroux's modern secrets of the Oracle of
Delphi, an article by Patricia Storace, Lawrence
Durrell, Henry Miller, Nicholas Cage and a bunch of
people I have never heard of, probably because they
are travel writers. But for those who are visiting
Greece or those with no intention of visiting anywhere
but enjoy reading about foreign countries this book
should keep you satisfied. |
What NOT to do in Greece By Elizabeth
Parker is an ALTERNATIVE, humorous guide for the
traveller in Greece. It describes all the pitfalls and
how to avoid them. The cause of misunderstanding for a
foreigner in Greece is not the language, but the lack
of knowledge about the customs, habits and culture of
this wild and unpredictable race of people - the
Greeks. They invented Democracy and the Olympic Games,
so, if you choose to travel there for the sun, the
sea, the cheap booze, the ancient monuments,
historical sites and museums, or to sail the Aegean -
keep this book in your hot hands and you will find
information within these pages which will help to make
your holiday more than just memorable-it will be a
voyage of discovery. Also recommended is her book
Lizzie's Paradise. E-mail the author at
libralizgr@yahoo.co.uk
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Greece Guidebooks.
Though people assume I know everything there is to
know about Greece, well I have to admit I sometimes
cheat a little. For example if someone wants to know
if there is a bus from Kalambaka to Delphi and how
much it costs, I don't normally retain that kind of
info even if I know it. That is when a real guidebook
comes in handy. Though all of them are well researched
the problem with some of them is simply out-dated
information. Chances are though that any information
that is old is in a place that it obscure enough that
nobody bothered to go back to to check it out. Along
with Lonely
Planet I rely on
Frommers for e-mail questions that I can't
answer but
Fodors
and
Rough Guide
are pretty good too. If you like
pictures the Eyewitness Guides are great. Which
guide do I use while in Greece? Usually I wait
until I know what part of Greece I am going to and
then I go to Eleftherodakis Books in Athens and
see which book has the most information on that area.
But any of these books will be helpful whether you are
a first time travelers or this is just one of many
trips. |
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 Don't Miss the Metro! A Guide to the Athens Metro System:
With a
history of the Athens Metro, a how-to guide for the Metro, and
station-by-station outlines, Don't Miss the Metro! allows travelers in
Greece to enjoy Athens and its culture via the city's newly expanded mass
transportation system. 15 ten-minute walking tours feature detailed
walking maps starting at one Metro station and ending at another station.
Each walk includes color photographs, notes of interest, and details
pertaining to the length of the walk and why to take it. Since 1980
the author, Karen Knapp, has planned and supervised study in Greece with her
Greek Studies and Latin students.For information contact jdelony@jfkonlinestudios.com |
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You can order most of these books through Greece In Print by using their form, unless otherwise noted. Some of these books you can get directly from the publisher. You can also find many of these books at Compendium Books in Athens on the intersection of Nikis Street and Nikodimou Street near Syntagma Square |
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Matt's
Pick! Greece Beyond the Guidebooks
Matt's
Pick! Travelers Greece: Memories of an Enchanted Land is
an anthology of travel writing by John Tomkinson of
over 100 visitors to Greece spanning a period of more
than 3 centuries, from the late 16th to the early
20th. From waterspouts in the Ionian sea to vampires
on Mykonos, this book is of interest to anyone
visiting Greece and especially those who love the
history and culture of Greece. From many rare works
now difficult to access, the compiler has extracted a
great variety of writing, and a wide range of
approaches to Greece, from the unashamedly romantic to
the brutally cynical. Not merely a valuable repository
of historical evidence, 'Travellers' Greece' is an
anthology which the non-specialist can read with
pleasure from cover to cover.The book has 608 pages
and 81 illustrations and is great companion reading
during a trip to Greece. E-mail the author at
Rhodes in Modern Times: Don't
let the title fool you. This book was
written by the highly qualified
scholar Cecil Torr in 1887 and is
the first major account of Byzantine
and Medieval Rhodes. The book provides
one of the best histories of the
Knights of Saint John, and the
extraordinary events of the great
seige which led to their expulsion in
1522 by the Turks. It is also a
guidebook that will bring to life the
Rhodes of the nineteenth century.
Lawrence Durrell loved this book and
most likely you will too. 
Matt's
Pick! Culinaria
Greece: Greek Specialties by Marianthi Milona with photos
by Werner Staplefeldt. Yes I know this looks like it
should be with the cookbooks but this book is something special.
It is a combination food-travel-guide and cook-book too big to take
anywhere with you but one you can sit happily traveling through
Greece, learning about what they eat where and why, how they make
it and when. It is the best resource on Greek food around. 
