1634: The Baltic War

Book Description

The Baltic War which began in the novel 1633 is still raging, and the time-lost Americans of GrantvilleÂ¿the West Virginia town hurled back into the seventeenth century by a mysterious cosmic accidentÂ¿are caught in the middle of it. Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden and Emperor of the United States of Europe, prepares a counter-attack on the combined forces of France, Spain, England, and DenmarkÂ¿former enemies which have allied in the League of Ostend to destroy the threat to their power that the Americans representÂ¿which are besieging the German city of Luebeck. Elsewhere in war-torn Europe, several American plans are approaching fruition. Admiral Simpson of Grantville frantically races against time to finish the USE NavyÂ¿s ironclad shipsÂ¿desperately needed to break the Ostender blockade of the Baltic ports. A commando unit sent by Mike Stearns to England prepares the rescue the Americans being held in the Tower of London. In Amsterdam, Rebecca Stearns continues three-way negotiations with the Prince of Orange and the Spanish Cardinal-Infante who has conquered most of the Netherlands. And, in Copenhagen, the captured young USE naval officer Eddie Cantrell tries to persuade the King of Denmark to break with the Ostender alliance, all while pursuing a romantic involvement with one of the Danish princesses.

Customer Reviews:

Boring.......2007-09-30

Boring and a waste of valuable time. The characters are not very interesting yet the reader is subjected to consistent examination of their make up and personalities. The whole book just doesn't come across as intelligently constructed. I get the feeling that the authors are trying to overly impress the reader with their "intelligence" and the book seems to constantly fall short.

The epic continues.......2007-08-02

I have been eagerly awaiting the next in this wonderfull series and was not dissapointed. Whether a fan of European history, Alternative history, or adventure with a decidedly American flavor then look no further. While not as gripping as 1633 it did tie together many a thread from the last story and the many side stories from this universe. After the tears and a pain from the losses of the opening gambit of the war started in 1633 the often humerous or stalwart manuevers of the continuing fight endeared me further to the series. The series wont be for everyone but there is so much of a good thing here that it will appeal to most. In short I would recomend this and any of the books in this series to my friends and often do so.

Mostly disappointing addition to powerful series.......2007-07-29

A bit more than two years after the West Virginia town of Grantsville has been pulled into the middle of the 30 years war in what became Germany, the war wages on. The Americans quickly joined up with Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus against the Spanish and their allies, but France under Richelieu, always anxious to provide a counterweight, joined with Spain, England, and Denmark to offset the high-technology the Americans have brought. Meanwhile, French labs have begun to churn out their own technical advances--owing in part to Grantsville leader Mike Stearns's decision to let most information flow freely in his technological-deterministic certainty that modern technology will bring about democracy.

Fortunately for the increasingly united Germany being created by Gustavus Adolphus and Stearns, Their nation can tackle each of its opponents individually. In 1634: THE BALTIC WAR, the major requirements are to break the siege of the Baltic ports, free the Grantsville team being held in the Tower of London, and (mainly for the pleasure of the Swedish King) defeat Denmark so totally that it will agree to become part of a new pan-Scandinavian union.

Readers of David Weber's Honor Harrington series will recognize the familiar pattern of a technological advance by the goodguys (Grantsville or Manticore) being overwhelming despite an apparently offsetting advance made by the enemy (France or Haven). In this case, the overwhelming advance is Grantsville's navy. No contemporary navy, and no coastal fortifications can stand against either the new ironclads, equipped with ten inch guns or even the timberclad battleships. Unfortunately for the French, their breech-loading rifles enabled only a minor raid, eliminating an annoying up-time character.

The Flint and Weber books in this series seem to have taken an unfortunate direction, with more of the characters lecturing one another, and long contemplative passages where Flint and Weber bring the reader up to date on what's happening. In fact, there isn't a lot of action in this entire 700+ page novel. One can imagine Flint and Weber snickering over which Americanisms they'd have the different down-time characters use, but the entire novel could have used some major pruning--and a lot more concentration on what is happening and why we should care. Rescuing the captive ambassarors from the Tower of London is fine, but really, they were in no particular danger and the rescue provides only personal satisfaction to Stearns and some of the other Grantsville types. If Stearns had gone in with the intent to rescue Cromwell, to launch a more sophisticated version of the Glorious Revolution and take England/Scotland out of the war, this would have made sense and been interesting. As it was, who cares. I found the romance between twenty-year-old Eddie Cantrell and 15-year-old Anne Catherine unromantic and again, thought Stearns's and (in this case) Admiral Simpson's willingness to risk an outbreak of war in newly passified Denmark to preserve Eddie from the consequences of his decisions to be unbelievable. The romance between uptime lady in waiting, Caroline Ann Platzer and downtime Sergeant Thorsten Engler seemed to exist only to allow Princess Kristina to insist that Engler be named 'Count of Narnia.' (I imagined Flint and Weber giggling about this--maybe my sense of humor is just different).

The brief scenes with painter Pieter Paul Rubens and the Cardinal-Infante Don Fernando have a lot of potential. Here is a character who's looking to the future, prepared to deal with reality with relatively open eyes, and who may become a worthy opponent to Gustavus Adolphus and Stearns in the future. I had hoped that Prince Ulrick of Denmark and his inventor-friend Baldur Norddahl could play similar roles--perhaps becoming national resistance heroes, demonstrating that the capitulation of a king doesn't necessarily result in the defeat of a nation. Unfortunately, this lesson doesn't seem about to be learned.

One of my problems with this series is that Stearns stands in an ideal position to eliminate the Atlantic slave trade before it really begins. In 1634, slavery was still relatively new, cotton was not king, and a determined effort could have wiped it out. Stearns intends to do this--perhaps that will be the basis of a subsequent novel. For now, it's the ugly secret that no one dare name.

This 163X Series started powerfully with 1632--a time travel with a difference. Stearns and his allies were intent on preserving the democratic ideals of America and making them work, while simultaneously ending a war that convulsed all of Europe for thirty years, depopulated and decentralized Germany (creating hard feelings the Prussians would later exploit in their creation of the German Empire), and impoverishing Spain. The current novel in the series, 1634: THE BALTIC WAR, shows occasional flashes of the excellence that kicked off the series. Overall, though, I found it a disappointment. Much of the action didn't seem aimed at goals that matter to the reader or to the overall development of a democratic society. Characters spent too much time patting each other on the back and discussing things rather than doing things and showing why they deserved those pats. And the romances never really grabbed me at all.

