Compiled by, and copyright,  Stelios Jackson 2001-2004

Throughout this site, please click on the title, for further details. Publishers' prices change regularly, and the latest details can be found on our secure server.

Five fabulous new books to the "Great Island":

This is not only a fabulous book, it's a veritable tribute to the wonderful world that is Crete's annual floral riot. Superbly taken photos and authoratative text make this the bible for all those interested in the flowers of Crete. It's amazingly cheap too. Honest it is. £47.00 may not, on the face of it, seem cheap, but I would not have been surprised if this book had come out at 5 times this price. Furthermore, before Christmas, quote "Stelios Jackson" in the "message" box - provided on our secure server, and we'll send it for £3.00 (ordinary cost £8.00). For foreign orders (and for those willing to brave the harsh climate of London NW5, by entertaing the outrageous idea of coming into the shop!), the cost of the book is reduced to £43.00, but the postage will be massive! In any of the cases, above, please quote "Stelios Jackson", as a reference.Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you!

An absolutely wonderful new(ish) book, set on Crete, and telling the true-story of one man's struggle to fly. 'Falling for Icarus: A Journey Among the Cretans' by Rory MacLean. Click on the book, to read Stelios Jackson's review

'Crete: Women, History, Books and Places', by Susanna Hoe. An extremely important work, concentrating on the role played by women, both individual and generic,, throughout the history of the island. paperback

This is the next review I shall be writing for west-crete.com, come the new year, and shall be linked as soon as it's on-line. SJ

'Perilous Commitments: Britain's Involvement in Greece and Crete, 1940-1941'. Hardback. A superb new book, tracing the British connection during the early part of WWII in Greece and Crete. The first part shows the efforts made to keep Greece 'on-side' in 1940-1941; the second part follows the Cretan campaign. This is and extremely intelligently written book drawing from contemporary sources and subsequent books on this amazing series of events. Why, for instance, did the facist nation that was Greece, join the allies, rather than the Axis nations in 1940? What possessed Mussolini to invade Greece in the late Autumn of 1940, with the weather worsening and his ill-equipped troops sent back in the direction from whence they came in a very short period of time. If you have read Beevor's equally masterful 'Crete, the battle and resistance' and wish to learn more about that battle and the events leading up to it, this is the book for you. Absolutely excellent. Stelios Jackson.

'Uncommon Dominion' Venetian Crete and the Myth of Ethnic Purity', by Sally McKee.

From the publisher's website:

  From 1211 until its loss to the Ottomans in 1669, the Greek island we know as Crete was the Venetian colony of Candia. Ruled by a paid civil service fully accountable to the Venetian Senate, Candia was distinct from nearly every other colony of the medieval period for the unprecedented degree to which the colonial power was involved in its governance.  Yet, for Sally McKee, the importance of the Cretan colony only begins with the anomalous manner of the Venetian state's rule. Uncommon Dominion tells the story of Venetian Crete, the home of two recognizably distinct ethnic communities, the Latins and the Greeks. The application of Venetian law to the colony made it possible for the colonial power to create and maintain a fiction of ethnic distinctness. The Greeks were subordinate to the Latins economically, politically, and juridically, yet within a century of Venetian colonization, the ethnic differences between Latin and Greek Cretans in daily material life were significantly blurred. Members of the groups intermarried, many of them learned each other's language, and some even chose to worship by the rites of the other's church. Holding up ample evidence of acculturation and miscegenation by the colony's inhabitants, McKee uncovers the colonial forces that promoted the persistence of ethnic labeling despite the lack of any clear demarcation between the two predominant communities. As McKee argues, the concept of ethnic identity was largely determined by gender, religion, and social status, especially by the Latin and Greek elites in their complex and frequently antagonistic social relationships. Drawing expertly from notarial and court records, as well as legislative and literary sources, Uncommon Dominion offers a unique study of ethnicity in the medieval and early modern periods. Students and scholars in medieval, colonial, and postcolonial studies will find much of use in studying this remarkable colonial experiment.  Sally McKee is Associate Professor of History at the University of California, Davis.

