Balkan Tragedy, Chaos and Dissolution after the Cold War  •  Susan Woodward HISTORY •  1995 •  PAPER  • 536 PAGES A scholarly, detailed analysis of Yugoslavia's collapse, published by the Brookings Institution, where the author is a senior policy fellow. Woodward places the Bosnia-Herzegovina war in an international context, showing how Western Europe and the U.S. policies contributed to the explosion of violence. (BLK18, $24.95)
Balkans Southeast Europe Map  •  Freytag & Berndt 2008 •  MAP • COMING IN A nicely detailed travelers map of Southeast Europe from Prague east to Odessa and south to Italy, Greece and western Turkey, including the Danube, Romania, Bulgaria and the Black Sea from Odessa to Istanbul. At a scale of 1:2,000,000. (EUR147, $12.95)
Baroque and Rococo Art  •  Germain Bazin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1985 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES An excellent illustrated survey of Baroque and Rococo art and architecture, this volume in the acclaimed "World of Art" series is a good companion to the golden age of Middle Europe. (EUR53, $16.95)
The Black Sea, A History  •  Charles King HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES This brisk narrative history takes in the history, culture and politics of the region from 700 B.C. to the 1990s. King argues that, like the Mediterranean, the Black Sea unites diverse languages and cultures (Greek, Roman, Armenian, Persian, Scythian, Byzantine, Ottoman, Tatar and Mongol). The book opens with a chapter on Pontus Euxinus, an ancient Greek site along the shores of the Black Sea. Charles King is a professor in the Department of Government and School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. With four maps and 15 black-and-white photographs. (EUR173, $35.00)
Bradt Guide Transylvania  •  Lucinda Mallows GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES A comprehensive guide in the growing series by Bradt, noteworthy for its focus on culture, nature and responsible travel. The author includes sights and activities throughout the country. (EUR311, $24.99)
Breathing Under Water and Other East European Essays  •  Stanislaw Baranczak CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1992 •  PAPER  • 258 PAGES Poet and professor Stanislaw Baranczak, a fixture on the Eastern European intellectual scene in the second half of the 20th century, reflects on writers and writing in this collection of stimulating and insightful essays. (EUR139, $12.50)
Byzantium After Byzantium  •  Nicolae Iorga HISTORY •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 246 PAGES Originally published in 1935, this book details the political, cultural, and intellectual impact of the Byzantine Empire on Romania and Europe. (EUR266, $39.95)
Central Europe Map  •  Freytag & Berndt 2004 •  MAP A colorful physical relief map of Central Europe at a scale of 1:2,000,000. (EUR12, $11.95)
Central Europe, Enemies, Neighbors, Friends  •  Lonnie Johnson HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 351 PAGES An academic survey of the social, political, and economic past of Central Europe, and the conflicts that stir modern-day European politics. From medieval to modern times, the formative historical events of Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia, are all introduced. Johnson is especially successful in analyzing the struggle of small nations in the face of imperial powers and how these experiences have created a diverse European heritage. With maps. Awarded an Outstanding Academic Book of 1997 by Choice. (EUR69, $39.95)
Clara's Grand Tour, Travels With a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-century Europe  •  Glynis Ridley HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES The entertaining history of a most unusual eighteenth-century European celebrity. Clara the Indian rhinoceros was brought to Europe in 1741 by the Dutch sea captain Douwemout Van der Meer, and toured for seventeen years, to the delight of heads of state such as Louis XV and Frederick the Great. A marvelous and unique look at the introduction of Eastern wildlife into the Western world. (FRN536, $12.00)
Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century and After  •  R. J. Crampton HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 526 PAGES A well-written, insightful scholarly country-by-county history of modern Eastern Europe. (EUR273, $42.95)
The Gates of the Forest, A Novel  •  Elie Wiesel LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES Young Gregor flees from Nazis in Wiesel's philosophical novel. (EUR269, $14.00)
The Glance of Countess Hahn-Hahn (Down the Danube)  •  Peter Esterhazy LITERATURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 246 PAGES A confounding, postmodern novel, this meditation on travel, the Danube, and its history is great fun for those with an appreciation for wordplay and intellectual games. Its protagonist is a heroic traveler who communicates in a series of telegrams, narratives and dreamlike monologues. The novel doubles as a stunning travelogue of the Danube from the Black Forest to the Black Sea. (HGR11, $19.00)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral  •  Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $17.95)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral  •  Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 307 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $17.95)
The Grooves of Change, Eastern Europe at the Turn of the Millennium  •  J.F. Brown HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 248 PAGES A survey of the events from the fall of communism to 2000 by a leading scholar. Brown discusses social and political change in the region, prospects for the future -- and the growing economic rift between East Central and South Eastern Europe. (EUR90, $23.95)
The Haunted Land, Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism  •  Tina Rosenberg CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1996 •  PAPER  • 437 PAGES In this groundbreaking book, a journalist reports on how the newly democratized people of East Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have confronted the horrors of their former governments. Winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. (EUR54, $16.95)
