1. Born to Rebel: The Life of Harriet Boyd Hawes - Mary Allsebrook
This captivating biography is of a woman who is still a bit ahead of her time a hundred years later - Harriet Boyd Hawes. She is arguably the first American woman archaeologist, and the first woman archaeologist anywhere to discover and singlehandedly excavate an ancient city - that of Minoan Gournia on the island of Crete, which she called her "Cretan Pompeii". She fits this in between an active and brave nursing career, an early "tabloid" romance, and the raising of a family. I was initially put off by the fact the book is written by her daughter and illustrated by her granddaughter, and feared an adoring whitewash, but the resulting biography is beautifully written, unflinching, and proves Harriet's genes are still going strong.
2. Crete on the Half Shell
HarperPerennial
Especially fun for foodies, author and chef Byron Ayanoglu (whom you may have seen on the Greek episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations") shares his adventures in opening a new restaurant just outside of Plakias, Crete. He maintains a breezy style even in the face of repeated disasters, and it is an excellent antidote to any "I think I'll move to Greece and open a taverna!" thoughts you may be having during your trip to Greece.
3. A Traveller's History of Greece
Interlink Publishing
This useful guide is compellingly written. If you're history-minded at all, it quickly becomes a beloved companion on a trip to Greece and is worth the room in your luggage.
4. Will You take Me As I Am? Joni Mitchell's Blue Period
Copyright Simon & Schuster; used by permission
Most avid Joni Mitchell fans know that she spent a formative period of time on the Greek island of Crete which influenced her ensuing album, "Blue". While the material on her time in Greece is a bit skimpy, those who find Mitchell compelling will enjoy this biography which includes some new insights from new interviews with the songwriter herself.
5. Harlot's Sauce - A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece
This engaging and brave book by Patricia Volonakis Davis is a quick read and a great preparation in some ways for Greece. The Italian-American narrator ended up falling in more lasting love with Greece more than with her Greek husband, and her insights are entertaining as well as sobering.
6. The Way of Herodotus: Travels with the Man Who Invented History - Justin Marozzi
Justin Marozzi follows in the symbolic and actual footsteps of one of the earliest travel writers of them all - the Greek Herodotus. Herodotus by himself is an excellent read for the plane, but Marozzi's account adds an entirely new dimension. He is an equally able guide to the modern vicissitudes of pilgrimage and travel over a landscape that has both changed and stayed the same depending on which eye is open when you look at it. His own adventures are even more fascinating than his mentor's, and between the two of them, that long flight will fly by.
7. Decoding the Heavens - Jo Marchant
This beautiful book will appeal to those who enjoyed "Longitude" and similar books on the devices that sped geographic exploration. It's a novel-like account of the Antikythera Mechanism, that mysterious bit of bronze gearing that was found by the small Greek island of Antikythera. As compelling as a detective story, it also includes a good bit of Greek lore and ancient maritime history.
8. Crete - Women, History, Books & Places Susanna Hoe
Don't let the dense title put you off. It's part of the "Women and Islands" series which is much more evocative of this dreamy, fascinating book. Hoe delves into the women of the island, ancient and modern, from queens and courtesans to archaeologists and freedom-fighters. It's designed as a pilgrimage guide to the key places mentioned in the book, and the intrepid traveler who follows the sample routes will find themselves in many unusual and worthwhile places. It's highly readable, hard to put down, and made a 10-hour flight evaporate for me. It can be hard to find but well worth the search.
9. Candoo!
For complete escapism, this sweet, silly story in the form of a play tells of an American oilman who buys the Acropolis and its mineral rights is oddly prescient - it was written before the Greeks were being told to consider selling off islands and other national treasures, and prior to the discovery of potential natural gas or oil reserves south of Crete. Can love conquer both oil and the gods? By James Guiher.
