Short Description:

Charmed for decades by the music of Oscar-winning Greek composer Mános Hadjidákis, David Cade explores Athens as news breaks at the end of 2009 that Greece is in serious financial difficulty. After years in the neighbouring Middle East, the author talks to Athenians, examines many of the city's extraordinary attractions, and surveys key aspects of Greece's modern history, its daily life, and its music.

Long Description:

'Athens - The Truth' gets to grips with the modern capital of Greece. Written in an easy and generally non-academic style it offers a widely researched feast of details to satisfy both the armchair traveller and the actual traveller alike, whether the latter be tourists, visitors, students, teachers, or business people. From a rational and secular point of view, the book provides both a thrilling account of what makes Athens tick and a vivid explanation of why Greece is as it is today. Searching for Mános and his music in and around many of the significant places of Athens, the author observes many of the qualities that infuse not only the music of Greece but also many of the behaviours, aspects, and forms of expression that are typical of Athens. The final chapters allow the reader both an appreciation of the Greek psyche and a clear account of the precarious point at which Greece now stands. A thirteen-page index assists the location of specific details.

Contents:

Ch. 1: Introduction;

Ch. 2: Genocide & Rebétika;

Ch. 3: Edge of the East;

Ch. 4: Cháos & Puppets;

Ch. 5: Streets of Dreams;

Ch. 6: Artefacts & Legacies;

Ch. 7: Over the Moon;

Ch. 8: Scents & Sparkle;

Ch. 9: Unexpected Creatures;

Ch. 10: Rules & Rebellion;

Ch. 11: Chasms, Canyons, & Strata;

Ch. 12: Identity;

Ch. 13: Eternal Diónysos;

Ch. 14: Extreme Appearances;

Ch. 15: Refuge & Delirium;

Ch. 16: Undercurrents & Shadows;

Ch. 17: To Démetra & Cátharsis;

Acknowledgements.

Index.

Biography:

David Cade is a writer living in Powys, Wales. He has worked in classical record production, schools, universities, and theatre. He studied Drama, Theatre Arts, and Music at the University of Birmingham and has an MA in Linguistics from the University of London. He has lived in New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, and the Middle East. The music of Greece is one of his greatest passions.