A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF GREECE

While the title indicates the pictorial aspects of this useful book, a reading of the text emphasizes the importance of its factual content, with focus on the legacy of Greek culture almost overbalancing the historical data. Actually, Greek history comes full circle: the first quarter follows the story of classical Greece, the foundation of the democratic principle, the extension of influence. Then come centuries when Turkish overlordship muted the East, when in the late 18th century a new vitality provided an infusion of Greek culture, when new forces for political action stirred. Greek culture had placed its mark indelibly on most of the known world; now Greece again emerged. A host of current questions find answers here: the Cyprus problem: the reigning monarchy; the independence of Albania; the status of Rhodes and Crete; and the imbalance of Greece's political situation; her agriculture, her industry. The 1000 illustrations are drawn in large part from Greek art, architecture and sculpture; there are decorative drawings, and almost every page, and certainly every section is illustrated. Too many names, too intensive a concentration of facts on facts militates against this for casual reading but for reference it should be a valuable, quickly available tool.