No comments about Paros Blue Map.

No comments about Mount Athos - An Illustrated Guide to the Monasteries and Their History (Travel Guides).

2 comments about Insight Pocket Guide Aegean Islands Mykonos & Santorini (Insight Pocket Guides).

1. I used this book to plan a honeymoon, and it was very helpful. Because this book focuses on only two islands, you don't get stuck carrying around information on places you don't plan to see. The content is comprehensive and useful. It gives a lot cultural information, which is great, and the where to stay/where to eat information is more detailed than broader Island books.



2. Help! I am heart-broken!! I saw the ad for this book and gushed with joy- as I plan to get married in Santorini and have my honeymoon in Mykonos. I planned on buying this book for my fiance' for a stocking stuffer, only to see it is out of print. Why do you display this book if it is out of print??

No comments about Michelin THE GREEN GUIDE Vienna, 2e.

No comments about Knossos - A Complete Guide to the Palace of Minos.

5 comments about Things of the Hidden God: Journey to the Holy Mountain.

1. Although useful as another account of a pilgrim's journies on the Holy Mountain, I found it a bit disjointed and dull. Others I know have really enjoyed it much more than myself, and the content is factual and at times edifying. I would suggest that readers also read Markides' "The Mountain of Silence" for a better, if not more exotic and spiritual, account of the best that Athos has to offer.



2. Christopher Merrill's writing was a pleasure to read. The flow of the text and the descriptions were obviously those of a talented writer and poet. However, I felt like he presented and weaved together multiple ideas and subjects in a way that did not work for me.
   
   I believe he wanted to show how he experienced spiritual growth through his experience on Mt. Athos. However, so many of his descriptions felt very negative to me and I couldn't see how or why he was growing.
   
   I believe he wanted to condemn the Serbs and to a lesser extent, the Russians for the events that happened in the former Yugoslavia. He already tried to accomplish that in a previous book, and I'm not really sure that it fit very well with the subject of this book. Additionally, most actions by Serbian or Russian monks were portrayed negatively and judged harshly by Mr. Merrill. He makes some pretty severe accusations and jumps to conclusions about their behavior without actually having spoken to many of the monks. I felt as though Mr. Merrill went there with some preconceived notions about what these monks would think of him based upon his previous work, and any action he could regard as a snub he was quick to believe.
   
   I also felt that Mr. Merrill came across as somewhat self-righteous. I don't remember him once having admitted to learning anything from the monks in the process of his travels. Most of his transformation seems to take place through the hardships he overcomes all by himself. The ideas and beliefs of the other monks and of the Orthodox faith are quickly dismissed when they conflict with Mr. Merrill's. I wouldn't expect him to change his views, but to at least recognize that the other side might have something to offer. He was also very selective in presenting the poetry and historical examples he used to suplement his already existing beliefs.
   
   I really hope that the spiritual growth that Mr. Merrill alludes to in the text is genuine and real. Maybe this a beginning step for him and he will be able to in the future recognize the contribution of others. I hope he finds it in his heart to be able to see that the Serbs and Russians are not bad people in the eyes of God, the only eyes that matter. I also pray that he will open his heart to the teachings of the Orthodox Church in a way that will allow him to experience the faith and not to judge.
   
   The comments above are centered mainly around the things in the book that didn't work for me, personally. I do think he was attempting to be honest and was not mean spirited. I get the feeling that Christopher Merrill really wants to transform his life. I hope he continues his efforts and I look forward to reading some more of his fabulous prose. As anyone can see, it is far better than my own.



3. Christopher Merrill's book invoked in me truly mixed feelings. On one hand, it is (probably) the most recent account of a pilgrimage to, and through, the Mount Athos peninsula, therefore a valuable source of information for the aspiring pilgrims (I was really sorry to learn that Athos now has not only electricity but also cars, the worst plague of our times.) The book also contains a large number of solid and useful historical and theological data. On the other hand, though, Merrill is surprisingly conventional (this is to say, cliche) in his opinions about the so-called "anti-semitism" in Christian history, the Serbs as the only bad guys in the breakup of Yugoslavia, and in his unqualified admiration for Western democracy. This is probably the result of his North American upbringing; he himself quotes the words of the Jewish-Russian poet Joseph Brodsky to the effect that Americans have no sense of history or geography.
   
   As for the accuracy of historical information in "Things of the Hidden God", I have spotted only one serious error: Merrill clearly implies that the Jesuits have run the papal inquisition while in fact it was the Dominicans. This is strange as Merrill himself had been employed for several years by a Jesuit college.
   
   Merrill seems to be quite put off by some of the Athos monks treating him as a third-class visitor because of his Protestant affiliations. However, the Orthodox approach their religion in a completely serious manner, and they do not prefer being nice over being principled. This is one of the most valuable features of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, especially in comparison with the modern "cafeteria Catholics" who see nothing absurd in supporting abortion or homosexual "marriages", or with many Protestant churches that function solely as social welfare organizations.
   
   To sum up, Merrill's book is definitely worth reading but much more for its prose and the hard facts then for its take on Orthodoxy.



4. Previous reviews seem to focus solely on Merrill's condemnation of Serb atrocities in Bosnia,and that is a shame, for this is one of the wisest and most learned books I have encountered in many years. Painfully honest and forthright about his dissatisfaction with marriage, vocation, and faith, Merrill is as much pilgrim as poet. He is also a remarkable researcher: the book is filled with the sort of history that takes a narrative sweep, building toward Athos in the late 20th C. There is something in the coalescence of gorgeous prose and spiritual hunger that elevates this book to that of a classic.



5. When I first picked up this book, I have to admit I was turned off by its apparent self-indulgence and what seemed to me like self-righteousness. However, since I am a true Mt. Athos fan, I picked it up angain, and found it to be a wonderful description of the Holy Mount with all its warts and a surprisingly honest spiritual autobiography of a man struggling to find God and himself (and his family). If one reads this as a tourist or traveler's guide, I think one will be disappointed, and may well be confused. However, as an exploration of God and the people who pursue him relentlessly. This is a fascinating read. The photo on the cover is extremely well chosen as an emblem for what the book is about. The book provides a window onto the mountain and into the author's soul and life. And as with any view from a window, you only get a very partial picture of the actual reality.

1 comments about Greece (Insight Guides).

1. I think this is the best travelling guide of Greece I've ever seen! The pictures are brilliant, they really bring out the atmesphere of Greece, i can almost smell the air of kos while watching the pictures.... the text is interesting and easy to read, keep up the good work!

1 comments about Ionian Cruising Companion (Wiley Nautical).

1. The book provides just what you would need to know if you were sailing in the Ionian Sea. Items are up to date. You may want to pair it with a land-based guide if you are more interested in what to do after you find your way into port.

No comments about Michelin Green Guide Greece (Michelin Green Guide: Greece English Edition).

1 comments about St Paul in Greece (In the Footsteps of the Saints Series).

1. I actually found this book in Greece as I was leading of tour along the path of Paul's missionary journeys. As I examined the book I was sorry that I hadn't had access to it before I left on the trip...it provided excellent biblical and cultural insight into each of the places that we visited (Thessaloniki, Philippi, Corinth, Athens, Ephesus). It is the kind of thorough guide that every busy pastor hopes to find that will make his/her work a little bit easier. It is not a lengthy book but the information is sufficient for the background one needs to learn about the places Paul (and we) traveled.