No comments about Fodor's Greek Islands, 1st Edition: With the Best of Athens (Fodor's Gold Guides).

5 comments about The Persian Expedition (Penguin Classics).

1. Xenophon accompanied the Ten Thousand, a large army of Greek mercenaries hired by Cyrus the Younger, who intended to seize the throne of Persia from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Though Cyrus' army was victorious at Cunaxa in Babylon (401 BCE), Cyrus himself was killed in the battle, rendering the victory irrelevant and the expedition a failure. Stranded deep in enemy territory, the Spartan general Clearchus and most of the other Greek generals were subsequently killed or captured by treachery on the part of the Persian satrap (or warlord) Tissaphernes. Xenophon played an instrumental role in encouraging the Greek army of 10,000 to march north to the Black Sea. Now abandoned in the middle of the hostile Anatolian plateau, without communications and supplies other than what they could obtain by force as they went, the 10,000 had to fight their way northward, making ad hoc decisions as to their destiny. Ultimately this "marching republic" managed to reach the shores of the Black Sea, which meant home for most of the soldiers.
   
   I sometimes find reading ancient literature somewhat difficult, but Xenophon (as translated by Rex Warner) was fairly straight forward and easy to understand. The political infighting doesn't seem to have changed much in 2400 years, and I think that a few executions for disciplines' sake may not be out of order now-a-days. It is also a grand adventure and very interesting travelogue of Ancient Near East, with descriptions of some of the tribes from the former Hittite empire. A definite classic that those with an interest needs to read.



2. This was an entertaining glimpse into the capabilities of a Greek mercenary army. The army starts by fighting its way through enemy territory (Persia) to get back home. Once they do arrive home, the army is perceived as a threat by their own people due to the fact that they are a large, well trained and very experienced standing army with no employer. So Xenophon tells the tale of this Army and its ups and downs as they try and find their niche in the ancient world.
   
   If you are like me and AGI (Ancient Greece Ingnorant), I recommend reading through the introduction quickly or not at all before you start the book. Turn back to it and read it more in depth as you proceed through the book. I was unfamiliar with the goings-on of ancient Greece before I started the book so much of the subject matter in the introduction confused me. When I read the introduction again after I completed the book I understood it much better.
   
   **I do not have a lot of knowledge on the subjest of ancient Greece nor have I read extensively any literature prior to this pertaining to the time period other than The Illiad and The Oddysey. My grammer sucks too**



3. I went into this with great anticipation. I'm a huge fan of Steven Pressfield's military historical fiction, and thought that Xenophon was likely an influence on Pressfield's writing. The results held up well, although with a minor drawback.
   
   The story stumbles a little in the beginning through the march into Persia. There are maybe one or two too many asides too early on. but soon Xenophon finds his narrative footing and the books relentless battles and skirmishes begin to grip the reader. This initial pace is my only real qualm, and it is minor. On to the good!
   
   One way in which the book excels is in it's portrayal of an army travelling through exotic locales and cultures (from a Greek's point of view as it would seem at the time). I had heard ahead of time that Xenophon had the politically incorrect perspective of a 'civilized' man who was touring 'barbarian' lands. While there is certainly some of that slant, I found it not nearly as prejudiced as noted. Xenophon seems, for his time, to be fairly open to foreign ideas, and judges men on their conduct and honor, not what country they happen to be from.
   
   While the battles are done well enough, what makes this book timeless and an essential look into the philisophy of the ancient world is it's portrayal of what it means to keep your honor and dignity, and never compromise your values no matter how dire your situation looks. This is where Xenophon as his own protagonist in the story works so effectively (a somewhat unconventional style; third person of his own life). He is a man of straight moral bearings, which is essential to liking what is, basically, a group of marauders who don't hesitate to enslave women and children if they can sell them at market for some bushels of barley.
   
   Xenophon, through council of his fellow warriors, as well as his diplomatic skills with foreign powers, displays what is fundamentally the supreme virtues Greek Philosophy idealized. Being an Athenian, who spent a lot of time with Spartans, Xenophon displays the words and action representing the best of both cities, as well as additional ethics he picks up on from other leaders such as Noble Prince Cyrus.
   
