If you cannot get hold of the books below before your
journey, don't worry, there are a few newsagents in Chania and Rethymnon
that have a good selection of books (and maps) about Crete. They
also stock various Greek editions of books and maps which might be
difficult to find in other countries.
For more information on anything to do with Greek books
and books about Greece, go to the web site of the Hellenic
Bookservice, a specialist bookshop in London. If you can't find
it there (or at least get information) you won't anywhere else!
Guidebooks
My knowledge of guide books on Crete in English has
been quite limited until recently because whenever I needed a guide
book I relied on Eberhard Fohrer's "Kreta" guide (in German
only), by far the most comprehensive Crete guidebook in any language
(700 pages in small text).
If you read German this is IT. I tried to convince the publisher and the author
to publish an English translation but they are selling so well in Germany that
they don't want the extra hassle of doing so. Pity.
And if you don't read German? There are also some good guides in English, some
of those are shown below.
|
 
|
Blue
Guide Crete (7th edn) is
the perfect companion if you are interested in the rich history
of the island.
|
 
|
Crete
(Lonely Planet Regional Guides) has
a very comprehensive general information section with over 100 pages
of advice and information. The rest of the book is divided into 4
geographical sections and I found those pretty good too, with good
maps and a wealth of information. Of course, in a book presenting
Crete in around 250 pages there is a limit to the depth of information.
|
|
Western
Crete (Landscapes) by
Jonnie Godfrey and Elizabeth Karslake (Sunflower Books) has very
little of the information dealt with in Lonely Planet's "Crete" and
concentrates instead on tours (by car) and walks (around 30 of them)
in West Crete. The descriptions are accurate, the photos are very
nice. Great book if you want to walk. They also have Landscapes
of Eastern Crete (Sunflower Landscapes
in the same series.
|
|
Crete:
The White Mountains (Cicerone International Walking) by
Loraine Wilson is a must for anyone planning
to walk in the White Mountains. This book contains far more information
on walks in and around the White Mountains than all the other
books put together. Some walks are not covered, such as the gorges
of Tripiti, Klados and Eligas or the mountain route from Omalos
to Agia Roumeli and I find that it is the responsible thing to
do as they are too difficult (to walk and to describe accurately).
You will find most of the rest.
On the minus point, it is not really for the uninitiated and it lacks detailed
maps.
|
|
Crete
West: Rother Walking Guide by
Gert Hirner / Jakob Murböck
is an excellent guide offering
50 walks in West Crete. The descriptions are accurate and easy to
follow, small maps are included.
|
|
The Golden Step: A Walk Through the Heart of Crete (Armchair Traveller) by Christopher Somerville is not strictly a guide book but the author's (literary) description of his walk across Crete on the E4 long distance path. An excellent book destined to become a classic.. Read an in-depth review here. |
|
The
Making of the Cretan Landscape by
Oliver Rackham and Jennifer Moody (Manchester University Press,
ISBN 0 7190 3647 X) is an absolute must if you want to know more
about the landscape of the Cretan archipelago in all its extent
and how it was formed in the past millennia not only by natural
causes but also human influences. Both authors have studied many
aspects of Crete and the surrounding islands, like the trees
and plants, people and the settlements, the buildings, the animals,
shepherding, etc. They reveal a different vision of the history
and the present of Crete, compared to what can be found in most
books.
They also have a web site about their studies at http://sphakia.classics.ox.ac.uk/
|
|
Field guide to the geology of Crete by Charalambos
Fassoulas Editions University of Crete - Geological and Paleontological Department
of the Museum of National History of Crete
Throughout the ages, like all the Greek islands, Crete
has suffered many geological catastrophes and upheavals, even in
the near past when humans were already living on Crete. Not many
easylly understandable books have been published on the geology of
Crete. Of course many scientific publications reveal the near geological
past of Crete, as well as the many tectonical cataclysmes and the
geological evolution of Crete in the prehistory.
This book is a very interesting attempt to open
the eyes of people for the geological phenomena that are present
everywhere on Crete. It points the interested reader towards many
geological places of interest in 7 short trips covering the whole
island.
The book also contains a glossary with explanations of
many scientific geological expressions.
Field guide to the geology of Crete is a real
must for readers that are interested in more than only the Cretan
sun and the smell of suntan oil. It is an interesting addition to
"The Making of the Cretan Landscape" by Rackham and Moody.
You can find the book for sale in good bookshops on
Crete. |
|
|
|
Flowers
of Crete John
Fielding & Nicholas Turland - Kew
Editions is THE book you MUST HAVE if you like flowers.
It's too heavy to carry around with you though. It may seem expensive
at first sight but once you hold this book in your hands, you will
realize that it is amazing value for money.
|
Literature
Nikos Kazantzakis is THE writer who comes to mind when
one speaks of modern Greek literature. Born in Heraklion in 1883.
His best books (set in Crete) are: |
 
