Palaiologos, Giannis. The 13th labour of Hercules: inside the Greek crisis. London: Portobello Books, 2014. (300.9495 ΠΑΛ)

“How did a prosperous, seemingly advanced economy in the heart of Europe collapse so precipitously? And why has it proven so hard for it to stand on its feet again? Through a series of compelling stories that have played out from the time before the start of the Great Crisis and well throughout its course, The 13th Labour of Hercules, highlights the social, cultural and political currents that left Greece defenseless when the world’s economic storm reached its shores.   It outlines the pernicious interplay between recession, institutional failure and social disintegration from 2010 onwards.   The book travels from the battlefields of Keratea where, at the beginning of the Great Crisis, a fierce war on garbage disposal was waged, to the public power corporation DEI’s lignite mines in Kozani, up to Mytilini, one of the chief points of entry to Greece for illegal immigrants.  It talks to the protagonists of Simitis’ failed pension plan reform, to leading shipowners on how they view their relationship with the Greek State, to refugees from Syria, and to Athenians who feel beleaguered in their own city.  From all these narratives emerges the image of a country where trust and confidence have been broken, both in the State and among its citizens.  Without reconstruction, any economic recovery will be built on shaky ground and unsound foundations.”

- from the book’s back cover