   That is not to say that Xenophon is historically representing himself as he always acted, but this is mostly irrelevant. What has echoed through in his writing from antiquity is that THIS is what he believed every leader should aspire to behave as, both to honor his peers, and to also do honor to himself and his house. And it is just as true today. Live by a moral code in all you do, and everything else is up to the Fates.
   
   As a final note, to anyone reading the edition with the George Cawkell introduction, I advise that you skip it until after reading the story. Cawkell seems to me, a man of backhanded compliments to Xenophon. In fact most of his intro consists of borderline character assassinations on Xeno. Some of it may be true about his inaccuracies in geography and a few events to which we have other historians' versions, but a note to take it with a grain of salt is sufficient, not a full-on devalue of the work as a whole. He has many interesting things to say about the times it portrays, but I think he forgets that his job is ONLY to do this, not sneak in his own criticisms to people before they even get to the first page of the book to form their own impressions objectively.



4. I bought the book because I had to read it for one of my classes. But I was pleasantly surprised. Xenophon provides an interesting Greek perspective on the Persian Empire. And while the writing is a bit boring to read in places, overall it is a page turner. (if you enjoy reading history that is)
   
   I would recommend this for anyone interested in the ancient world. But be warned, it is a translation of ancient writing, so it reads accordingly.



5. Rex Warner's is a pretty sleepy translation, albeit an important, early effort (from 1950). Compare the following passage (on the first page) from Warner...
   
   "But, after the death of Darius, when Artaxerxes was established on the throne, Tissaphernes maligned Cyrus to his brother and accused him of plotting against him. Artaxerxes believed the story and arrested Cyrus with the intention of putting him to death: but his mother by her entreaties secured his life and his recall to his province. Still, after the danger and disgrace from which he had escaped, Cyrus took measures to ensure that he should never again be in his brother's power; instead, if he could manage it, he would become king in his brother's place."
   
   ... with WHD Rouse's translation (1959). Rouse drives home the point much faster:
   
   "But when Dareios died and Artaxerxes succeeded, Tissaphernes slandered Cyros to his brother and said he was plotting against him. The king believed him, and siezed Cyros to put him to death, but his mother begged him off and sent him back to his province. When Cyros got clear of this danger and disgrace, he determined never again to be in his brother's power, but to make himself king instead, if he could."
   
   Now if only Stanley Lombardo would put the Anabasis on his to-do list. He had an incredible touch with the Iliad.

3 comments about A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey.

1. I have led 10 study tours to Turkey and Greece (University students and adult learners). I like this book so much that all the participants bring it along. Group members then read about the sites we will vist the night before and with the information supplied by F&R they are primed and well prepared for the next day.
   
   The book is oriented toward biblical sites and the commentary and maps are very very helpful (I believe the best summary available). But for important non-biblical sites, such at Aspendos, Didyma, Troy (in Turkey) and Delphi, Olympia, Mycenae (in Greece) the book has little or no information. Also, travelers will want to consult other guide books, I like the Neos set, for important/essential non-biblical information on the countries of Turkey and Greece-classical matters, religion, politics, daily life, etc.
   
   Finally, F&R is also useful for University classes in New Testament studies as it provides numerous insights to places mentioned there.



2. This guide to the biblical sites in Greece and Turkey is the product of many long travels (more than 10,000 miles just in Turkey alone) and first hand visits to the sites it covers. It is written in prose that is easy to read, has a helpful glossary of archeological and cultural terms not commonly used in daily life(such as agora, chiton, or megaron), an index, maps, charts, and lots of photographs taken by the authors. It gives information on the location of the site in question (e.g., "The site of ancient Pergamum is scattered in and around the modern town of Bergama"), its history ("According to the geographer Strabo, the earliest inhabitants of Ephesus were a group of peoples called Leleges and Carians,"), its biblical significance ("Derbe was one of the cities visited by Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary journey,"), and a step by step coverage of what a site visit is like (so that it pays to have the book open as you are walking through a place like Sardis, for example).
   
