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Title: The History of Eastern Europe for Beginners (Writers and Readers) by Paul Beck, Edward Mast, Perry Tapper, Ed Mast ISBN: 0-86316-237-1 Publisher: Writers & Readers Pub. Date: October, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3 (5 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: If you liked Stalin, you'll LOVE "History of Eastern Europe"
Comment: While the book was helpful in learning basic geography of eastern Europe and had many humorous comments, I had a hard time getting past the blatant sympathy for communism. The section on the Soviet Union, for example, described the "widespread discontent" brought about by Stalin's collectivization of agriculture. A cartoon showed a sad farmer wearing a barrel with little straps. There was no mention of the tens of millions who died as a result of the intentional destruction of their seed grain, nor any mention of the purges or slave labor camps. The authors implied that while communism was "unpopular", capitalism produces "unemployment, homelessness and destitution".
America was described as an empire exactly analagous to the Soviet Union and it's puppet states.
The authors did concede that Joe Stalin had corrupted the idealistic dream of Marx and Lenin.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Good Basic Overview of the Balkans
Comment: OK, I know this isn't the most in-depth and accurate book on Eastern Europe (nobody claimed it was textbook level), but it is a good overview for someone who is interested in the basics. I was given a copy due to my job (all I can say is I work for the government), and I found many interesting tidbits in it that I didn't know. I have traveled and lived throughout the region, and wish I had found this book years ago as it would be helpful for those not familiar with its history. And please don't criticize any events or issues that may have been left out, all written history has its shortcomings and inaccuracies! Overall, this book does a grand job and showing how Eastern Europe got to its present state!
Rating: 3
Summary: Lots of info, sometimes confusing, some glaring omissions
Comment: The history of eastern Europe is extremely confusing. Some pieces of land have changed hands more times than anyone can remember, and the whole Yugoslavia thing sends most people reeling in confusion. This book gives a broad, *basic* introduction to eastern Europe: who lives there, how they got there, how various empires have played Monopoly with them, and where they're going now.
This is not a comprehensive text -- it is a summary guide! Some have tried to read more into it than appears on the surface, but I'm stumped as to how one can do that given the very basic information presented.
My biggest complaints are: 1) the authors left vast gaps in some very important periods (such as World War II), which leave one wondering how the story got from "A" to "B"; and 2) Russia gets the lion's share of attention, where the remaining eastern European countries have only a few pages (or less) devoted to them. I understand that the small size of the book made it necessary to save space, but perhaps a bit more balance could have been achieved.
Overall, a good *basic* introduction to how things got the way they did in eastern Europe. If you're like me, though, and love to have details about things, you will probably be happier with a more "scholarly" history book on the subject.
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Title: The Haunted Land : Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism by Tina Rosenberg ISBN: 0679744991 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 19 March, 1996 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski ISBN: 067974780X Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 08 August, 1995 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Dreams Of My Russian Summers: A Novel by Andrei Makine ISBN: 0684852683 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 27 August, 1998 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: Fathers and Sons (Oxford World's Classics) by Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, Richard Freeborn ISBN: 0192833928 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: June, 1998 List Price(USD): $8.95 |
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Title: Black Women for Beginners (Writers and Readers Documentary Comic Book, 58) by Saundra Sharp, Beverly Hawkins Hall ISBN: 0863161472 Publisher: Writers & Readers Pub. Date: September, 1993 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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