Sicily with Montenegro, Croatia, Albania & Greece   |   READING AND TRAVEL GUIDE

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Essential Books These 5 items are available for $92, including
U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXMED637)		  
City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas  •  Roger Crowley
HISTORY •  2012 •  HARD COVER  • 400 PAGES
Tracing the full arc of the Venetian imperial saga, City of Fortune is framed by two of the great collisions of world history: the ill-fated Fourth Crusade, which culminated in the sacking of Constantinople and the carve-up of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, and the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499-1503, which saw the Ottoman Turks supplant the Venetians as the preeminent naval power in the Mediterranean. In between were three centuries of Venetian maritime dominance -- years of plunder and plague, conquest and piracy -- during which a tiny city of lagoon dwellers grew into the richest place on earth. Well-traveled in the Mediterranean, Crowley is also the author of 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World. (MED185, $32.00)		   City of Fortune, How Venice Ruled the Seas
The Balkans, A Short History  •  Mark Mazower
HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 188 PAGES
A brief, provocative survey of the complex and often contentious history of the Balkans. With eloquence and insight, Mazower addresses the issues of geography, nationalism and modern nation-building in the region. (BLK28, $13.95)		   The Balkans, A Short History
On Persephone's Island  •  Mary Taylor Simeti
TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1986 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES
A richly detailed and personal portrait of Sicily by an American writer who settled on the island with her Sicilian husband in 1962 and stayed for 20 years. Strong on the delights of rural life, her book takes the form of a yearlong journal, capturing the spirit of the people and land. It provides a deep understanding of daily life and traditions -- an excellent antidote to persistent myths of mafiosos and backwards peasants. (ITL03, $14.95)		   On Persephone's Island
Blue Guide Sicily  •  Ellen Grady
GUIDEBOOK •  2012 •  PAPER  • 500 PAGES • COMING IN AUGUST
A comprehensive guide to the ancient history and culture of Sicily featuring good maps and site plans of archaeological sites throughout the island. The author, based in Sicily, includes select recommendations for where to stay and eat. Seventh Edition. (ITL125, $26.95)		   Blue Guide Sicily
Mediterranean Explorer  •  Ocean Explorer Maps
2006 •  MAP
A full color map of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to the Black Sea, featuring historical information on ancient sites and historic ports. With color photographs, a timeline, short biographies and other information of interest. Designed and published by intrepid expedition leader and editor Nigel Sitwell. Graham Speake, editor of The Penguin Dictionary of Ancient History, provides the historical information. (MED89, $11.95)		   Mediterranean Explorer



Also Recommended

Guide to Greece, Central Greece Vol. 1  •  Pausanias  •  Peter Levi   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A sprightly translation of Pausanias's comprehensive guide to the tombs, museums and sites in Central Greece during the height of Roman rule in the 2nd Century. (GRE165, $20.00)
 		  
Lonely Planet Western Balkans  •  Lonely Planet   • GUIDEBOOK  •  A compact, practical guide to the region from Slovenia and Croatia, to Bosnia & Hercegovina, Serbia & Montenegro, Macedonia and Albania. (BLK84, $24.99)
 		  
Pocket Rough Guide Athens  •  John Fisher   • GUIDEBOOK  •  By the savvy editors at Rough Guide, these just-right guides are bundled with a pullout map. (GRE476, $12.99)
 		  
A Taste of Croatia  •  Karen Evenden   • FOOD  •  This engaging memoir of a three-year sailing odyssey includes 100 enticing recipes. (BLK130, $19.95)
 		  
A Short History of Byzantium  •  John Julius Norwich   • HISTORY  •  A richly detailed and evocative history of the tumultuous span of the great empire from the fourth century to the 15th, brimming with intrigue, skullduggery, palace revolution and other treachery. (TKY18, $19.00)
 		  
A Traveller's History of Athens  •  Richard Stoneman   • HISTORY  •  A brief history of Athens through the 1990's -- wide-ranging, accessible and effectively condensed. With a useful chronology and historical gazetteer, this book marches confidently through the centuries. (GRE291, $14.95)
 		  
A Traveller's History of Croatia  •  Benjamin Curtis   • HISTORY  •  Curtis untangles with alacrity the complex history of this nation at the crossroads of Europe. (BLK155, $14.95)
 		  
Dubrovnik, A History  •  Robin Harris   • HISTORY  •  Harris, a journalist who writes frequently on the Balkans, presents a comprehensive portrait of the historically important maritime city-state in this nicely illustrated, scholarly and readable history of Dubrovnik. (BLK56, $26.95)
 		  