Worth reading; Could have been better........2007-07-21

Baltic War is a grand adventure, with many well-tracked characters and plot twists. It answers a number of questions that we have been waiting on for years, and is filled with interesting developments. I learned a good deal of 17th century history in this book, and Flint really made it come alive in new ways. The book encouraged me to constantly look up Wikipedia entries to understand more of what was really happening at the time. And Flint is to be congratulated for really showing the Downtimers as smart and able to contribute something effective against the Uptimers from the future.

The maps could have been better and more detailed, for those of us who are not experts on 17th century European history. And the book starts off quite slow, as do a number of the 1632 series, and takes a while to get going. Indeed, the writing is rather disjointed, perhaps from being written by two different authors. I felt like there were moments of great writing, alternating with moments written by a beginning author.

I grew tired of nearly every character, whether they had direct contact with the Americans or not, using American colloquial phrases and making an explicit point that they were doing so, on every single phrase. Are there no colloquial phrases in other cultures and languages? Do we truly think that American colloquialisms would spread in 2 years all over the continent, into foreign languages, without modern communications technology? It's simply sloppy writing.

A bit of a surprise, and a nice addition, is the CD at the back of the book, *with every single previous book Flint's every written* on a CD that opens as web browser. I have no idea how he will continue to make money in doing this, but it's like buying one book and getting another 50, including all of the Ring of Fire series.

This is a good addition to the series. Better than some of the other recent ones. It would have been better if 1634: Cannon Law hadn't been out already for a year, and taking place after the events of Baltic War, revealing what had already happened and who had survived. Sometimes I get the impression that Flint is so eager to try out new publishing tricks (multiple authors, amateur web writing, later chronological books being published earlier) that he sacrifices writing quality. You should read this book. Enjoy the excitement of a European war fought before there was nation states, with ironclad ships and repeating rifles. But Flint & Weber can do better. The promise once offered in 1632 does not match what we have today. 3 stars for the writing, an extra one for the publishing idea of adding in 50 books for the price of one.

Running out of steam?.......2007-06-13

I loved the earlier books in the series, but in this one, the action slows down and the character development falters. I thought that it needed a good editing to tighten up the story.

Nation-building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands: The Politics of National Identities

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Nation-building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands: The Politics of National Identities
Graham Smith , Vivien Law , Andrew Wilson , Annette Bohr , and Edward Allworth
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Eastern | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569-1999

ASIN: 0521590450

Book Description

The emergence in 1991 of the fourteen borderland post-Soviet states has been accompanied by the reforging of their national identities. Such attempts to rethink or reimagine the nation have had a major impact in reshaping the political, cultural and social lives of both national and ethnic minority groups alike. This book analyzes these national identities and explores their consequences for the borderland states, with substantive studies drawn from the Baltic states, Ukraine and Belarus, Transcaucasia and Central Asia.

The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500 (Men-at-Arms)

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Good
Long Live McBride!
A key pick.
Baltic Crusaders
Angus McBride...Unconquered.....

The Scandinavian Baltic Crusades 1100-1500 (Men-at-Arms)
David Lindholm , and David Nicolle
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1841769886
Release Date: 2007-02-27

Book Description

Wielding their swords in the name of their faith, the crusaders originally set out to reclaim Jerusalem and its surrounding territory in the Middle East. Increasingly, however, Eastern Europe and the last remaining bastions of pagan Europe became the targets of their religious zeal.

The era officially began in 1147, when the Saxons, Danes, and Poles, responding to Pope Eugene III's call, initiated a crusade against the Wends of the Southern Baltic. This was followed by crusades against the Livonians, Estonians, Finns, Prussians, and Lithuanians. By the 13th century much of the responsibility for sustaining these crusades fell to the Teutonic Knights, a military order formed in the Holy Land in 1190. They were aided by the constant support of the Roman pontiff and by a steady flow of mercenaries from throughout Christendom.

The subsequent Scandinavian campaigns laid the foundations of modern Baltic society by destroying pagan rural farming settlements, and establishing fortified Christian towns and major castles. As with the majority of crusades, the prospective acquisition of land and power was the one of the key driving forces behind these bloody military expeditions.

This book reveals the colorful history of these Crusades when the soldiers of the Pope fought their way across Eastern Europe and inexorably changed the future of the continent.

Customer Reviews:

Good.......2007-07-21

I thought it was a good book but it did not have very much info in it and the middle pictures were not great.

Long Live McBride!.......2007-05-07

If you like the wizard of Middle Ages Europe Illustrations then get this one. While the text is fairly good, the Illustrations are the reason why I bought this book.

A key pick........2007-04-10

D. Lindholm and D. Nicolle's THE SCANDINAVIAN BALTIC CRUSADES 1100-1500 covers the weaponry, armor and ships of the expeditions of the Scandinavian Catholics against the pagans to the east of the Baltics. This is a specialty coverage indeed and so will be limited to collections strong in early military history - but little has been written about this phase of the medieval Crusades and so it's a key pick.

Baltic Crusaders.......2007-04-07

This book gives an informative examination of perhaps the most ignored period of the Crusades. Both the text and the plates detail the appearance and tactics of the Danes, Swedes, Finns, and Teutonic Order, and their typically pagan Slavic and Lithuanain enemies. Plate C also gives an interesting portrayal of the origins of the Danish Flag.

Angus McBride...Unconquered............2007-03-10

This is a wonderfully written book, as one has come to expect from Dr. Nicolle...with some nice local color from Scandinavian writer David Lindholm...yet it is once again those wonderful illustrations by the amazing Angus McBride that captured my imagination. Past his mid 70's Angus' work is still bright, emotional and tells a story expertly.

Most center on the German Armies of the era, this includes the powerful Swedes and Danes and also includes the Russian and Slavic Armies who were waiting for their invasions. Every plate is a gem and coupled with the superb schloarship from the two authors this makes for a very interesting and unique read.

Highly recommended.

Sadly, Angus passed away on May 15th, 2007...this would be one of his last books for Osprey. On a personal note I'd hope you will consider it as a way of honoring the memory of a truly great artist........