   For the sites covered, the authors get very high marks. Their book is as good as it gets.
   
   However, there are gaps in their coverage, especially in eastern Turkey. Time and again I found myself frustrated while traveling through eastern Turkey as I wanted to read about the biblical sites I was seeing and all I found was...nothing. No coverage is given to Mt. Ararat nor any space taken to talk about the different theories about where Noah's Ark might have landed (or the modern search for it - a real growth industry). No coverage is given to the Tigris River, the Euphrates River, or to discussion about the importance of the land between the rivers: Mesopotamia. (The Garden of Eden has always been associated with this region, not to mention much of the great action in the Old Testament.) Carchemish is not covered (either historically or biblically) and Harran is only mentioned long enough to say it won't be covered in the book. These places didn't even show up on the otherwise thorough map the authors made of prominant biblical sites in Turkey: the eastern part of their map is notable for its lacunae. I also found it curious that no bibliography was included in the book. Moreover, several names that appear in bold print in the text (presumably in bold print because they were significant people) fail to show up in the index (e.g., Alyattes, Amyntas, Androclus). It should also be noted that their attempts to describe some of the museums they went to resulted in errors (e.g., they got their rooms mixed up in describing the Antalya Museum and will confuse the reader if they try to use this guide while touring the museum).
   
   In short, this is an excellent book with some disappointing lacunae in coverage. If you plan to tour the biblical sites of both Greece and Turkey, by all means buy this book: you won't be disappointed. If you plan to tour only western Turkey (where most tour companies work) then certainly this book will meet your needs. If you plan to tour any part of eastern Turkey, however, I do not recommend this book. Instead, I recommend Everett C. Blake and Anna G. Edmonds' book "Biblical Sites in Turkey". This book gives fine coverage of all the western Turkey sites while also covering the eastern Turkey sites not covered in Fant & Reddish's book. Moreover, it discusses The Seven Churches of Revelation (which oddly doesn't receive formal coverage or even appear in a chart in the appendix of Fant & Reddish's book), it covers many sites important for church history not covered in Fant & Reddish's book (Urfa (Edessa), Van, Mesopotamia, Istanbul, Gordion, Nicea, etc.), has color photos, suggested tours, a bibliography, is 184 pages long, and was last updated in 2005. To sum, go with the Fant & Reddish book for Greece and western Turkey and the Blake & Edmonds' book for eastern Turkey.



3. This little volume adds information helpful to traveller without unneccessary detail. It is as complete as any other guide as I have seen and more complete than most.
   
   Anyone seeking up to date and ancient information to help understand the "Biblical World" will find this a valuable resource.

5 comments about Frommer's Greek Islands (Frommer's Complete).

1. I went traveling in Greece 2 years ago and found other travel books to lack info on the Greek Islands and had to struggle my way through the islands. As I am planning to return this summer, I have found this book to be a good reference to prepare, and one that I will bring with me. When most of us think of Greece, the Greek Isles are the place most of us invision. This book gave me a good reference as to where to go, where to stay and what there was to do. I would reccommend this book to others.



2. Unfortunately this book lacks much of the detail and thoroughness that some other guides to the Greek Islands offer (such as the Eyewitness travel guide). Although the major islands are covered in some detail, this book almost entirely ignores a lot of other islands, even some that are quite large. This is a real disappointment because the true wonder of the Greek Island experience is that you can travel to all kinds of places, some very small but no less significant. A good travel guide for the Greek Islands therefore needs to include just as much detail about these less-visited islands as it does about the more well-traveled ones. This book also lacks a lot of the photograps that other books include, which I think is important because the Greek Islands are so diverse. It really does help to see pictures of the islands to help you decide which ones to visit. If you're planning a trip to the Greek Islands you can do much better than this book for a travel guide.