Here Is Where We Meet  •  John Berger LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $14.00)
Here Is Where We Meet  •  John Berger LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $14.00)
Historical Atlas of Central Europe  •  Paul Mogocsi HISTORY •  2002 •  PAPER  • 232 PAGES An influential, authoritative survey of maps and shifting borders in the region from the Middle Ages until the present. With dozens of superb color maps illuminating the history and ethnic complexity of this bewildering part of the world. The atlas covers the region from Poland, Lithuania, and the eastern part of Germany to Greece and western Turkey and extends in time from the early fifth century to the present. (EUR33, $45.00)
The History of Eastern Europe for Beginners  •  Paul Beck HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 186 PAGES • COMING IN An irreverent tour of recent Eastern European history in documentary comic-book style, a provocative, fast-moving and opinionated look at who is in conflict with whom and why, nationhood, ethnicity and the future. (EUR30, $11.00)
Hitler and the Holocaust  •  Robert S. Wistrich HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 295 PAGES A short history of the cultural and political circumstances surrounding the genocide of the Jews. Wistrich looks closely at Anti-Semitism in Germany, Europe and abroad in an attempt to understand the evil unleashed during World War II, cautioning that we must be always vigilant about intolerance. (EUR114, $13.95)
Imagining the Balkans  •  Maria Todorova HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 257 PAGES A challenging book, but well worth the effort for its insight, this collection of essays examines in scholarly and critical detail the roots of our stereotypes and misconceptions about the Balkans. (BLK19, $30.00)
The Impossible Country, A Journey Through the Last Days of Yugoslavia  •  Brian Hall TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1994 •  HARD COVER  • 448 PAGES As Yugoslavia deteriorates, the American journalist author journeys throughout the country by bicycle, documenting the people, politics and mood of the place. Beautifully written, it's an engaging snapshot of the region at a critical moment. (BLK22, $23.95)
The Improbable Voyage  •  Tristan Jones TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 332 PAGES A personable sailor's yarn of a tough trip by water across Europe along the Rhine and Danube to the Black Sea. Jones, an inveterate Welsh sailor, adventurer and storyteller, tackles not only sailing, but also the people, politics and flavor of Eastern Europe circa 1985. Just in case, he flies the Red Ensign, the Stars and Stripes, and the Red Dragon of Wales. This is the middle book in a series of three travel books that charts his 2,000-mile voyage across Europe on his on his 38-foot trimaran Outward Leg. (EUR156, $16.50)
Inventing Eastern Europe, The Map of Civilization on the Mind of Enlightenment  •  Larry Wolff HISTORY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 419 PAGES A scholarly analysis and history of European geopolitics during the Age of Enlightenment. The author, a professor of history, looks back to Rousseau, Voltaire and Western (mis)perceptions of Eastern Europe during the late 18th century. With chapters on 18th-century literature, fantasy and folklore, travelers and voyages. Recommended for intellectually minded travelers with a serious interest in geography, this book sheds light on widely shared conventions about Eastern Europe. (EUR34, $29.95)
The Jew in the Modern World, A Documentary History  •  Paul Mendes-Flohr  •  Johan Reinhard RELIGION •  1995 •  PAPER  • 741 PAGES A big collection of primary documents on Jewish thought and history in the modern period. It's a sourcebook (and popular university text) illustrating the transformation of religion, culture, and identity from the 17th century to 1948. With chapters on political emancipation in Western Europe, reform and conservatism, Jewish studies, identity, antisemitism, Eastern Europe Jewry, Zionism and the Holocaust. (GEN224, $64.95)
Journal 1935-1944, The Fascist Years  •  Mihail Sebastian BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2000 •  HARD COVER  • 672 PAGES Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the remarkable diaries of the young Romanian novelist, playwright and poet are a multifaceted portrait of fascist Europe. (EUR272, $36.00)
Lonely Planet Central Europe  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 640 PAGES A comprehensive guide to Central Europe, including Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. It is a compact overview of the region, especially appropriate for the independent-minded traveler visiting several countries. With local and regional maps, a section of color photographs, and information on history, culture and attractions. (EUR94, $28.99)
Lonely Planet Romania & Moldova  •  leif petterson  •  Robert Reid GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 376 PAGES A practical guide to Romania and Moldova, with information on history, culture and attractions. It also includes 64 detailed maps. (EUR96, $24.99)
The Magic Lantern, The Revolution of '89 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague  •  Timothy Garton Ash HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 167 PAGES A vividly reported eyewitness account of the fall of the Berlin Wall and other dramatic events of 1989 by an astute journalist and historian of Central Europe. With a chapter each on Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin and Prague, it's a good introduction to these vibrant cities during a time of great change. (GER36, $13.95)
National Geographic Traveler Romania  •  Caroline Juler GUIDEBOOK •  2007 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A traveler's guide to the history, nature, culture, and attractions of Romania, thoroughly illustrated in dependable National Geographic style. (EUR278, $22.95)
