Customer Reviews

Travelers Tales Greece: True Stories (Travelers' Tales Guides)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I gave this book a 5 star rating based on the fact that the writers really understood and felt what they were writing. This book could not have been written unless you had been to Greece and felt the endless arrays of different emotion. I loved the adjectives used and the pictures that the words evoked. It is a wonderful and easy read for those greekophiles who have all experienced in essense the book. For those who have never been to Greece, it might be cause to go immediately or rethink your trip. This was a fun, easy, and well written armchair travel book. Again, I must stress, it really hits home for those that have been to Greece or love her, it hits the mark more than just an informative factual type of tour book.

I read the 2003 edition of this collection, but given the editors have not changed from other editions, I suspect all of the versions are equally excellent. What I love about this series is the range of true experience you get?the vast majority of them embracing Greece as it is rather than lamenting its corruption by tourists. Having read the DK guide to the Greek Islands and the National Geographic guide to Greece, I wasn?t surprised to find a few stories were of the ?before it was spoiled? variety. However, most of the tales embrace the unique challenges and contrasts of touring Greece?except, perhaps, for the famous Paul Theroux who is, as usual, a cranky, pissed-off traveler (ok?maybe I?m unfair, but I was shocked at the comic novelist becoming a sort of wandering misanthrope in several of his travel books). Even the critical Theroux, however, reports on the sheer visual beauty of Greece. The book shows real people who are still confronting the horrors of war (a close encounter with death, a dead daughter, a murdered mother, a destroyed 500-year religious heritage). We also see the spiritual side of the Greeks, the difficulties caused by a poor economy, the problems of impoverished backpackers, and importance of being flexible in a country of strikes, bizarre official rules, and uncertain transportation. We meet Greeks of all types?the welcoming, the friendly, the hostile, the pious, the predatory, the scammers, the sexist, the insane, and the bossy employer. I was surprised at how many stories featured people working illegally in Greece, sometimes more for the experience of Greek life than for any money. This fact alone shows you the lure of Greece and the lengths people will go to experience life under the Grecian sun.

This book is A MUST-READ if one plans to travel to Greece and gives an interesting look at Greek culture, customes, and beliefs. These true stories are written by a several authors. The stories are short and can be read (or skipped, if one wishes) in any order. My personal favorites include "Teach Me, Zorba", "Yasas!", "The Crones", "Lessons from the Taverna" and many more. I leave for Greece soon with a better knowledge of the people, their history, and the land.