The Mani, at the heart of Europe&#8217;s southernmost promontory, is one of the remotest, wildest and most isolated regions in Greece. Cut off from the rest of the country by the towering range of the Taygetus and hemmed in by the Aegean and Ionian seas, it is a land where an ancient relationship with the past has remained alive.<br><br>Patrick Leigh Fermor, who has been described as &#8220;a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Graham Greene,&#8221; bridges the genres of adventure story, travel writing and memoir to unfurl &#8220;the green and gold and gently shades&#8221; of an undisturbed landscape. Here, in the book that confirmed his reputation as one of English language&#8217;s finest writers of prose, Patrick Leigh Fermor carries the reader with him on his journeys amongst the Greeks of the mountains, exploring their history and time-honored lore.