Matt's
Pick! Festive Greece: A Calendar of Tradition
by John L. Tomkinson is a
comprehensive calendar of the folk, religious,
military and commemorative festivals of Greece. It is
the only detailed guide of its kind in print in
English. Included are in-depth studies of many of the
more interesting and exotic manifestations of popular
culture such as the mysterious figures dressed in
animal skins and sheep bells which roam the streets of
Northern greece during the winter and spring carnival
seasons, the many variations on the popular cermonies
of Holy Week and Easter, the fire-walking
Anastenarides , the bull sacrifices of Lesvos, the
annual appearance of the Virgin's serpents in
Kefalonia and much more. From proud military parades
commemorating the trials and victories of the modern
Greek state, to children's spring festivities which
have survived unchanged from ancient times, this
beautifully illustrated guide provides the key to a
more eventful stay in Greece and a better appreciation
of its colorful past. E-mail the author at
Matt's Pick! Athens and Beyond: Day Trips & Weekends By
Diana Farr Louis .
Whether in pursuit of a rumored
revival in the mountains, a riveting fresco hidden in
an Attica church, a new find in the archaeological
sites of the Peloponnese, or even just a very good
island wine, Diana Farr Louis has been taking to the
roads less traveled in Greece for the last forty years
and coming back to Athens with ever more stories,
recipes, and a deep sense of what makes the country
what is today. In this collection Athen's foremost
travel columnist recounts her day trips around the
city and short weekends further afield, bringing
together the history, mythology, cuisine and culture
of each place with the ease of a local, and the eye
for detail of a modern day Pausanias. Athens and
Beyond is divided by region into chapters on Athens
and Attica, the Peloponnese and Central Greece, and
nearby Islands. It also provides practical
information, such as restaurant and hotel
recommendations, phone numbers and museum hours.
Matt's Pick! Travels In Northern Greece by Diana Farr Louis: Greece, a land of evergreen forests,towering mountains, lakes and rivers.
It doesn’t sound like the descriptions in most travel books. But when
last did you venture into the country’s four northern regions – Macedonia,
Thrace, Epirus and Thessaly? Clearly laid out and stunningly
illustrated, this book will take you far from the tourist-filled beaches and
open your eyes to an area of Greece that deserves to be visited by everyone at
least once. Discover Byzantine churches and Turkish mosques; silk towns, fur
towns and even a reborn town; the legendary Mt Olympos and the mystical Meteora;
the crystal-clear rivers of the Zagorohoria and the jagged peaks beyond.
To be used in picking out an individual location, dipped into from time
to time, or simply indulged from cover to cover, this book is indispensable to
anyone who wants to complete their picture of Greece. For ordering information e-mail
Athens 4 Kids: Hundreds of things to do and see in the city and beyond!
Got Kids?.........Get This!!!
There must be hundreds of great places to take your kids in Athens. So
where are they ? This is the question Mark Ritchie has answered in his new
book - Athens 4 Kids. This is the ultimate insider's guide to all the very
best children-friendly places, activities, and events on offer in Athens and
the Attica region. Residents and visitors alike will discover a huge variety of ways in which
to celebrate family life here regardless of the weather, or their available
time or budget. It really does have something for everyone!
The book thinks practically about what parents (aunts, uncles, and
grandparents), and, more specifically, children up to the age of 12 really
need. Each careful selection is described and evaluated, in order to learn
in advance what to expect upon arrival and at which age children might best
appreciate the experience.
The colourful illustrations and simple information-at-a-glance format makes
choosing a venue fun, quick and easy.
Athens 4 Kids is on sale in bookshops, selected stores, and in outlets at
many of the venues that appear in the book. You can also order it directly from the author by e-mailing 
Odyssey Magazine is a wonderful source of info with interesting articles, photos, news, art, culture and more. I love this magazine and get very excited when it comes in the mail. If you are a Greek American it will be like your lifeline home and if you are a traveler you will learn more about
Greece than you thought possible. Many articles on history, the diaspora, well known or up and coming Greek artists, musicians, writers, politicians, and their summer issue is as full of practical information as any of the guidebooks. Great color pictures and excellent graphics. Classy magazine.
On August 2nd 1877, the English explorer and archaeologist James Theodore Bent married an extraordinary Irishwoman, Mabel Virginia Anna Hall-Dare, the second
of the four daughters born to Mr Robert Westley Hall-Dare of Co. Wexford and
Essex. Mabel was 31, Theodore 25, and within a few months they had embarked on
their pattern of annual travels that continued until his early death in 1897.
