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READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Books for

Enrich your travels with reading! Here's a hand-picked list prepared for your journey in conjunction with the book experts at Longitude.

Essential Reading

Item EXGRE170. Buy these 4 items as a set for $65 including shipping, 15% off the retail price.
With free shipping on anything else you order.

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The Colossus of Maroussi

The Colossus of Maroussi

by Henry Miller

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 223 PAGES
  • FAVORITE

Miller captures the spirit and warmth of the resilient Greek people in this inspired tale of a wartime journey from Athens to Crete, Corfu and Delphi with his friend Lawrence Durrell. (GRE05, $12.95)

The Search for Ancient Greece

The Search for Ancient Greece

by Roland Etienne | Francoise Etienne

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 1992
  • PAPER
  • 175 PAGES

Lavishly illustrated, this pocket encyclopedia covers the archaeology and meaning of ancient Greece, quite an accomplishment for such a slim book. (GRE01, $15.95)

Eyewitness Guide Greek Islands

Eyewitness Guide Greek Islands

by Eyewitness Guides

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 408 PAGES

Color photography, excellent local maps and an island-by-island synopsis of attractions make this book the one to carry with you. (GRE37, $28.00)

Greece Map

Greece Map

by Michelin

  • 2011
  • MAP

A colorful shaded map of Greece, the Greek Islands and the western coast of Turkey at a scale of 1:800,000. (GRE24, $11.95)

 
iSpeak Greek Phrasebook

iSpeak Greek Phrasebook


by Jennifer Kellogg | Alex Chapin

  • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 64 PAGES

An MP3 audio disc is bundled with a 16-page phrase book in this innovative language program, where you can see and hear 1,200 phrases on your iPod, iPhone, Zune or other portable device. (GRE370, $12.95)

Pocket Rough Guide Athens

Pocket Rough Guide Athens


by John Fisher

  • GUIDEBOOK
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 176 PAGES

By the savvy editors at Rough Guide, these just-right guides are bundled with a pullout map. (GRE476, $12.99)

The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece

The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece


by Robert Morkot

  • REFERENCE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

This pictorial survey of Greek history, culture and expansion features dozens of full color maps. (GRE125, $18.00)

The Foods of the Greek Islands, Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean

The Foods of the Greek Islands, Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean


by Aglaia Kremezi

  • FOOD
  • 2000
  • HARD COVER
  • 320 PAGES

Kremezi spent eight years collecting the recipes in this cookbook. Filled with lively histories of the islands, cultural asides and stunning photographs, the book is perfect for anyone interested in Greek island life. (GRE120, $40.00)

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter


by Thomas Cahill

  • HISTORY
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 320 PAGES

Cahill sketches ancient Greek society and civilization through the lives and words of politicians, playwrights, a poet, philosopher and artist in this eloquent and absorbing tribute. (GRE182, $16.00)

The Classical World

The Classical World


by Robin Lane Fox

  • HISTORY
  • 2008
  • PAPER
  • 656 PAGES

Fox conjures tyrants, conquerors and enthralling personalities, from Homer to Hadrian, in this marvelously written history of ancient Greece and Rome. (GRE293, $19.99)

The Oxford Illustrated History of Greece and the Hellenistic World

The Oxford Illustrated History of Greece and the Hellenistic World


by John Boardman

  • HISTORY
  • 2001
  • PAPER
  • 446 PAGES

Diverse scholars, including Robin Lane Fox, Peter Levi, Jasper Griffin and Oswyn Murray contribute to this well-illustrated overview of classical Greek history, literature, art, philosophy, architecture, religion, government and daily life. (GRE428, $29.95)

The World of Odysseus

The World of Odysseus


by Moses I. Finley

  • HISTORY
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 205 PAGES

A classic portrait of ancient Greek society based in large part on the author's ground-breaking interpretation of the Iliad and Odyssey. (GRE76, $14.95)

The World of the Ancient Greeks

The World of the Ancient Greeks


by John Camp | Elizabeth Fisher

  • HISTORY
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 224 PAGES

Featuring hundreds of illustrations and inviting short chapters on topics from The First Greeks to The Heroic Age and Classical Athens. With modern color photographs of great ancient cities from Athens and Delphi to Knossos, Ephesus, Pergamum and Priene. (GRE365, $24.95)

Ancient Greece: Art, Architecture, and History

Ancient Greece: Art, Architecture, and History


by Marina Belozerskaya | Kenneth Lapatin

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 144 PAGES

This lively illustrated guide covers the architecture, painting and sculpture of Ancient Greece from the third millennium to the end of the Hellenistic period. With 282 color and 28 black-and-white illustrations. (GRE194, $19.95)

Minoan and Mycenaean Art

Minoan and Mycenaean Art


by Reynold Higgins

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 216 PAGES

A survey of the ancient art of Crete, Mycenae and the Cyclades in its cultural context, revised to include recent archaeology. With maps and 241 illustrations. (GRE61, $19.95)

Panorama of the Classical World

Panorama of the Classical World


by Nigel Spivey

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2011
  • PAPER
  • 368 PAGES

Published by the J. Paul Getty Museum, these richly illustrated and engaging essays cover daily life in Greek, Roman and Etruscan times. (MED180, $29.95)