3. The principal difference between this book and "Frommer's Greece" is that this one covers the option of selecting a cruise of the islands, and that section is very good. So, if a major concern is choosing a cruise line (or ship) for your Greek vacation, take a look at this guide. Otherwise, "Frommer's Greece" covers all the mainland (and all the islands) for the same price. Frommer's stands out for clear writing, logical indexing, and especially for running the gamut from budget tourism to the more affluent. His starred system with comments for value or attractiveness to family is understandable with good common sense. Studying Frommer's helps me make the decisions I personally want to make. It will save you many times the price of the book and make your stay much more enjoyable.
   
   Reviewed by David Lundberg, author of Olympic Wandering: Time Travel Through Greece



4. I thought this book would give me additional info about the Greek Islands but it only repeated what was in the Frommer's Greece book,with a few extra inconsequential chapters. You really only need one or the other.



5. Frommer's Greek Islands is just what I was looking for! The section I found most helpful was the appendix in the back of the book that gives info on Greece in depth which briefly lists the Gods & Goddesses, language, useful words & phrases, as well as some menu terms. Even though the book is very light weight I plan on cutting out that section out of the book and keeping it in my pocket for shore excursions on the Islands. I have used Frommer's books in the past with the most recent being Rome. I live in New York and keep a copy of Frommer's New York for foreign travelers who visit me and want to head out on their own. I also found alot of info. in Eyewitness Travel Guides "The Greek Islands" it has glossy color photos, and is a good guide but way too heavy to pack let alone carry on a tour!

5 comments about The Rough Guide to Greece 12 (Rough Guide Travel Guides).

1. If you like self-depreciating English humor, you'll like the Rough guide to Greece. This book is densely packed with informative and interpretive pages. Not like the Fodor's, etc. which are mostly pretty pictures and ads disguised as recommendations. Even the most biting commentary turned out to be true. I consider this book to have been crucial to a very sucessful vacation/tour.



2. A terrific guide to both the Greek mainland and the islands. Spent several months trawling around the country, at first with several guide books, Fodors, Rough Guide, Lonely Planet, etc., but finally found that the Rough Guide knew the country best, and made for a more entertaining travel companion, so I ditched the other books about three weeks into the trip. Absolutely the only book for Greece if you (a) like good food and nightlife and (b) have a serious interest in the cultural context of Ancient Greece. Plus their commentary on modern Greek history was very helpful, must admit I didn't know much about it until I arrived.

   You can't go wrong with this book.




3. Most of my friends often recommend the Lonely Planet books, especially for those of us who can't mortgage our homes for one-night stays in hotels listed by Frommer's and Fodor's guides. But I went with Rough Guide for my trip last summer to Greece, and while some of the maps weren't as detailed as they could might have been, most of the recommendations were spot on.

   Many nightspots get renovated; names get changed, etc. That's something the editors can't really help with. But any restaurant or bar I went to (listed in the guide) was above-average, if not better than they claimed.

   The historical data was also well-balanced; so you're not bored to tears with it, and yet it's detailed enough to keep you reading through it. Bonus marks for the great inclusion of the Greek music coverage (flawed, but excellent), and the price of the book is decent.




4. We just came back from a 3 weeks, modest-budget, partly backpacking, partly car-rental trip around Rhodes, Crete, and Peloponnese. We deliberately stayed off the beaten tracks as much as possible. We used this guide along with French "Guide du Routard" and Michelin guides. I picked this guide against the Lonely Planet one based on an excellent experience with the Corsica rough guide last year.

   This Rough Guide was above all very practical -- it simply is amazingly detailed, and what's more, it's mostly right. The rooms , hotels, and restaurants suggested were spot on. Very few outdated entries.

   This guide also includes much relevant background info on Greek history, politics, food, an so on. This made for a much more interesting trip.

   The paper was very thin yet high quality, making this guide even more worth its space in my pack.

   This is definitely not the guide for organized tours -- the authors make no secret of their disdain for package tourism and the spoiling it often brings. But, for the independent traveller, this is the best guide I have found in English or French.