|
Zorba
the Greek (Faber Fiction Classics) published
in Greek in 1946 as 'Vios kai politia tou Alexi Zormpa'. The
unnamed narrator is a scholarly, introspective writer who opens
a coal mine on the fertile island of Crete. He is gradually drawn
out of his ascetic shell by an elderly employee named Zorba,
an ebullient man who revels in the social pleasures of eating,
drinking, and dancing. The narrator's re-entry into a life of
experience is completed when his new-found lover, the village
widow, is ritually murdered by a jealous mob.
|
 
|
Freedom
and Death a
superb book, set in the period of the Turkish occupation.
|
 
|
Christ
Recrucified -
also known as The
Greek Passion - is the story of a Greek
village under Turkish domination and how the lives of the villagers
are changed - some to tragedy, some to self-fulfilment - by the roles
they play in the annual drama of the Passion of Christ.
|
History |
|
The
Cretan Runner: His Story of the German Occupation by
George Psychoundakis, Patrick Leigh Fermor (Translator)
An account of the Resistance in Crete during the German occupation in World War
II, written by an active participant. Psychoundakis was part of a group of Cretans
who tried to keep up morale and endangered themselves by acting as intermediaries
between groups of British on the island. |
|
Crete:
The Battle and the Resistance by
Antony Beevor
This book recounts the fall of Greece, the invasion of Crete by the Germans and
the Resistance. The book is based on interviews with both the Allies and the
Germans who took part. It gives insights into the invasion from the air and
explains how Ultra intelligence played a key role. It also reveals how General
Freyberg actually misinterpreted German coded messages to devastating effects. |
|
Ill
Met by Moonlight (Cassell Military Paperbacks) by
Stanley Moss
This is a classic account by one of the officers who took part in one
of the great escapades of WWII. In 1943 W. Stanley Moss and Patrick
Leigh-Fermor, both serving with Special Forces in the Middle East,
decided on a plan to kidnap General Kreipe, Commander of the Sevastopol
Division in Crete, and bring him back to Allied occupied Cairo. This
is the story of their adventures, working with a fearsome band of partisans,
as they daringly capture the General in an ambush and struggle to evade
pursuing German troops in the mountainous Cretan landscape to reach
their rendezvous for evacuation to safety.
|
|
A History of Crete by Theocharis Detorakis
A history of Crete up to and including the battle of Crete in 1941. A little
weak on Minoan history this book is, however, excellent for all the intervening
years including Roman, Arab, Venetian and Turkish Rule, autonomy and unification
with Greece in 1913.
Published in Heraklion ISBN 9602207124 and can be found in good Cretan bookshops
|
 
|
The
Aerial Atlas of Ancient Crete is
a superb book depicting Crete archaeological sites viewed from the
air. See more here
|
 
|
Plain
of Phaistos: Cycles of Social Complexity in the Mesara Region
of Crete (Monumenta Archaeologica (Univ of Calif-La, Inst of Archaeology)) See
more here
|
