Modern Greece by Thomas Gallant

My love of ancient Greece and our coming trip to that country compelled me to learn more about more recent developments in the history of Greece.  This particular book stood out, as it covers not just the Greek revolution of the 1820s but also the time between Greek independence and the near present day.

What I learned is that, as the inventor of democracy in ancient times, Greece has had a shockingly long-standing, deeply troubled path to stable democracy in the modern era.

It's brave war of independence with the fading Ottoman Empire formed the Greek nation.  But that didn't translate into modernity, democracy, stability or prosperity.  Far from it.

Greece's strategic location in the center of the Mediterranean has long led to engineering from the West that offered a mix of both good and bad.  Financial assistance and investment offers opportunity, but with strings attached that negated complete independence in the modern sense.

It's boundary status on the southern edge of Europe, with troublesome Balkan nations to its north further entangled Greece's development.  The Balkan War that preceded WWI, and the war with Turkey that came after the Great War, saddled Greece with a decade of devastation that slowed its path to modernity.

It's radical political systems throughout much of the 20th century further slowed its progress.  Dalliances with Socialism, autocracy, junta rule and corruption all played a role.

But the Greeks are famously strong and resilient.  As it emergences from its financial crisis that came in the wake of the Great Recession a decade ago, I'm looking forward to visiting once again later this year.