Travel literature: New books to guide you across Greece in 2019

In arecent article, greekcitytimes.com shared the most exciting book releases for 2019, featuring some of the most beautiful photography and wonderful details about the Aegean, which will travel you to Greece as you turn each page. 

The Photographs of Joan Leigh Fermor: Artist and Lover

Presenting the evocative  – and powerfully transportive – images of Greece captured by fiercely independent and visionary artist Joan Leigh Fermor between the 1940s-60s, this book is a feast for the eyes. Although it was her travel-writer husband Patrick or Paddy whose reputation preceded him, the bulk of Joan’s photography, presented at the Benaki Museum earlier this year in an exhibition that drew hundreds upon hundreds of visitors, only came to light  after her death in 2003. The pair were known to be the centre of each other’s worlds while always remaining very true to their individuality, and this comes across in a collection of photos taken while they travelled together, each focusing on their own subjects. In this book, published in May 2018, Ian Collins and Olivia Stewart selected a magnificently varied plethora of images among an archive of 5000 photographs housed in the National Library of Scotland. Architecture, seascapes and landscapes, personal friends and random encounters, monks and farmers are just some of the scenes and individuals that she depicts. Her imagery emerges from an ego-less perspective, offering a sense of her still presence at the scene but essentially capturing the energy of her subject in a palpable yet drama-free way.

 Mykonos

From the moment that Robert A. McCabe set foot in Greece, arriving from New York in 1954 he was enchanted by its light, people, customs, architecture and landscapes. His works have been showcased and published in collections around the world and his themes have included several destinations other than Greece (including The Ramble in Central Park, Deep Freeze! A Photographer’s Antarctic Odyssey and A Weekend in Havana), although as his fans know it is Hellas that captured his imagination more than anywhere else. His most recent collection of images centres on what could be described as the country’s most famous and popular island – Mykonos. Anyone who has been to the Cycladic glamour-hub will be startled to see how much it has changed since McCabe captured its tranquility, simplicity and innocence in the years 1955-57 (mostly for publication in National Geographic). The photographs are accompanied by moving descriptions by the photographer, such as for the photo Summer Smiles, showing two local island girls in a friendly embrace as they look into the camera: “Two young girls (with the healthy glow of the sun, the etesian wind and the sea on their faces) stand at the entrance to the Monastery of Aghios Panteleimon, in Marathi, on July 27, the saint’s feast day. There was only one person we found who remembered these two young girls, but he could not say if they were still alive. It may be that they emigrated long ago – life in a foreign land is also a kind of death.” The book is due to be released in march of 2019.

Greek To Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen

Language-obsessed The New Yorker copy-editor Mary Norris takes us along in her passionate and inquisitive explorations of Greece and it language in this upbeat, poignantly descriptive and culturally exciting book. Having built a passion for the ancient and modern Greek languages over the years, the skilful editor and writer invites us to explore aspects of Greece through her very distinctive perspective. Throughout her entertainingly regaled adventures and experiences of everything from the Baths of Aphrodite and overnight ferries to ouzo and Greek waters she gradually builds up bravado in expressing herself in Greek. Known as the Comma Queen (who wrote ‘Between You and Me’, a New York Times Bestseller centred on her experiences as an editor) Norris discusses Greek mythology, the origins of the alphabet, wine and her often highly entertaining personal experiences in the land of the gods. To be released in April 2019.

 111 Places in Athens That You Shouldn’t Miss

You won’t read about the Acropolis, the Roman Agora or other classic sites as they are described in every other guidebook in this newly released (October 2018) book. As part of the Emons publishing house’s global series of 111 Places books directed at eclectic travellers who seek to see beyond the obvious tourist features of the cities they visit, it presents Athens in a highly refreshing – and often deeply intriguing light. From quirky shops and singular restaurants to unusual statues and a haunted sanatorium, the fully-illustrated book with 111 full-page photographs by Yiannis Varouhakis journeys the reader to places they had never thought imaginable in the Greek capital: a car museum, Europe’s largest botanical garden and a water-lily nursery are just a few of 111. Co-authored by Greek City Times writer/presenter Alexia Amvrazi and two other Athens-connoisseur writers Diane Shugart and Diana Farr Louis this guidebook is a labour of love aimed at both local residents who will be surprised to discover the fascinating tales behind places that lie right under their noses and travellers who are searching for new perspectives on the city’s physical, cultural and social nature from the distant past to the near future.

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