The main idea of this subdivision of the Hellenic Bookservice's site is to create a medium for the premier love of my life;  the island of Crete, Greece's largest island and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean.  I first visited the "Great Island" with my Grandfather (another "Stelios") when I was 14, back in 1977. Since then I have visited Crete in some capacity or other, every two years and hope to continue doing this for many years to come. There are many better sites than this on Crete and a few of my favourites are listed under   their individual "Nomos" (area) whilst others can be found by clicking on the button. Where I hope this site will help you is in the dissection into areas of the museums and sites within their respective nomoi (areas), the inclusion of some of the books that are available from the and links which are in no way dictated by financial considerations, i.e. I do not get paid in any form for their inclusion, damnit!

Walking

You can follow the story of my walk from Kato Zakros to Kissamos on "Interkriti". Below is the map, showing my route, from East to West. Chapters one to four are now on-line, just click the map to enter; the current contents is below the map, if you'd like to view an independent chapter.

Currently on Line:

     1)  Acknowledgements, Preface, The Planning and Arrival (E4 I go)

     2) The Pre-walk: Velonado-Soughia(!):
      - Part One: Velonado- Kato Rodakino Includes: History Boxes Numbers One and Two : 'Ill Met by Moonlight' and 'Frangocastello: A Bit of History'.
      - Part Two: Kato Rodakino - Chora Sphakion
      - Part Three: Chora Sphakion - Aghia Roumelli Includes: History Box Number Three: 'Xan Fieldings' 'The Stronghold''
      - Part Four: Aghia Roumelli to Soughia. Includes: History Box Number Four 'An Outline of Chania' by Tony Fennymore

     3) Four days of Rest: Soughia to Kato Zakros by Car:
      - Part One: Soughia and Chania   Includes: Rex types his mind! "Didn’t we have a wonderful time the day we went to Soughia?"
      - Part Two: To Kato Zakros

     4) Kato Zakros to Chandras Includes: History Box Number Five: 'The Palace of Zakros'

     5) To Chrisopigi, to Chrisopigi...to Chrisopigi

     6) Chrisopigi to Vasiliki  Links to History Box Number Six 'John Devitt Stringfellow Pendlebury'

     7) Vasiliki to Selakano Includes: Rex types his mind, again! "This Hrissopigi went to market!"

     8) Selakano to Aghios Georgios Includes: History Box Number Seven: 'The Lassithi Plateau'

    9) Aghios Georgios to Archanes Includes: History Box Number Eight: "All Cretans are Liars"

   10) Archanes to Ano Asites Includes: History Box Number Nine: 'The Sites of of Archanes'

   11) Ano Asites to Fourfouras Includes: History Box Number Ten: 'The Sites of Phaistos, Aghia Triadha and Gortys'

   12) Fourfouras to Spili

   13) Spili to Aghia Roumelli

   14) Aghia Roumelli to Soughia (again!)

Throughout the four regions of Crete, I have included information from GN Patrakis' book (which at present we do not stock) on the E4 route. The route, which runs all the way across Crete and is divided into 40 numbered stages with No 1 being the furthest West and No 40 being furthest East at Kato Zakros (not Zaros). Some of the information is not as correct as it should be, however this is a very useful site and was compiled by  George Antonakakis

Literature

Some great  literature can be found here by clicking on the links to Adam  Czarnowski's poetry or Lars Magnusson's  superb travel reminiscings found here . You may wish to print these out and if you do it would be advisable to right click on your mouse and choose "open link in new window" so that you lose the "top menu", above.

My Guide to Crete

I have also written a very short travel guide with links to places to stay which can be found  by clicking the map above,  in the nomos (area) of your choice; my pottered "history" of the island  is designed to show the diverse influences that have made the Cretans what they are today which is among the warmest and proudest people that can be found on the planet. Have fun. SJ

    Cooking for Crete/The Preveli Project.

As well as the books listed below this is a direct link into "Cooking for Crete", compiled by Judy Adams, with ALL proceeds going towards The Preveli Project. You can order this book securely with a credit card by clicking on the picture.

Search for a Cretan title   Click on the link to search our current database of Cretan titles.

Or click on a subject area below

In these pages I have tried to make various aspects of Crete as accessible as possible. On the top menu you'll find all sorts of links to the various pages contained herein and to other sites which I can personally vouch for. There is no advertising on this site, only useful addresses.

There is a picture of me in my days of "Shakespeare typing!" here