[...] The purpose of this edition is to present in a simple and understandable way the wealth and variety of the Windmills that operated in our area in recent centuries. To highlight their relationship with the social, economic, and cultural life of the people who lived near them. Each Windmill was unique and characterized the place where it was built, as well as the lives of its local inhabitants. Authentic, traditional works of craftsmanship and knowledge that were acquired from generation to generation, over the course of many centuries, and much of which has been lost, as the craftsmen who created them are no longer alive.

Also important is the destruction that has occurred in recent years as the domes of the Windmills have now dissolved, their roofs have collapsed, while few wooden mechanisms have been preserved due to natural decay. Of course, humans themselves have contributed to this by using the stones and woods of the Windmills for new constructions. Each Windmill is presented with illustrations both of its external form and of its internal mechanism. Most of the Windmills in our area resembled the tower-shaped Windmill of the Aegean, and that is why in this edition there are no illustrations of the internal mechanism in all Windmills of this kind. Their selection was based on the diversity of their external form, which varied from place to place, while of course there are also other types of Windmills, such as Tablomylas, Axetrocharides, etc. Additionally, in some Windmills where we do not know the complete grinding process, such as in the Tobacco Mill of Chios, only their external form is depicted. The edition is complemented by Windpumps, which with the power of the air and the rotation of their blades could draw water from the depths of the earth and irrigate crops. Another example of the ingenuity of the folk craftsmen. All illustrations were based on drawings, references from on-site research, as well as interviews with millers provided to us by many scientists and researchers, even those we gleaned from travelers. Thus, each Windmill is complemented with information about its origin, operation, use, construction method, its parts, but also the lives of the people who lived near it. [...]

[from the Introduction of the edition]