5. This review compares the Lonely Plantet Greece (4th Edition) with the Rough Guide Greece (8th edition). We spent 2.5 weeks in July, 2001 in Greece, our first visit, and these were our guide books.
   A relucant 4 stars to each, and a slight preference for RG. We certainly found the books serviceable, and they gave us good ideas of where in Greece we wanted to go. But they were much less valuable in their listings for individual destinations. They were the least valuable compared to the other LP and RG travel books we've used (Portugal, Italy, Thailand, Tokyo).

   As usual, they both overstate their hotel rankings which to me make sense only if you've been sleeping out on the beach from necessity, and now have finally scraped some money together for a room. An exagerration, but I've lost patience with gushing praise for facilities which are usually no better than serviceable and sometimes less than that. And, we're not into spending money on fancy accommodations. Occassionaly the books are on the money, but often not.

   On the smaller islands RG usually had more accommodation listings, but occassionally LP did. There were at least two instances when LP had none, just saying that rooms were available.

   The ferry schedules in the books, pretty much consistent between them, bore little relation to reality, even though we were there in the high season.

   I want to complete with my usual gripe about these and other guide books: we don't know which restaurants and hotels were actually visited by the writers (and by which one) and when. To paraphrase from my review of RG Portugal:

   LP is out front in saying that its reviewers do not stay at all the hotels or eat at all the restaurants they list. I would like it if the reviews would be initialized by the reviewers with the date. This would allow us to learn each reviewer's tastes and standards, not to mention seeing which places they actually visited.

   One LP writer (not I think an author of this book) in discussing restaurants wrote: "As one of those LP writers I can tell you that it is not physically possible to eat even a 'little bit of a meal' in each of those restaurants :-) What we all tend to do is eat at a broad cross-section within the norms of natural eating times and visit the other restaurants and talk to the owner or even the diners if it can be done discretely. In the same vein we don't sleep at every hotel!"

   Talk to the owners for your evaluation! Says it all.

5 comments about Birds, Beasts, and Relatives.

1. I eagerly read this after "My Family and Other Animals" (which I had enjoyed immensely). It contains stories which were omitted from "My Family" and while the offerings were still magical and wonderfully well-written and sometimes hilarious (especially the story about the turtle), it lacked the memorability of its predecessor. There was also no real structure in the order of the stories, this is more of a miscellaneous collection.



2. Gerald Durrell is the younger brother of Lawrence Durrell. The island of Corfu lies off of the Albanian and Greek coastlines. The family settled there to escape the deary English weather.
   
   Gerald's mother fought a losing battle with the Greek language. The family members became familiar with all of the peasants in the region. Gerald had a tutor named George who was an adept of fencing and an adult scientist friend named Theodore.

   Gerald visited the rock pools while his sister swam. Margo's sun bathing bothered a church functionary, a monk. Gerald sought permission to follow a fisherman, to accompany him in his boat when he fished at night. The fisherman used a trident to catch scorpios.

   There was a myrtle forest near the family's house. Gerald received a rich dark brown donkey for his birthday. The donkey was used by Gerald to transport things. Larry brought home friends, artists and writers, and brought home an artist who could play the accordian, Sven.

   Theordore had told a countess that Gerald, who was a fairly young boy at the time, was a naturalist and had a number of pets. The countess offered to give him a white owl who had an injured wing. Gerald went to fetch it and to meet her on his donkey.

   He wanted to add baby hedgehogs to his menagerie. When he went away for a weekend his sister overfed them and they died. The book is joyous and colorful. The snippets above are used to give the reader a sense of what to expect.




3. The books arrived in perfect condition and in very good time. I am completely satisfied.



4. This is another wonderful books of Gerald Durrell's memories of his time on the island of Corfu prior to the Second World War. He takes us back to another time and place before the world changed for good.
   
   Each chapter is a separate story and rememberence of those days when as a young man he marvels at not only the natural world around him, but also the various people he encounters and learns to appreciate. It is easy to get lost in one of these stories and feel like you are there with him on a hot summer day with his faithful dogs tagging along beside him.
   
   I recommend this book to anyone who not only loves nature, but also can appreciate a time gone by when people were different and even strangers were looked as guests. This book is one that I intend to read again and again in the coming years and will appreciate the stories just much each time as the first time.