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A good intro to the Ottoman Empire and its impact on modern Europe
Full of contradictions and inaccurate facts
Ottoman Centuries
East Meets West: Epic Film Material Waiting To Be Born!
good book but with some errors

Ottoman Centuries
Lord Kinross
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Turks Today

ASIN: 0688080936
Release Date: 1979-08-01

Book Description

The Ottoman Empire began in 1300 under the almost legendary Osman I, reached its apogee in the sixteenth century under Suleiman the Magnificent, whose forces threatened the gates of Vienna, and gradually diminished thereafter until Mehmed VI was sent into exile by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk).

In this definitive history of the Ottoman Empire, Lord Kinross, painstaking historian and superb writer, never loses sight of the larger issues, economic, political, and social. At the same time he delineates his characters with obvious zest, displaying them in all their extravagance, audacity and, sometimes, ruthlessness.

Customer Reviews:

A good intro to the Ottoman Empire and its impact on modern Europe.......2007-02-01

I purchased Lord Kinross's "The Ottoman Centuries" on a whim one cold winter evening, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it: the book is a very detailed examination of the Ottoman Empire's growth and decline. It is for the most part well written, though Kinross' phrasing is often quaint and some of the passages require re-reading to figure out what the author is trying to say. I found his viewpoints to be objective: not tainted with the Anglo-centric cultural bias that many British authors of his generation have been afflicted-with.

The book focuses-on the political and military history of the Ottoman Empire: centered on the lives of its rulers and their court. Kinross includes a fair amount of information on how the Empire's society and economy were structured and functioned, but this is presented mostly as background information in support of the main narrative.

The book filled in many gaps for me in terms of European history, in particular, and described many historical episodes I was unaware of, as well as being a good analysis of the factors and personalities involved in the Empire's rapid rise to prominence, followed by its centuries-long decline. There are some discussions of the Empire's interactions with the tatars and Persians, but only a few brief mentions of the Empire's history and exploits in Africa (or the region now known as the Middle East).

I was fascinated with Kinross' detailed discussions of the many interactions the Ottomans had with nearly every major and minor European state over the centuries. It was also interesting to see how the nature of these interactions changed as Europe evolved from a collection of Feudal Kingdoms into modern Nation-States, while the Turkish state stagnated and was eclipsed.

His analyses of the military tactics and strategies and innovations employed by the Ottomans are very good, as is his examination of how their social, economic and political systems gave them a competitive advantage early in the empire's history, but became an impediment that contributed to the decline, and also impeded attempts to reverse that decline.

I was impressed with the open-mindedness of most of the Sultans in terms of not only tolerating, but promoting Christians and other religious minorities - to the point where populations of Orthodox Christians often favored being conquered by the Ottomans in preference to being dominated by Christian rulers affiliated with Rome (who were often very intolerant of the Orthodox Christian tradition).

The major concern I have with about this book is not with the text, but with the publisher's presentation of this book. The paperback edition contains what I assume are reproductions of the artwork from the original 1977 publication; but, in this edition, the representations had poor detail and contrast; giving the impression of having been run off on a cheap copier. They do a disservice to the quality of the text itself.

All in all, an excellent book, well worth the read. Anyone seeking to gain a good understanding to the Ottoman Empire and its impact on European and Mediterranean history will find this book a well written starting point with vast amounts of detail.

Full of contradictions and inaccurate facts.......2006-09-21

My current field of research is the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. I thought it would be a good idea to read about some of the ancient history in the region though so I read John Julius Norwich's A Short History of Byzantium as well as his History of Venice. Both excellent works. Then I read Lord Kindross' work, Ottoman Centuries. This was my first historical work that I have read devoted entirely to the Ottoman Empire.

I was very disappointed. I gave the work two stars because it reads excellently, at times like a novel. However, now that I am finished reading it I am left wondering how much of what I read was in fact, true. I state this because a lot of the statements about the Balkan countries aren't factually correct. The most glaring one I'll provide. On page 356 the author writes:
"Thus a peace conference was held in the last months of 1698 at Karlowitz, in Croatia, on the right bank of the Danube."

He is refering to the Treaty of Karlowitz. However, the treaty was signed in Sremski Karlovci which is in modern day Serbia. I should know, I've had a private tour of the building where the treaty was signed. The city was never actually a part of Croatia, at the time of the treaty it was, one could argue, a part of Hungary but never Croatia.

Also, the author has a common theme of trying to argue that the Ottoman army never practiced forced conversion to Christianity. But then will describe the Janissaries and admit that the very foundation of the Janissaries was taking Christian children forcing them to be Muslims by raising them as such with no other option. He also discusses how churches were converted to mosques constantly following conquests but apparently, that doesn't fall within the realm of forcible conversion. Here is another example of what I am talking about:

On page 559 "Abdul Hamid...offer(ed) his enemies, at the point of a bayonet, the choice between death and forcible conversion to Islam--a practice previously renounced, under British pressure, by Sultan Abdul Mejid." (Which was the previous Sultan). However, on page 26 (just as one of many examples) the author writes, "There was no general Islamization of Christians--least of all by compulsion--within Ottoman territory."

The list goes on and on of constant contradictions within this work which makes this it so hard to take seriously.

Also, the author, or perhaps editor, has an annoying habit of placing words in quotation marks. Serbian Emperor Dusan is "Emperor" Dusan who rules over an "empire" and the balkan states are "nations" though later in the book they become nations without quotation marks.

I would only recommend this work to be read for entertainment purposes. I shall now search for another history of the Ottomans, hopefully one that is more academic.

Ottoman Centuries.......2006-07-17

Superbly written. Excellent overwiew of the Ottoman Empire, in such a short space.It may not reflect some of the newly uncovered facts, but so what.
Very highly recommended.

East Meets West: Epic Film Material Waiting To Be Born!.......2006-06-11

Lord Kinross was the author of many splendid books but The Ottoman Centuries remains his crowning achievement. Published in 1977 shortly after his death and dedicated to Freya Stark, The Ottoman Centuries offers a positive view of the Turkish Empire without glossing over any of its shameful episodes.

