How did a prosperous, seemingly advanced economy in the heart of Europe collapse so precipitously? And why has it proved so hard for it to stand on its feet again? These are the central questions running through The 13th Labour of Hercules: Inside the Greek Crisis, by Yannis Palaiologos. Through a series of compelling stories the book brings to life the social, cultural and political forces that left Greece defenseless when the global economic hurricane came, and the vicious interplay between economic depression, institutional failure and social breakdown since the country's Great Crisis began.

Palaiologos, a feature reporter for Kathimerini newspaper, assembles evidence showing that Greece's real problem is not its busted finances. In fact the problem is that a modern state - in its prime function as arbiter between interest groups, acting for the general good - barely exists in the country.