5. I have been a huge fan of Gerald Durrell's books since childhood, especially the ones that his family features in, predominantly. This is the follow up to My Family and Other Animals and it is just as much fun!
   Highly recommended.

5 comments about From the Holy Mountain: A Journey among the Christians of the Middle East.

1. A journey of six months starting from Holy Mountain Athos in Greece, ending at Kharga in the middle of desert in upper Egypt, passing through Istanbul, Antioch (Antakya), Urfa, Diyarbakir, Mardin, Midyat in Turkey; Hassake, Aleppo, Seidnaya, Serjilla, Al-Barra, Damascus in Syria; Beirut, Baalbeck, Bsharre in Lebanon; West Bank, Jarusalem, Nazareth in Palestine; Alexandria, Cairo, Asyut, Kharga in Egypt.. These are the lands where three big religions emerged and spreaded. And, these were the lands where civilisations rised and declined one after another.
   
   Dalyrimple's narrative is a lamentation to the extinction of multi-ethnic, multi-cultural Middle East. Author's ability to combine history with today's facts, to narrate with the knowledge and beautiful language of history and literature makes this book a feast of reading.
   
   Moschos' Spiritual Meadow was about the decline of Byzantium, this book is about the extinction of what is left from Eastern Christianity and Ottoman multiculturalism.



2. Yes! My title nabbed from the Amazon reviewer. Dalrymple's journey through the middle east, retraces the Byzantine traveller-monlk, John Moschos, author of, The Spiritual Meadow'. In the late C6th, accompanied by his pupil, he set to gather the wisdom of the desert fathers from Mt Athos, to Kurdisatan, then south through Syria, the Lebanon, Palestine, and on up the Nile. Dalrymple's trip in the early 90s was frought with tensions which today would cause an angel trepidation. The book was a revelation to me, filling in considerable gaps about the foundation and correlations of so many parties in the fermenting region. Muslim fundamentlists provide stiff opposition to Dalrymple's historical and current enquiries. But they are not unique in this. His evocation of place is crisply poetic and touched with memorable detail. His feel for people is very sympathetic. A work justly applauded.



3. A trip through the Middle-East is most of all getting to know the Muslim world. The part of its' history from Byzantine times, meaning the presence and history of Christian settlements, is easily forgotten or at least figures in the background only. After having read this book the Middle-East will never be the same to me again. With the exception of the Armenian genocide, I was hardly aware of all tragedies which happened but most of all: which are today still happening to the very old Christian communities of these countries. Not only are they in permanent danger of being killed, often with no punishment of the perpetrators from the authorities, and have they already been driven out of places where they lived since a 1500 years, also their ancient buildings, art, manuscripts, possessions of huge historic meaning, are being destroyed. As these communities and their material heritage represent much of the roots of Western civilization, this loss is a huge loss for the history of mankind. What's going on is a complete annihilation of the wonderful mosaic of different civilizations this world once produced. As since many years but now more than ever the Middle-East is the focus of world politics, "From the Holy Mountain" should be read by a much wider group of people than lovers of good travelogues or lovers of these countries only. A most important and readable study, implicating a plea for tolerance and respect, it should be a must-read for all politicians in the world.



4. This fascinating book recounts Dalrymple's 1994 reenactment of the 6th century Christian spiritual journey of John Moschos and Sophronios and is compellingly written. There, however, the value of this book ends.
   
   The author's six months of travel through Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Egypt did not provide an accurate portrayal of the plight of Middle Eastern Christians, who everywhere in the Muslim world are attacked without reason, maimed, and massacred, a situation that unfortunately also reflects Islamic early history.
   
   Dalrymple retraced the steps of Sophronios, yet neglected anywhere in his homage to that self same monk to recount the learned man's graphic descriptions of the murderous initial Muslim conquest of Israel.
   