Amongst the nomadic warrior hordes that poured out of the Eurasian steppe and into Eastern Europe and Asia Minor, Kinross points to the exception of the Ottoman Turks who `were no longer mere nomads but settlers, creators, and builders too. As time went on they evolved their own frontier civilization, compounded of elements Asiatic and European, Moslem and Christian....This was the prototype of a society destined to inherit and transform.' Conquer and transform is more like it, as these were tumultuous centuries full of the clash of arms.

Kinross's thrilling narrative crosses over to Europe with the Ottoman advance, but reminds us they were initially invited over as mercenaries, securing Gallipoli and eventually assisting a rival faction come to power in one of Byzantium's many civil wars. Marriage took place between the usurpers daughter, now a Byzantine princess, and the Ottoman Sultan.

Kinross gives a brief account of the controversial battle of Kossovo that took place in 1389 and became the graveyard of Serbian independence. Serbian clans betrayed each other, some allied with the Turks by remaining absent from the field, diminishing their own forces. The son of the Serbian prince responsible, by way of atonement, sought a personal audience with the Sultan and stabbed him with such force the blade appeared out his back.

In this divisive atmosphere and after the crippling blow of the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the lands of the Byzantine Empire were swallowed piecemeal by the Ottomans until Constantinople was like a head without a body. The dramatic end finally came in 1453 when Mehmed the Conqueror wrested his way into the city; Belgrade and Vienna would soon come into view, epic film material waiting to be born!

Kinross alternates between the advances made on the battlefield with close up portraits of the Sultans whose combination of `shrewd political judgments' and innovative ability were essential in these early stages of a quickly expanding empire; an empire that developed a meritocracy, where Christian slaves could advance up to the highest rungs on the career ladder simply by having talent. It was that peculiar mix of Greek and Turk, Christian and Moslem, that led to such a unique and dynamic empire, the likes of which Christian Europe had never seen before.

Kinross tends to over use the word `destiny' to explain the rise and fall of empire, suggesting an unnecessary Arnold Toynbee influence. Otherwise, his narrative remains cohesive throughout and full of detailed knowledge, whether exploring the impossible entanglements of the Balkans, `Russian Rivalry,' the courts of Europe or the Sublime Porte.

Turkophile though he was, we are given a chilling description of the Armenian genocide and are left in no doubt that this was a pre-meditated, orchestrated act by the imperial Ottoman government that became it's disgraceful epitaph.

The Ottoman Centuries is a vibrant canvass that shows what became of the shattered Byzantine empire; the phoenix that rose was an equally stunning, Islamic mosaic.

good book but with some errors.......2006-05-14

this is a well written book, but there are some mistakes in it, especially when the author talks about homosexual inclinations of some of the Ottoman (Osmanli) rulers e.g. Mehmet the Conqueror (Mehmet Fatih) fell in love with a teenage boy and so on. This is simply not true, there are no historical facts to support this claim. That's why I do not give 5 stars to this book.

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This explains The Black Book
lost in melancholy
wonderful and evocative
Orhan and the City
A dreamy account of the past and growing up in Istanbul...

Istanbul: Memories and the City
Orhan Pamuk
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1400040957
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Book Description

A portrait, by turns intimate and panoramic, of one of the world’s great cities, by its foremost man of letters, author of the acclaimed novels Snow and My Name Is Red.

Blending reminiscence with history; family photographs with portraits of poets and pashas; art criticism, metaphysical musing, and, now and again, a fanciful tale, Orhan Pamuk invents an ingenious form to evoke his lifelong home, the city that forged his imagination. He begins with his childhood among the eccentric extended Pamuk family in the dusty, carpeted, and hermetically sealed apartment building they shared. In this place came his first intimations of the melancholy awareness that binds all residents of his city together: that of living in the seat of ruined imperial glories, in a country trying to become “modern” at the dizzying crossroads of East and West. This elegiac communal spirit overhangs Pamuk’s reflections as he introduces the writers and painters (among the latter, most particularly the German Antoine-Ignace Melling) through whose eyes he came to see Istanbul. Against a background of shattered monuments, neglected villas, ghostly backstreets, and, above all, the fabled waters of the Bosphorus, he presents the interplay of his budding sense of place with that of his predecessors. And he charts the evolution of a rich, sometimes macabre, imaginative life, which furnished a daydreaming boy refuge from family discord and inner turmoil, and which would continue to serve the famous writer he was to become. It was, and remains, a life fed by the changing microcosm of the apartment building and, even more, the beckoning kaleidoscope beyond its walls.

As much a portrait of the artist as a young man as it is an oneiric Joycean map of the city, Istanbul is a masterful evocation of its subject through the idiosyncrasies of direct experience as much as the power of myth--the dazzling book Pamuk was born to write.

Customer Reviews:

This explains The Black Book.......2007-06-13

Pamuk has lived in the city all his life: Istanbul, one of the most fascinating cities in the world, with a heavy and rich history as a city, capital of an empire, the spiritual heart of the new country Turkey. Having been to Istanbul I love the city and was fascinated by Pamuk's stories and photos (there are many black and white photos in the book). His main topic is, those who are of Istanbul have an inherent right to a special Turkish-Istanbul melancholy. He is very open about his family and feelings and growing up, his fears and loves.
This book explains a lot of Pamuk's The Black Book. If you read one, you should read the other.

lost in melancholy.......2007-06-12

A very melancholic memoir that at times seems to get lost in a not there not here, not east not west time and space ! somewhat interesting but not very compelling

wonderful and evocative.......2007-04-13

I found this truly wonderful and evocative in many ways--a place I had never been and always wondered about, history I knew only dimly, a way of life I hadn't imagined, how they changed from long before the author was born until he reached 50, and the feelings of a bright and sensitive child growing up there. The pictures are a great addition and would be truly miraculous if they could be larger and clearer than they are in the paperback. I could not find out whether they are better in the hard-back.

Orhan and the City.......2007-04-04

In his characteristic child-like voice of open-eyed wonder, Orhan Pamuk gives you not a tourist's or even a cultural tour of Istanbul, where he has lived all his life, but rather a key to the metaphors of place that link each of the author's books to each other.

A dreamy account of the past and growing up in Istanbul..........2007-04-02

In all Pamuk's novels, I like the digressions, descriptions and ambience most; I don't think the plot construction is his strength. That is why "Istanbul. Memories of the City" might be his best book - it is not a novel and there is no plot.

