About the book
For those that have sailed, are sailing or dream of sailing the Aegean; this book needs to be in the cockpit” Cliffhanger V; Amazon.com
Author Elizabeth Rakoczy and her husband sail to exotic Greek islands to investigate the lasting influence of Ancient Greece. Stories from ancient, medieval and modern times are enlivened by sailing adventures helped along with a large number of citations, maps and photos. The images in the book are breath-taking, to say the least.
It provides wonderful anecdotes on today's Greece with valuable tips and insights into navigating and negotiating your way around Aegean ports. For this alone it is worth the read. But Elizabeth Rakoczy has achieved much more than this. She has brought Greek history forward into today's world and how that history has influenced and is influencing this world of today. (see more in the blog)
About the book
Why Did I Write?
It has been 20 years since the publication of Wakefield’s fateful paper in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet, suggesting a link between the MMR vaccination and autism (The Lancet, 1998). Although the paper has since been retracted and proven incorrect by the world’s best medical scientists, it has nonetheless had a lasting impact and continues to jeopardise one of the most important achievements in public health – the reduction, or sometimes elimination (in the case of smallpox, polio and measles), of communicable diseases.
To me, the Wakefield paper represents the beginning of the end for rational thinking. In the time since its publication, I have had several heated debates with people who deny the benefits of vaccination, and they always cite this paper to support their views. I have come to realise that not only do they not understand the principles of scientific research, thinking and debate, they also either do not understand rational thinking or, worse, deliberately reject the possibility of changing one’s opinion on the basis of a discussion grounded in fact.
Of course, there are many reasons for this kind of attitude and lack of understanding. However, I suspect that the fact that mine was the last generation of students educated in the ideological tradition of Ancient Greece might have something to do with it. Today’s world is characterised by irrational thinking – consider the spread of fundamentalist religious ideas or the endless unscientific, emotional arguments for and against climate change, vaccination, education and so on, not to mention politics – all now feverishly played out on social media.
Although these debates are inescapable today, to me the roots of these problems were already obvious in the early 2000s, just as my husband and I set off on a series of sailing trips around Greece. With an eye to raising awareness, this book looks at the origins of rational thought, and discusses its continued relevance today, all told through the lens of a light-hearted travel adventure.
About the author
Elizabeth Rakoczy is a Professor of Molecular Ophthalmology (Wikipedia), the recipient of the 2017 CSL Florey Medal (Florey) and the author of 160 scientific papers and several scientific books. She and her husband have sailed the world’s oceans with great enthusiasm and a keen eye for history, charting their travels along the way at http://blog.mailasail.com/fenix. She has two grown-up children, lives in Perth, Western Australia, and continues to sail regularly on the waves of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
About the author
Elizabeth Rakoczy is a Professor of Molecular Ophthalmology (Wikipedia), the recipient of the 2017 CSL Florey Medal (Florey) and the author of 160 scientific papers and several scientific books. She and her husband have sailed the world’s oceans with great enthusiasm and a keen eye for history, charting their travels along the way at http://blog.mailasail.com/fenix. She has two grown-up children, lives in Perth, Western Australia, and continues to sail regularly on the waves of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
What People Are Saying
“Rakoczy’s journey on the yacht is through “space, time and the human mind”. Water-covered parts of space aside, the discovery of several Greek islands and their towns and cities makes equally absorbing reading.”
AMARNALL via BOOKTOPIA
“For those that have sailed, are sailing, or dream of sailing the Aegean; this book needs to be in the cockpit. It provides wonderful anecdotes on today’s Greece with valuable tips and insights into navigating and negotiating your way around Aegean ports."
CLIFFHANGER V. via AMAZON
"Told through a scientist’s outlook on matters pertaining to life, including religion the book explores Greek mythology, history, cuisine, culture and the landscape via a sailing adventure. The images in the book are breath-taking, to say the least.”
EmunahAn via BOOKSHELVES
“For all those with interest in Ancient Greece: sailors or not, or even if without any inkling of the history and achievements of the Hellens; this book is a must.”
ROB WEATHERBURN via CRUISING HELMSMAN
“The author made a perfect synergy of three things; visiting Greek ports, creating an encyclopaedia-like summary of the rich history and culture of Ancient Greece and their connection to our present life.”
ZOLTAN CSEPIGA via AUSTIN MACAULEY