   For the record, Sophronios had reported the massacres of 4,000 Jewish, Christian and Samaritan peasants in the 634 sack and devastation of the Gaza region--up to Cesarea. But the Jerusalem patriarch noted that Jerusalem, Gaza, Jaffa, Cesarea, Nablus and Beth Shean were isolated and forced to close their gates, according to the Islamic scholar Bat Ye'or. Indeed, the traditional Christmas pilgrimage from Jerusalem to Bethlehem was impossible in 634, Sophronios wrote, as the Muslim conquerors effectively imprisoned Christians in Jerusalem.
   
   Surprisingly, Dalrymple also omitted Sophronios' description of the Christians' bondage---not "by tangible bonds, but chained and nailed by fear of the Saracens," whose "savage, barbarous and bloody sword" kept them locked in, Sophronios writes. He further described the Muslims as "beastly and barbarous...filled with every diabolical savagery," and likened the state of the Christians to that of Adam expelled from Paradise, and their sorrows paralleled his sorrows, according to Dr. Andrew Bostom.
   
   Sophronios depicts the conquests from 632 to 637 as "very violent as well as decisive." In a synodal encyclical addressed to Patriarch Sergios of Constantinople, Bostom reports, Sophronios lamented the Arab conquest as "furious and brutal," "godless and impious" and its perpetrators as "villainous and God-hating Saracens," who in 637 left a train of destruction behind them, along with the abandoned human bodies devoured by the wild birds of region's deserts.
   
   Dalrymple ignores all this history---despite his supposed reverence for Sophronios. And he also inexplicably sympathizes with current-day Muslim warlords who drove Lebanon's Christian majority from their homes. Indeed, he blames the Christians as the cause of their own suffering. Dalrymple wrongly calls Christians, particularly Lebanese Maronites, to account for "intransigence, their unapologetic Christian supremacism, their contempt for their Muslim neighbors, and their point-blank refusal to share Lebanon...."
   
   Wherever possible, Dalrymple also blames the current plight of Middle Eastern Christians on the Israel. He expresses outright hatred for Israelis who helped those victims--and continue to offer safe haven to other oppressed Middle Eastern religious minorities and homosexuals. One gets more honest perspectives from Middle Eastern Christians like journalist Brigitte Gabriel, Prof. Habib C. Malik, Prof. Walid Phares, Walid Shoebat, Anis Shorresh and Pakistani Christian Patrick Sookhdeo.
   
   The largest error of this book is the author's failure to recognize a key problem of Middle East Christians---one that the late, martyred Lebanese president Bashir Gemayel identified as their dhimmitude--their undue submission to Muslims, according to Islamic scholar Bat Ye'or.
   
   Distressingly, Dalrymple also finds endless fault with the residence--however rightful under international law--of Israelis and Jewish people in areas on the West Bank of the Jordan River. He wants them removed, period. That's Unchristian--especially given the peaceful and legal presence of more than 1 million Arab citizens in Israel.
   
   Dalrymple unquestioningly accepts Muslim Arab determination to evict all Jews and Christians from a Palestinian state, if ever one is created.
   
   I don't understand how a Christian writer, ostensibly sympathetic with Christians, could be so hostile to Christian, Jewish and other victims of Muslim radicalism, and so unaccountably empathetic with their oppressors.
   
   This book is a real disappointment.
   
   --Alyssa A. Lappen



5. As a seminary student, I had been exposed to many of the groups Dalrymple visited during his journey. Though we treated them largely as doctrinal heretics and schismatics, they were lifeless groups and sects in the pages of our medieval church history text books. "From the Holy Mountain" brought those people to life in ways that I had not experienced before.
   
   In addition to the narratives that draw you in, the author's keen eye for details and his ability to weave multiple threads together make you *feel* this book rather than read it. I came away feeling almost as if I had made the journey myself, and what more can we ask for from a book like this?

2 comments about Greek: Lonely Planet Phrasebook.

1. We are getting married in Greece next summer and this phrasebook has helped me remember so many of the Greek words & phrases that I will need to know. I already know how to speak & read Greek, but this is an excellent refresher. It is a small book that you can take with you everywhere. Definitely recommended.