There are three planes present in "Istanbul". The first one is made of Pamuk's memories of the city, its specific kind of melancholy, which affects all Istanbullis ("huzun", which the author describes in comparison to the feeling studied by Robert Burton in "The Anatomy of Melancholy" and other melancholic European writers, finding examples also in the works of the writers who visited Istanbul and on whom the city left its unique mark, as well as bringing to mind the typical Sufi attitude), its dying, disappearing old neighborhoods with decrepit wooden houses and mansions, and the atmosphere of a former capital, which days of splendor passed long ago. Pamuk, born and raised in Istanbul, has never really left the city and still lives there, having come back to the apartment building, belonging to his family, where he spent most of his childhood. He reflects on Istanbul's influence on its denizens, including himself, and passionately describes his own ambiguous attitude to his city, his love mixed with hatred and boredom, his desire for change combined with his need to preserve the old charm...

The second level is the history of Turkey, from Byzantium, according to Pamuk, neglected and deemed unimportant by the Turks as a period which has left only the Greek minority and not much else behind, through the Middle Ages, times of Ottoman Empire and Ataturk, to the end of the twentieth century. Each period is described with nostalgia, but not without sharp criticism. Pamuk demonstrates his distance both towards the urge for westernization, the copying of European standards, and towards nationalism, chauvinism, feeling of superiority and dislike for Greek, Armenian and other minorities. He expresses his views firmly yet gently, without offense but leaving no doubt what is his opinion.

Interestingly, the third level, the most personal one, which is the memoir of the author's childhood and youth, shows his own doubts, prejudices and mistakes and his search for his own identity as a modern Turk as well as a creative artist. While the chronology of the Istanbul and Turkish history is not very precise, Pamuk's life proceeds from his birth to the student times more or less in order. He describes his life with the extended family, full of quarrels and hypocrisy, and his closest relatives - his mother, who seemed full of longing for something better, his father, failing in his business enterprises and living a second, separate life, his older brother, meticulous and teasing, and his grandmother, the queen of the household, who observed everything from her bed. Then, he proceeds to the account of his earliest, most personal, intimate feelings, then his school years, his artistic ventures, first, romantic love, unfortunate choice of architecture as the course of studies and, finally his arrival to the decision to become a writer.

All the planes combine in a unique way, wandering the streets of Istanbul evokes the historical memories, and the city undoubtedly had its giant share in shaping Pamuk's personality. The narrative flows in a characteristic, dreamy manner, with numerous references to literature and art, analyzing famous European works and introducing the Western readers to the Turkish poets, writers, journalists, painters and photographers. Pamuk's (Turkish?) obsession with the West is very visible, more than in his novels, the echoes of which sound in every passage in "Istanbul". Snow, always present in Pamuk's writings, appears here with double intensity, together with familiar themes of journal columnists, eloping couples, and family intrigues.

The book is full of carefully chosen, black and white photographs, some from Pamuk's family archives, some found at the old photo shops (the sources are listed at the end of the book), placed carefully between paragraphs. The pictures of cobblestone covered streets lined with wooden mansions, of streetcars and taxis, of laundry hanged to dry in the tiny cul-de-sacs, of the Bosphorus coast, enhance the text, add to the dreamy, magical quality and make excellent illustrations.

Average customer rating:

The most extensive book on Kosovo's history
A politically motivated book
Enjoyble to read, very informative !!!@
Impressive work
malcolm's propaganda piece

Kosovo: A Short History
Noel Malcolm , and University Pres New York
Manufacturer: Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060977752

Amazon.com

Kosovo, a 55-mile-long plateau in southern Serbia bordering Albania and Macedonia, should by all rights be a historical and political backwater. A Bulgarian geographer who visited Kosovo during World War I remarked that it was "almost as unknown and inaccessible as a stretch of land in Central Africa." The observation would prove ironically fitting by the '90s, as Central Africa and Kosovo both became sites of widespread genocide, fueled by ethnic hatreds, of the deepest international significance. Noel Malcolm, a British historian and journalist who has written extensively about the Balkans (including a companion volume of sorts on Bosnia), provides an overview of Kosovo's long-standing cultural divisions in his "short history" (although, at more than 500 pages, a not so short book).

Readers following the unfolding war in Kosovo through newspaper and television coverage may well ask why ethnic Albanians and Serbs are struggling so violently to command the small region. Kosovo, Malcolm explains, is the birthplace of Serbian nationalism; the defeat of Serbian forces there in 1389 by Turkish troops became emblematic of the fall of the Serbian empire, as it led to Turkish domination of the Balkans. Contemporary warriors of Serbia are, in Malcolm's eyes, evidently attempting to reverse the course of history by reclaiming the land from its Turkish conquerors--but in the absence of the Turks, they'll take it from the Albanians (the largest ethnic group among Kosovo's inhabitants) whose ancestors converted to Islam when the Turks ruled the region. Malcolm's lucid text shows again and again that the ethnic conflict in Kosovo is less a battle over bloodlines and religion than it is one over differing conceptions of national origins and history. "When ordinary Serbs learn to think more rationally and humanely about Kosovo, and more critically about some of their national myths," he concludes, "all the people of Kosovo and Serbia will benefit--not least the Serbs themselves." --Gregory McNamee

6300

"Malcolm's narrative is gripping, even brilliant at times. . . . He takes to his task with the vigor of a detective driven by true passion. At times his claims are, in terms of Balkan history,quite revolutionary."

Customer Reviews:

The most extensive book on Kosovo's history.......2007-04-28

A well-researched book, definitely the most extensive book on Kosovo's history. It covers Kosovo's history since the time immemorial with little attention to the conflict 1998-1999, while Tim Judah's Kosovo: War and Revenge is more focused on this conflict. The only shortcoming of this book is pro-Albanian bias to some extent, yet the book is far from being utterly one-sided and he also debunks some Albanian historical myths.

A politically motivated book.......2006-12-10

This is essentially a politically motivated book written to help lay the 'intellectual' foundation for the U.S. and European support of Albanian separatists in southern Serbia and, ultimatley, the NATO bombing of Serbia itself in 1999. As the book has little historical value, due to it's extreme anti-Serb bias, it is only useful to students of modern-day propaganda.