Their trips began fairly close to home, visiting northern Italy, but by 1883
they were in the Eastern Mediterranean (in modern Greece and Turkey), searching
out the antiquities, landscapes and lifestyles of a region that was to captivate
them for the next fifteen years. Their researches led to a number of highly
regarded monographs, papers and articles (such as Theodore’s 'The Cyclades, or
Life Among the Insular Greeks', 1885, and the many publications of their various
discoveries in locations such as ‘Rugged Cilicia’, the island of Thassos, and
elsewhere) that were to place the couple securely amongst the foremost British
travellers of the latter half of the 19th century.
What if there was a guide to the Acropolis of Athens, specifically written for
children of the upper elementary grades? There is. Now you can prepare your
children for their trip to the Acropolis of Athens, before you get there. Give
them a copy of Let’s
go to the Acropolis, the only workbook
guide available in the English language. Let’s
go to the Acropolis is a quick guide that
answers many questions, and gives meaning to the site. Here the kids can read
all they need to know about the myths and history of the Acropolis. 
Bitter Lemons by
Lawrence Durrell is one of the best of his travel
books. It tells the story of Durrell's effort to
write on the divided island of Cyprus. Intending
to settle down and purchase a house events do not
proceed as he might have hoped. The book
begins as a whimsical story of life on the
island,and becomes a document of the Greek
enosis (or 'freedom') movement on the
island. Highly recommended even if you don't plan
to visit Cyprus. 
Prospero's Cell: A Guide to Landscape and
Manners of the Island of
Corfu
by Lawrence
Durrell is one of
his best books and according to Freya Stark, among
the best books ever written. Depicting country
life and cosmopolitan society of Corfu in the
years before the Second World War, Durrell
chronicles the island and its history in a way
that only a great writer and
humanist can.
Essential reading for anyone
who loves the author of The Alexandria
Quartet. 
Reflections on a Marine Venus is Lawrence
Durrell's second travel book, a companion and
successor to
Prospero's Cell. This book
is about the
two years he spent on the island of Rhodes
and revolves around a handful of colorful
individuals, some apparently fictional and some
very real.
Reflections on a Marine
Venus contains
generous measures of landscape and atmosphere and
a number of chapters on history of the island.
Like Prospero's Cell, essential reading for anyone
who loves the author of The Alexandria
Quartet. 
Greece: A Traveler's Literary Companion is a
collection of stories and articles about Greece,
similar to some of the other collections listed
here with a major difference. These are all Greek
writers who have lived and breathed Greece all
their lives. Featured in this compilation by
Artemis Leontis are stories by
Kazantzakis, Vassilis Vasilikos, Nobel
laureates George Seferis and Odysseus
Elytis, and a number of others who if not well
known to you are all 20th century Greek literary
figures. Good stories reveal as much or more about
a place as a guidebook and this is a great
collection. 
Make Your Journey to Greece an Unforgettable
Experience is a
guidebook by Matina
Psychogeos who is
known for her language courses, her memoirs from
the second World War and her book on the
Olympic Games. The object of the book is to
acquaint the visitor with the history, culture,
the beauty and long tradition of Greece. It
is simply written and laid out in an effort to
make the reader feel comfortable about their
journey to Greece. It features color photos,
practical and historical information and a huge
language section. Matina Psychogeos is a woman who
is passionate about Greece and this comes across
in her books or when you meet her. See her other
books in the language section. One of the only
guidebooks to Greece that is actually written by a
Greek.
Athens: The Collected Traveler is part
of a series by Barrie Kerper published by
Fodors. It is packed with essays about different
aspects of travel, food, culture and many other
aspects of Greece. With articles by famous chefs
and authors Aglaia Kremezi and Diane Kochilas plus
lots of practical information including a whole
page on George the Famous Taxi Driver this book is
an excellent travelers companion and I am not just
saying that because she loves my website and even
thanked me in the acknowledgement page. I am
saying it because this book is the right balance
of practical information and entertaining writing.
If you want a guidebook full of prices, timetables
and hours this is the wrong book. if you want to
know a lot about where you are going buy this
book. Barrie Kerper is an avid reader and traveler
and the author of sevem other Collected Traveler
books including Paris, Southwest France, Morocco,
Provence, Central Italy, Venice and Northern
Spain. 
Salonica:
City of Ghosts by Mark Mazower is
a very readable and informative history of the city of Thessaloniki
which was one of the few places in the world where Jews, Muslims
and Christians lived and worked together in relative harmony under
the Ottomans. Covering 5 centuries from 1430 to 1950 the book follows
the inhabitants of Greece's second city through plagues, war, famine
and the arrival of thousands of refugees from Asia Minor and the
exchange of population. This is a GREAT book and you should buy
it especially if you have roots in Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki may
be one of the most unique and interesting cities in the world and
Mazower has captured it. It should be in my history section but
I did not have a space for it.