Nationalist Politics and Everyday Ethnicity in a Transylvanian Town  •  Rogers Brubaker CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 502 PAGES Brubaker uses the village of Cluj, a small Transylvanian hamlet with a significant Hungarian minority, to examine nationalist and ethnic identity. (EUR265, $55.00)
Natural Acts, A Sidelong View of Science and Nature  •  David Quammen SCIENCE •  2008 •  HARD COVER  • 272 PAGES A reissue and update of Quammen's first book, a collection of essays that first appeared in Outside Magazine and find him globetrotting from Romania to the Amazon musing on questions of both science and philosophy. (NAT134, $24.95)
Noah's Flood, The New Scientific Discoveries about the Event That Changed History  •  William Ryan  •  Walter Pitman SCIENCE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES A riveting tale interweaving biblical history, marine geology, archaeology and mythology. The authors are scientists at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. They marshal convincing evidence to show that indeed there was a flood -- and a huge one -- when the Black Sea was breached by the Mediterranean 7,600 years ago. (BLK42, $15.00)
Ovid VI, Tristia Ex Ponto  •  A.L. Wheeler  •  Ovid LITERATURE •  1968 •  HARD COVER  • 560 PAGES Ovid's account of his years exiled in Tomis, now the Romanian port city Costanza, is a fascinating portrait of local tribes and life on the Black Sea coast. Includes both the Latin text and a good translation. (EUR312, $24.00)
The Pallas Guide to Romania  •  John Villiers GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES • COMING IN JANUARY From the colourful traditions of Transylvania to the sophistication of Bucharest, the Paris of the East, Romania comes to life in this 416 page book. The gorgeous painted churches of the unspoilt Carpathian mountain country, the unique wooden architecture of Maramures, the fascinating riches of a country on the edge of both the Ancient Roman and the Byzantine empires are presented in detail, together with practical information for travelers. (EUR299, $29.95)
The Phantom Church and Other Stories  •  Georgiana Farnoaga LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 128 PAGES An anthology of stories by 20th-century Romanian authors, organized thematically. (EUR158, $21.95)
Plagues and Peoples  •  William McNeill HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 365 PAGES Wide-ranging, fascinating and well researched, this book traces the waves of epidemics that raged through Europe, particularly the famous Black Death of the 13th and 14th centuries. (EUR26, $15.95)
Romanian Modernism, The Architecture of Bucharest, 1920-1940  •  Luminita Machedon ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  HARD COVER  • 352 PAGES A gorgeously illustrated history of the oft-forgotten architectural renaissance of interwar Bucharest. Particularly interesting is the city's Master Plan of 1934, one of Europe's most advanced and ambitious examples of city planning. Includes dozens of photographs and drawings and plans of significant unrealized projects. (EUR245, $68.00)
Southeastern Europe Under Ottoman Rule  •  Peter F. Sugar HISTORY •  1983 •  PAPER  • 365 PAGES A scholarly survey of five centuries of Ottoman rule in the Balkans, from the Empire's first advances in the 14th century up to its decline in the 19th century. (BLK20, $32.50)
Travelers' Tales, A Woman's Europe  •  Marybeth Bond  •  Mary Morris ANTHOLOGY •  2004 •  PAPER  • 298 PAGES This entertaining collection depicts Europe through the eyes of a diverse group of women writers, including Frances Mayes, Jan Morris and Mary Morris. These humorous and well-written true stories capture the misadventures, discoveries and slices of life that the continent (and travel!) has to offer. (EUR160, $17.95)
We Now Know, Rethinking Cold War History  •  John Lewis Gaddis HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 425 PAGES The eminent Cold War scholar, John Lewis Gaddis, takes advantage of the opening of Soviet archives to re-examine the tension between the U.S. and U.S.S.R through the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. (RUS191, $24.99)
The Witch of Portobello  •  Paulo Coelho LITERATURE •  2007 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES From bestselling author Paulo Coelho, this novel follows an orphaned Romanian peasant girl with magical powers who travels across Europe and the Middle East in search of acceptance and enlightenment. (BLK102, $13.95)
Woman from Hamburg And Other True Stories  •  Hanna Krall  •  Madeline G. Levine BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2006 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A journalist from Warsaw born in 1937, Krall reveals the lives and strange trajectories of her compatriots in these stories, profiles and interviews of survivors of WWII. (PLD49, $14.95)
The Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of Eastern Europe  •  Dennis Hupchick  •  Harold Cox HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 130 PAGES • COMING IN The changing borders and complex history of Eastern Europe as told through 52 maps and accompanying essays, organized chronologically. An excellent reference, the book shows the rise of Poland, changing borders of the Ottoman Empire, Hapsburgs and fate of Yugoslavia in admirable clarity. (EUR138, $19.95)
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, Portrait of an Age  •  William Manchester HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 322 PAGES In this wide-ranging study, Manchester evokes in vivid detail the great figures and daily life of the 16th century, with information on Henry VIII, Magellan, Borgia, da Vinci and Martin Luther. This is his 18th book and Manchester knows how to tell a great story. It's divided into three sections: Renaissance, Reformation and Discovery. (EUR06, $15.99)
Yiddish Folktales  •  Beatrice Weinreich LITERATURE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 413 PAGES A collection of 178 Yiddish tales, many just a paragraph or two, gathered from throughout Eastern Europe as part of a project by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in the 1920s and 30s. (CEU33, $18.00)