It is curious that Malcolm has only written two 'short histories' on the areas of former Yurgoslavia: one on Bosnia, a former Yugoslav republic and one on Kosovo, a province of southern Serbia. Why no books on the other former republics? e.g. Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, etc. Or is it not worth his time if there is no potential dispute with the Serbs?

Enjoyble to read, very informative !!!@.......2005-12-21

I found this book very interesting to read, it explains well and gives one a better comprehension of the Balkans.

Impressive work.......2005-12-18

Extremely good knowledge of history of the Balkans, Noel does it by masterly knitting pieces of history together. I enjoyed reading it, due to the fact that many of things written inthe book are also told by my grand father. I prefer the book to all of those interested in knowing the roots of conflicts in the Balkans.

Andrei Stefanovski
Sofia, Bulgaria

malcolm's propaganda piece.......2005-11-19

Seems everyone jumps on the bandwagon to bash the serbs ...
Serbs are full of myths ... I guess serbs are just imagining
all those 200 some medieval churches ... and they are imagining
that they have been systematically harrassed and persecuted
in kosovo so that there are hardly any serbs left there . The
gullible serbs must be fed a good diet of lies by their leaders .Yeah , that's it .

Listen people , my grandfather left kosovo because they kept
waving a knife in his face . Literally . Every serb knows what
happened in kosovo . We don't need anybody to tell us . The history of serbs in kosovo and in bosnia and in krajina is a history of suffering . And here we are defeated and suffering again ... and we don't care , we will always fight
for what is right , you can't do anything to stop us . You can bombard us with a 1000 books to try to feed us the lies and garbage , it won't do you any good ; we won't go away .

As far as the book itself is concerned , nothing more needs to be said than hasn't already been said . You can't call this a history book of kosovo ; because it is not taking into account everyone's point of view , only the point of view of one side . I have never heard of such a history book . Has anyone else ?

The Balkans: Nationalism, War & the Great Powers, 1804-1999

Average customer rating:

The history that we have been waiting for on the Balkans
Peripheral Vision
A Detailed History of a Troubled Region
Excellent history book!
Easy to read book makes a difficult subject simple enough

The Balkans: Nationalism, War & the Great Powers, 1804-1999
Misha Glenny
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140233776
Release Date: 2001-08-28

Amazon.com

The history of the Balkan states, like that of so much of the world, has for centuries been marked by ethnocidal fracases, savage wars of conquest, and periods of eerie calm. The mountainous region's shifting alliances and divisions have long puzzled outside observers, writes journalist Misha Glenny, the author of The Fall of Yugoslavia: "For many decades, Westerners gazed on these lands as if [they were] an ill-charted zone separating Europe's well-ordered civilization from the chaos of the Orient."

Those outsiders, Glenny suggests, have been the source of much of the Balkans' misery. In only the last two centuries, the territory has been contested by the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires, the Third Reich, and the Allies, all of whom exploited and exacerbated existing ethnic conflict. (The Nazi occupiers of Croatia, he writes, even had to rein in the fascist Ustase militia for fear that their campaign against Serbs and Muslims would only strengthen resistance to their puppet government.) And, he continues, attempts to quell the recent conflict in Bosnia have created problems of their own. He argues that war will break out anew the moment international troops are withdrawn and that the Dayton Agreement is too "full of anomalies and frictions" to stand. The intervention in Kosovo has been no better, he adds, and the Allies' misguided efforts are sure to yield only further bloodshed if the only objective is to remove Slobodan Milosevic from power. "Should the West fail to address the effects, not merely of a three-month air war in 1999, but of 120 years of miscalculation and indifference since the Congress of Berlin, then there will be little to distinguish NATO's actions from any of its great-power predecessors," Glenny concludes.

Glenny's provocative book sheds much light on recent Balkan history--and on the region's likely future. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

"The first comprehensive history of the relationship in the modern era between the great powers and the various Balkan peoples." (San Francisco Chronicle)

This unique and lively history of Balkan geopolitics since the early nineteenth century gives readers the essential historical background to recent events in this war-torn area. No other book covers the entire region, or offers such profound insights into the roots of Balkan violence, or explains so vividly the origins of modern Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania. Misha Glenny presents a lucid and fair-minded account of each national group in the Balkans and its struggle for statehood. The narrative is studded with sharply observed portraits of kings, guerrillas, bandits, generals, and politicians. Glenny also explores the often-catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the Great Powers, raising some disturbing questions about Western intervention.

Customer Reviews:

The history that we have been waiting for on the Balkans.......2006-12-16

If you only read one book on the Balkans this is the one you should read. Glenny takes us through the rise of the Balkans following their separation from the Ottoman Empire through the present day break up of Yugoslavia. The fall of communism is well illustrated as is the struggle between Russia and Austria for mastery of the region. The establishment of Bulgaria as the "super power" of the Balkans by the Russians is illustrated in the comical light that it was at the time. This book does an excellent job of thoroughly covering the salient points in the region and doing so with wonderful prose. This is an incredibly troubled area and understanding that this area was created out of conflict is essential for studying the region today. This is great for an expert or a beginner. Regardless of how much you've looked at the Balkans this is a must have for any European history library.

Peripheral Vision.......2006-07-29

As the subtitle of his work indicated, Mischa Glenny's work concentrated on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He arranged his material chronologi-cally, with geographical subdivisions within the chunks of time. He offered narra-tive history of the various times and places, focusing almost exclusively on political and military subjects, although there are biographical sketches included occasionally. Throughout the book, Glenny drew from a wide array of primary sources.

Two themes permeate _The Balkans_. Glenny believed that the great pow-ers unduly interfered in Balkan affairs and that the majority of misery and suffer-ing which occurred there resulted either directly or indirectly from one or more of these external meddlings. He raised this idea in his introduction and he ham-mered it home in his subsequent chapters. Glenny's other principal theme was that Balkan people are nothing more nor less than individuals with their own dreams and aspirations. They are not more genetically predisposed towards racial hatred, nor ethnic biases than any other people. Glenny hoped to show that whatever problems and enmity that may exist in the Balkans can be explained in terms of recent events without resorting to "ancient hatreds". Each of these themes is a manifestation of Glenny's general premise that the West does not understand the Balkans.