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Why the Greeks Matter  •  Thomas Cahill   • HISTORY  •  Cahill brings to life 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)
 		  
Sicily, An Illustrated History  •  Joseph Privitera   • HISTORY  •  Privitera covers the scope of Sicily and its diverse civilizations in lively prose and well-chosen illustrations in this succinct history. (ITA158, $12.95)
 		  
The Middle Sea  •  John Julius Norwich   • HISTORY  •  A marvelous writer who has already tackled Byzantium, the Normans in Sicily and Venice, Norwich spins his magic in this story of culture, trade and politics, royalty and rulers, wars and religion in the Mediterranean. (MED98, $21.00)
 		  
The Orthodox Church  •  Kallistos Ware   • RELIGION  •  A comprehensive, clear overview of the origins, historical development and practice of Eastern Christianity by a British scholar and Archbishop. With chapters on Byzantium, conversion of the Slavs, the Church under Islam and the contemporary Orthodox world. (GEN261, $17.00)
 		  
Art of the Byzantine Era  •  David Talbot Rice   • ART & ARCHITECTURE  •  Wide-ranging and literate, this thoroughly illustrated introduction to Byzantine art is an indispensable classic. (TKY22, $21.95)
 		  
The Oracle, Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets  •  William J. Broad   • ARCHAEOLOGY  •  A gripping modern-day detective story about the scientific quest to understand the Oracle of Delphi. (GRE329, $16.00)
 		  
Balkan Ghosts, A Journey through History  •  Robert D. Kaplan   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  Kaplan interweaves the history, art and culture of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece with his travels in this portrait of the region. (BLK02, $17.00)
 		  
How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed  •  Slavenka Drakulic   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  These short essays capture the absurdity, struggle and day-to-day reality of being a woman in Yugoslavia under Communism. Drakulic is a Croatian journalist, novelist and contributing editor at The Nation. (BLK38, $15.99)
 		  
Midnight in Sicily, On Art, Food, History, Travel and La Cosa Nostra  •  Peter Robb   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE • FAVORITE  •  Combining interviews, research and essays on Sicilian history and culture, this vivid report by journalist Peter Robb is a superb introduction to Italy's glorious, corrupt and troubled south. (ITL74, $18.00)
 		  
The Colossus of Maroussi  •  Henry Miller   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 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 Way of Herodotus, Travels with the Man Who Invented History  •  Justin Marozzi   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE  •  A Penguin Classics edition of The Histories in hand, Marozzi journeys from Herodotus' home town of Heliacarnassus, now known as Bodrum, to Baghdad, Babylon, Egypt and Athens, weaving tales of his hero with erudite and entertaining modern travel. (MED138, $16.95)
 		  
Broken April  •  Ismail Kadare   • LITERATURE  •  In this best-known novel by the contemporary Albanian writer, a bereaved mountaineer and a young anthropologist couple both wrestle with the age-old traditions of the high plateau. (BLK70, $14.95)
 		  
Montenegro, A Novel  •  Starling Lawrence   • LITERATURE  •  Steeped in atmosphere, this compelling tale of intrigue set in turn-of-the-century Montenegro evokes the tangled politics of the region -- Muslim, Turk and British. Lawrence follows the adventures of a reluctant British spy, Harwell Auberon, from the Adriatic to mountain villages, capturing the essence of the people and the land. (BLK08, $14.99)
 		  
The Bridge on the Drina  •  Ivo Andric  •  Lovette F. Edwards   • LITERATURE  •  These linked stories by the Nobel-prize winning author capture the history and complexity of Christian and Muslim relations during Ottoman occupation. Hewn of stone, the bridge dividing the town of Visegrad was Andric's inspiration. (BLK59, $15.00)
 		  
The Leopard  •  Giuseppe Di Lampedusa   • LITERATURE • FAVORITE  •  Evoking a lost world of privilege and tradition, Giuseppe Di Lampedusa's memorable tale, set on a rural Sicilian estate during the days of independence, follows the world-weary Don Fabrizio, Prince of Salina. A classic, now in a 50th anniversary edition. (ITL11, $16.00)
 		  
The Shape of Water  •  Andrea Camilleri   • MYSTERY  •  The first of Camilleri's wildly popular Inspector Montalbano mysteries, nicely translated and shot through (pun intended) with not just memorable characters but also with Sicilian lore and politics. If you like the series, it continues in 12 more installments -- and counting. (ITL528, $14.00)
 		  
 
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