There are a large selection of guide books to Greece and the Islands on the market today. My preference is for the ‘Rough Guides’ as they are written with a touch of humour (rather like the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy!). If you buy the complete guide to Greece you do not really need to buy the ones for the Islands and Crete as the smaller volumes are only a slightly expanded version of the text from the main guide. And in the case of Crete there are better books available locally. (I hope to be able to offer these soon) Road maps are best bought locally also.
Remember that information in all guide books can be up to two years old, so while the archaeology does not change much, prices given for taxis and hotels can be inaccurate.
In particular information on restaurants is often a problem, even the latest edition of the Rough Guide lists a restaurant that does not exist, and another that I would not recommend to anyone unless I disliked them a lot!
Local knowledge is a lot more reliable, so always ask your hotel owner, and if you find a good restaurant by accident then bring a card back for the hotel to put on the notice board.
There are a myriad books on Greek Art and Archaeology all of them have merit of one sort or another, the selection we have chosen gives a broad picture and are ‘readable’. Included is a book on The Elgin Marbles, although it is best not to mention them too much, especially now the new Acropolis Museum has been completed. The next page also features a book on Greek vases!