A Detailed History of a Troubled Region.......2006-07-03

I found this book to be informative of the tensions that plague the Balkans. Unlike many other commentators, Glenny does not ascribe those tensions to the "inherent nature" of the combatants. Instead, he takes great pains to show how Balkan actors have been rather dynamic in their alliances and their agendas.

In addition, Glenny uses a writing style that allows his coverage of events to coherently flow from one major incident to the next. He divides the books into numerous chapters, each based on a broad theme. He then supports each theme with historical accounts from specific Balkan nations.

Finally, Glenny does not show undue sympathy or hostility to the various actors on the Balkan stage. I think that this is vital as so many other commentators have adopted particular Balkan nations or groups as cause celebre. In my view, the latter approach has interfered with meaningful discussion of this important but troubled region.

Excellent history book!.......2006-05-08

The Balkans: Nationalism, War & The Great Powers, 1804-1999 of Misha Glenny is an excellent history book. It opens the eyes for the circumstances that stay hidden in traditional history books. The European history education is entirey focussed on Western and Southern countries, while the Balkan was extremely important in the development of Europe and the position of communism. Thanks to Misha Glenny we can take notice of this and chance our view on European history.

Drs. M.W.J. van Hout
The Netherlands

Easy to read book makes a difficult subject simple enough.......2006-02-02

Great work by Mr Glenny. Altough it is a difficult story to tell i think the author did a very good job.I enjoyed the fact that the author stuck to the main points and discussed them with clarity and good knowledge.His account of how the Great Powers tried to solve the problems in the Balkans is excellent and very insightful as well as pragmatic since the author concedes, with reason, that we havent heard the last word of this subject. Great book for a tough subject.

Average customer rating:

An Albania lover's delight

Albanian Identities: Myth and History

Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0253215706

Customer Reviews:

An Albania lover's delight.......2003-11-27

I have always been fascinated with Albania. With lots of other things on my plate nowadays I haven't really had the time to read many books about this little country on the Adriatic. Once part of the Ottoman Empire, Albania declared its independence in 1912 only to find itself immediately beset by Greek, Montenegrin, and Serbian soldiers who all wanted a slice of the country for their own purposes. The total collapse of the Sublime Porte left Albanians scrambling for support from the Western European powers, but a majority Muslim population (a relic of Ottoman occupation) left many European leaders wary of supporting Albanian claims. Otto Von Bismarck sneeringly referred to Albania as a mere "geographic expression," and other powers seemed to implicitly support this view. World War I led to more troubles, more border partitions, and more problems with Balkan neighbors. The interwar period saw Albania experiment with western style government and monarchy under the leadership of Fan Noli and Ahmed Zogu, respectively. The Italians occupied the country in the late 1930s, leading to King Zog's ouster and clandestine warfare between Albania, Italy, and Germany. As the war ended, Enver Hoxha and his communist partisan forces triumphed over other Albanian liberation factions and took over the country. What followed was nearly fifty years of brutal Stalinist style communism. Today, Albania is working hard at restructuring their country.

"Albanian Identities: Myth and History" is a selection of essays about Albania taken from an academic conference held a few years ago. Included is research from well known Albanian scholars Bernd Fischer, Noel Malcolm, and Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers along with contributions from a range of other researchers looking at Albanian myth through the eyes of the historian, sociologist, and anthropologist. As Schwandner-Sievers writes in her introductory essay to the collection, a central goal of this book is to "trace the context of their (myths) production and transformations, and to show how local and individual variations stand in contrast to the homogenous national claims of Albanian myths." Yes, if you cannot tell from the above quotation, the articles in this book are quite scholarly. It isn't as bad as it sounds, as the vast majority of the contributions to this effort are highly readable. You should have a background in Albanian history, however, because the writers assume you know about Enver Hoxha, Naim Frasheri, the Megali Idea, Bektashism, and the League of Prizren among many other people and places. In fact, if you don't understand the implications of using the term "Kosovo" versus "Kosova," you probably shouldn't read this book until you have a few survey texts under your belt.

My favorite essays in the book include Bernd Fischer's "Perceptions and Reality in Twentieth Century Albanian Military Prowess," M.J. Alex Standish's "Enver Hoxha's Role in the Development of Socialist Albanian Myths," Mariella Pandolfi's "Myths and New Forms of Governance in Albania," and "Youth NGOs in Albania: Civil Society Development, Local Cultural Constructions of Democracy, and Strategies of Survival at Work" by Nicola Mai. Another excellent article written by Roderick Bailey, "Smoke Without Fire? Albania, SOE, and the Communist 'Conspiracy Theory,'" attempts to explode the myths surrounding the role that British operatives played in Hoxha's rise to power after WWII. Mariella Pandolfi's research showing how western humanitarian organizations subvert Albanian political, economic, and social institutions through a type of "supra colonialism" not only resonates deeply with anyone who has even a cursory knowledge of Western European/Albanian relations, but should provide a dozen or so doctoral candidates with enough potential research topics to last the length of their scholarly careers. M.J. Alex Standish compares Enver Hoxha's self-promoting propagandistic emanations with descriptions of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, and finds more similarities than differences. It is unfortunate I cannot summarize every article in this outstanding book, but hopefully the few I touched on will give you an idea of the types of topics covered in "Albanian Identities: Myth and History."

These are the cream of the crop, but every article is articulate, informative, and massively interesting. Other essays address themes of myth in the writings of Ismail Kadare, conspiracy theories in Albanian newspapers, the myths of religion in the formation of an Albanian national identity, and even how Albanian-Americans incorporated their homeland myths into their new lives in the United States. Nearly every article in this book was the equivalent of waking up early on Christmas morning to see what Santa left under the tree. The book takes great pains to emphasize that these articles are not attacking Albanian culture or attempting to denigrate the beliefs of various peoples. Instead, these scholars want to discover how myth manipulation can encourage violence, economically exploit people, and promote ultra nationalistic-expansionist ideas. In this respect, one hopes that a similar tome exploring Serbian and Greek myths is in the works since those two powers have caused much distress to the Albanians over the years. After all, by adopting the definitions about myth in this book we can see that Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic used the myths surrounding the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389 to launch an ethnic war against the Kosovar majority there in the 1990s.

Book Description

Powerful commentary on the most volatile international event of the year--the conflict in Kosovo.