2. This is certainly an incomplete book but, if you bought it as I did for a few Greek words or phrases, it's well worth it. It does give you a flavor for the Greek language too and you might notice trends in the speech. Organization doesn't seem to be its strong point so it's hard to find things in but, even if you find only a few things, it's done something. The book makes absolutely no pretension to teaching you the Greek language.

1 comments about Greek Island Hopping 2008: "The Island Hopper's Bible" (Greek Island Hopping).

1. This was the book I threw in my purse every morning and I took a cruise through the Greek Islands. I'd highly recommend it to anyone going to one or all. For me, the most important feature was that it detailed every island that we stopped at, including a port in Turkey - something the Frommer's and Eyewitness Travel books didn't do - and included a street map of at least the main town on island. Although I did not use the ferry guides, they appeared to be very thorough and easy to use. In addition to the islands, the book also details Athens, the port at Piraeus, and several other ports along the Aegean Sea.

4 comments about No-Man's Lands: One Man's Odyssey Through The Odyssey.

1. Back in 2001 author and radio commentator Scott Huler swore that he would never read James Joyce's "Ulysses" after a number of failed efforts to do so. Inevitably, soon afterwards Huler found himself a member of a reading group focused on reading "Ulysses". And Huler found himself thinking more and more about Homer's "Odyssey", the fountain from which "Ulysses" sprang. He determined to re-read "The Odyssey", but then found to his chagrin that he could not "re-read" it because he had never actually read it in the first place, beyond a junior high school exposure to the book which -- like most such high school exposures to the great classics -- was much more an exercise in escaping reading "The Odyssey". So, as a mature adult Huler began genuinely reading the epic poem and became entranced by it, to the point that he decided to undertake a journey to follow Odysseus's path across the Mediterranean and seek to better understand the places experienced and the lessons learned by the ancient Greek hero, "the man of twists and turns." These are lessons applicable to everyday life, it would seem -- not that Huler ever adopts a didactic (or even overtly "inspiring") tone. Rather, "No-Man's Lands" is pleasantly rambling.
   
   "No-man's Lands" is Huler's tale of his journey, as much of a journey through his heart and mind as through the Mediterranean. It is good-natured and thoughtful. And along the way, the reader learns with Huler much about the real soul of "The Odyssey".



2. At age 44, having finally read James Joyce's Ulysses (which he had vowed never to do), Scott Huler immerses himself in Homer's epic tale, The Odyssey, and embarks on an adventurous six-month pilgrimage to retrace Odysseus's return from the Trojan war to Penelope and Telemachus, his wife and son, in Ithaca.
   
   When Polyphemus the Cyclops demands to know Odysseus' identity, Odysseus replies, "My name is No-man." Later, when the Cyclops cries out, "No-man is killing me!" his fellow Cyclopes think he is not in any trouble. Hence the book's title, and Huler's determination to boldly go where No-man has gone before.
   
   Along the way, we encounter the Lotus-eaters, the Cyclopes, the Laestrygonians, the witch Circe, the kingdom of the dead, the island of the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the cattle of the sun, and enjoy many other episodes.
   
   Whether The Odyssey is historical/geographical or a mythological tale imagined by a poet ("The poets always lie," said Plato), cannot be ascertained. However, Huler quotes many ancient Greek and Roman writers--Thucydides, Strabo, Herodotus, Ovid, Pausanias, Polybius--who provide a plausible itinerary for Odysseus's travels.
   
   Reading Huler's travelogue/memoir is a sheer delight! Filled with self-deprecating humor, No-Man's Lands provides numerous chuckles and laughs. The book is more than slapstick humor, however. The author's critical analyses reveal an impressive knowledge of Homeric questions, and his sensitive judgments takes the answers he learns and sagely applies to our own lives and world.



3. A very interesting book. Scott Huler does a very good job of blending an ancient tale of travel and adventure with his own personal wanderings around Southern Europe. Scott's obsession with "The Odyssey" becomes the reader's obsession too. - Ray Charlton



4. Exceptional. Read this with one eye on Homer's version and the other on Huler's. An epic journey all comes together.