Sites of Antiquity, From Ancient Egypt to the Fall of Rome

Sites of Antiquity, From Ancient Egypt to the Fall of Rome


by Charles Freeman

  • ARCHAEOLOGY
  • 2009
  • HARD COVER
  • 248 PAGES

Enticing aerial shots, detailed site plans, glorious modern photographs and illustrations illuminate 50 key monuments, cities or sites of the Mediterranean world, from Giza, Luxor and Karnak to the Parthenon, Ephesus, Pergamon, Petra and Constantinople. (MED150, $50.00)

The Parthenon

The Parthenon


by Mary Beard

  • ART & ARCHITECTURE
  • 2010
  • PAPER
  • 204 PAGES

A lively tale of the construction, significance and many uses of the 2,500-year-old marvel. (GRE195, $14.95)

Dinner with Persephone

Dinner with Persephone


by Patricia Storace

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 398 PAGES

The pleasures and complexities of contemporary Greece, marvelously described by an American poet spending a year there. Storace intertwines her own perceptions with the history of the country and the influence of pop culture on the classical landscape. (GRE28, $15.95)

Homer's Mediterranean, A Travel Companion

Homer's Mediterranean, A Travel Companion


by Wolfgang Geisthovel | Anthea Bell

  • TRAVEL NARRATIVE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 224 PAGES

Geisthovel retraces the voyages of the Odyssey and places that may have inspired Homer, traveling through Greece and Turkey, Tunisia, Malta and Italy on a grand circle from Troy to Ithaca. (MED161, $19.95)

A Loeb Classical Library Reader

A Loeb Classical Library Reader


by Loeb Classical Library

  • LITERATURE
  • 2006
  • PAPER
  • 234 PAGES

This pocket companion of lapidary nuggets, spanning 12 centuries and 33 of the world's greatest writers, from Homer to Saint Jerome, includes both original text and facing English translation. (MED148, $9.95)

Greece, A Traveler's Literary Companion

Greece, A Traveler's Literary Companion


by Artemis Leontis

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 288 PAGES

In this terrific anthology, 24 modern Greek writers introduce Greek culture, people and landscapes. (GRE190, $14.95)

Odysseus, A Life

Odysseus, A Life


by Charles Rowan Beye

  • LITERATURE
  • 2005
  • PAPER
  • 197 PAGES

A chronicle of the life of Homer's Odysseus by a classicist with a wry sense of humor. Beye draws on recent scholarship, literature and archaeology in constructing this clever "biography" of the cunning wanderer. (GRE191, $13.95)

The Classical Greek Reader


by Kenneth J. Atchity | Rosemary McKenna

  • ANTHOLOGY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 480 PAGES

A carefully chosen, annotated collection of ancient Greek writings. (GRE58, $24.95)

The Greek and Roman Myths

The Greek and Roman Myths


by Philip Matyszak

  • LITERATURE
  • 2010
  • HARD COVER
  • 224 PAGES

Matyszak places Greek and Roman myths in context by presenting them as part of a narrative that helped shape the classical world view as well as western culture. (GRE464, $24.95)

The Iliad

The Iliad


by Homer | Robert Fagles

  • LITERATURE
  • 2002
  • PAPER
  • 704 PAGES

In the excellent Fagles translation -- here presented in a deluxe paper edition -- Homer's Trojan epic hasn't aged a bit in the last 2,700 years. Take it along to Troy and the Aegean. We also carry Fagles's translation of The Odyssey. (Item no. GRE45, $17.00) (GRE173, $17.00)

The King Must Die

The King Must Die


by Mary Renault

  • LITERATURE
  • 1988
  • PAPER
  • 330 PAGES

A novel of Theseus, slayer of the Minotaur and king of Athens, including his Cretan adventures. The first in Renault's trilogy of well-researched page-turners. (GRE23, $15.00)

The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony

The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony


by Roberto Calasso | Tim Parks

  • LITERATURE
  • 1994
  • PAPER
  • 416 PAGES

A re-telling of the classic myths as filtered through the vivid imagination and intellect of Italian novelist Roberto Calasso (GRE81, $16.95)

The Odyssey

The Odyssey


by Homer | Robert Fagles

  • LITERATURE
  • 1997
  • PAPER
  • 541 PAGES

Translator Robert Fagles captures the poetry and power of The Odyssey in this translation, celebrated for its clarity and expressiveness. (GRE45, $17.00)

The Songs of the Kings

The Songs of the Kings


by Barry Unsworth

  • LITERATURE
  • 2004
  • PAPER
  • 342 PAGES

Unsworth's sly novel, set in 1260 B.C. as scheming Odysseus prepares to plunder Troy. A familiar story enhanced by Unsworth's mix of classic cadence, contemporary language, ripe humor and pulled-from-the-headlines satire. (GRE185, $13.95)

Zorba the Greek

Zorba the Greek


by Nikos Kazantzakis

  • LITERATURE
  • 1996
  • PAPER
  • 311 PAGES

A modern classic. Set in rural Crete in the early 20th-century, this is the most accessible of Kazantzakis' novels. It's a tale of adventure and philosophy that captures the exuberance of the Greek people. (GRE22, $15.00)

Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates

Plant Life in the World's Mediterranean Climates


by Paul Dallman

  • NATURAL HISTORY
  • 1998
  • PAPER
  • 210 PAGES

Richly illustrated, clearly written and engaging, this book is an ecological overview of the landscapes, plants and vegetation types found in Mediterranean climates. (MED21, $35.95)

More Recommendations

Here are some other groups of books that might be of interest

Longitude provides recommended reading for travelers in partnership with the leading tour operators and travel programs for hundreds of destinations worldwide. We've got the classic, new and hard-to-find books and maps to help you get the most out of your adventures.