This is the first book in any language to bring together--in powerful point-counterpoint format--political, ethical, and cultural commentary on the Kosovo conflict by internationally renowned contributors. Also woven into the book are moving firsthand stories of the suffering Balkan people.

Composed of some sixty essays written in dialog with one another, the book contains assessments by noted politicians and analysts (Henry Kissinger, Juergen Haberman, Zbigniew Brzezinski), government officials (Javier Solana, Kofi Annan, Vaclav Havel, Morton Halperin), award-winning journalists (Mark Danner, Tim Judah, Robert Kaplan), human rights advocates (Julie Mertus), theologians and ethicists (Jean Bethke Elshtain, Brian Hehir, David Little, Vatican Archbishop Tauran, Stanley Harakas), historians (Miranda Vickers), military leaders (General Wesley Clark), and many other key figures.

This book also includes photos, maps, a time line, a list of key names, NATO objectives, and online resources for further study of this critical regional conflict with worldwide implications.

Customer Reviews:

An Extraordinary Book - Will Enlighten and Challenge Us All.......2003-09-24

I could not put this book down. The author explores the various sides, themes, and politics of the Balkan crisis. No voice is silenced but all voices are given time to speak. It is fair, accurate, and unbiased in its look at the terrible crimes perpetrated on the Bosnian people. Beautifully written and full of compassionate insights.

The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558 - 1721 (Modern Wars In Perspective)

Average customer rating:

Vivat The Commonwealth!
An erudite collection of essays.
Polish Lancers, Swedish Boy-Kings, Russian Musketeers...

The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558 - 1721 (Modern Wars In Perspective)
Robert I. Frost
Manufacturer: Longman
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0582064295

Book Description

Robert I. Frost has written an examination of a period of critical importance for the history of eastern and northern Europe. The Northern Wars provides an accessible analysis of the neglected but highly important series of wars fought between 1558 and 1721 for control of the Baltic and for hegemony in northeastern Europe. Based extensively on primary and secondary material in several languages, the author provides a great deal of information unfamiliar to readers in the English language. Comparative in nature The Northern Wars examines the impact of the war on the very different social and political systems of Sweden, Denmark, Poland-Lithuania and Russia and explains why Russia emerged victorious from the wars. Robert I. Frost argues that the conditions and demands of war in northeastern Europe were different than those of western Europe and challenges the assumption that warfare in eastern Europe was resistant to change. The author also questions the traditional accounts of important figures such a Peter the Great and Gustav Adolf. For anyone interested in the history of northern Europe. Also available in Hardcover 0-582-06430-9, $79.95.

Customer Reviews:

Vivat The Commonwealth!.......2006-06-11

Polish Hussars, Crafty Lithuanian Dukes, Mad Danish Kings, Gay Swedish Boy Kings, Patient and Lethal Muscovites, Prussian Electors and Lettish and Estonian Barons fill the pages of this seminal and erudite work of history. I can only echo the other reviews of this fine work of well researched, and enjoyably written history. For any and all interested in the histories of any of the nations taking part in the "Struggle for the North" you simply can't do better than this excellent study. Despite its hefty price tag (I got it for less some years ago) it IS worth it. Long Live the Commonwealth!

An erudite collection of essays........2003-05-12

This book is a collection of discrete essays on the theme of the Baltic or Northern wars. In the period following the end of the crusading in the Baltic region four key players emerged to contend for control of the crusader states. These were Sweden, Denmark, Russia and Poland/Lithuania.

Frost analyses the rises and falls of the influence of each of the states over time with regard to a number of factors.
1. He looks at the makeup of the military machines in each state. The ratio of professional and conscript soldiers. The makeup of the officer corps. The percentage of cavalry to infantry. The adoption of firearms, the development of the Huzzar to replace heavy cavalry, the failure of early mounted musketeers against Polish cavalry shock tactics and the ability of well drilled infantry to frustrate cavalry ambitions as practiced by the Swedes.
2. He looks at the relationship between ruler and state, from the wholly autocratic Russian system to the almost democratic Polish and Lithuanian system. The income of ruler and state such as the ability of Danish kings to act autonomously of their parliament due to the money from sound dues etc.
3. He looks (most interesting to me) at the ability of nations to fund war. The cost of standing armies and mercenaries. The need to vote extraordinary funds to armies in times of national peril. The difference in support given to rulers by landowner classes in periods of defence against an agressive neighbour and in periods of national expansion. His analysis of the economics of war is where Frost excels.
4. He also places the northern wars in their temporal, historical and geographical context by commenting on the developments in Western Europe, the 30 years war, the wars of the protestant reformation, the expansion of the Ottoman Turks in the south of the region, the incursions by Tatars from the asian steppes etc.
5. He analyses the impact of war on the societal makeup of the countries in the region. How landownership and serfdom developed, the evolution of the Cossack class, and so on.

If you are looking for an adventure story about knights charging into battle this is probably not the book for you. If you are looking for real history on the different approaches that can be taken to wage war, and how these strategies played out in short and long term, then this is a very useful read.

Because they are discrete essays it is possible to deal with them one at a time. Although the essays move chronologically through time, they deal with different sets of players and different types of tensions. Frost strives to uncover why any given set of strategies was successful in the time period where they worked.

Polish Lancers, Swedish Boy-Kings, Russian Musketeers..........2001-10-18

... what more could one possibly ask for in 400 pages? Between 1558 and 1720 the Baltic region was in an almost constant state of war. It began as a quadrangular contest for hegemony, Denmark vs. Russia vs. Sweden vs. Poland, and marked the evolution, in three of these states, of a modern military system led by an autocratic ruler. The unwillingness of fourth, Poland-Lithuania, to adapt its constitution and embrace a militarized state, led directly to its demise. Frost is quick, however, to combat the "traditional" Western history which is dismissive of Eastern military tactics and glibly attributes Russia's early setbacks and Poland's later humiliation to supposed "backwardness." As he explains, the great institutions of the East, such as the Polish cavalry, owed their existence to local conditions and geography. Nor was there any intrinsic reason why Tsarist Russia, as opposed to another political unit, should emerge victorious in the end. The one intriguing element in this drama is the rapid emergence and equally precipitous collapse of Sweden: the first mention of King Charles XII, doomed genius of the North, will quicken the pulse of even the most jaded reader. This is a great piece of scholarly writing.

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