Eastern Europe!, 2nd Edition: Everything You Need to Know About the History (and More) of a Region that Shaped Our World and Still Does

100 ratings (4.6/5) on Amazon for the first The long-awaited new edition of the acclaimed, first-ever comprehensive, informative, and entertaining history of Eastern Europe in Englishthoroughly updated, with a major new section on the postcommunist era and a foreword by BBC News Central Europe Correspondent Nick Thorpe When the legendary Romulus killed his brother Remus and founded the city of Rome in 753 BCE, Plovdivtoday the second-largest city in Bulgariawas thousands of years old. Indeed, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Brussels, Amsterdam are all are mere infants compared to Plovdiv. This is just one of the paradoxes that haunts and defines the New Europe, that part of Europe that was freed from Soviet bondage in 1989, and which is at once both much older than the modern Atlantic-facing power centers of Western Europe while also being much younger than them. Eastern Europe! is a brief and concise (but informative) introduction to Eastern Europe and its myriad customs and history. Even those knowledgeable about Western Europe often see Eastern Europe as terra incognito, with a sign on the border declaring Here be monsters. Tomek Jankowski's book is a gateway to understanding both what unites and separates Eastern Europeans from their Western brethren, and how this vital region has been shaped by but has also left its mark on Western Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is a reader-friendly guide to a region that is all too often mischaracterized as remote, insular, and superstitious. The book comprises three parts, The first sums up modern linguistic, geographic, and religious contours of Eastern Europe, while the second, main part delves into the region's history, from the earliest origins of Europe up to the end of the Cold War, as well as--new to the 2nd edition--a section on the post-Cold War period. Closing the book is a section that makes sense of geographical name references -- many cities, rivers, or regions have different names -- and also includes an "Eastern Europe by Numbers" feature that provides charts describing the populations, politics, and economies of the region today. Throughout are boxed-off anecdotes ("Useless Trivia") describing fascinating aspects of Eastern European history or culture.

When the legendary Romulus killed his brother Remus and founded the city of Rome in 753 BCE, Plovdiv—today the second-largest city in Bulgaria—was thousands of years old. Indeed, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid, Brussels, Amsterdam are all are mere infants compared to Plovdiv. This is just one of the paradoxes that haunts and defines the New Europe, that part of Europe that was freed from Soviet bondage in 1989, and which is at once both much older than the modern Atlantic-facing power centers of Western Europe while also being much younger than them. Eastern Europe! is a brief and concise (but informative) introduction to Eastern Europe and its myriad customs and history.Even those knowledgeable about Western Europe often see Eastern Europe as terra incognito, with a sign on the border declaring "Here be monsters." Tomek Jankowski's book is a gateway to understanding both what unites and separates Eastern Europeans from their Western brethren, and how this vital region has been shaped by but has also left its mark on Western Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. It is a reader-friendly guide to a region that is all too often mischaracterized as remote, insular, and superstitious.The book comprises three parts, The first sums up modern linguistic, geographic, and religious contours of Eastern Europe, while the second, main part delves into the region's history, from the earliest origins of Europe up to the end of the Cold War, as well as--new to the 2nd edition--a section on the post-Cold War period. Closing the book is a section that makes sense of geographical name references -- many cities, rivers, or regions have different names -- and also includes an "Eastern Europe by Numbers" feature that provides charts describing the populations, politics, and economies of the region today. Throughout are boxed-off anecdotes ("Useless Trivia") describing fascinating aspects of Eastern European history or culture.

Almost four years after the publication of the first comprehensive popular history of Eastern Europe, Tomek Jankowski returns with a much-needed second edition that, like the first, seeks to demystify Europe's elusive "other half." These years have seen the Ukraine War, Putin's resurgent Russia, a migration crisis, and a precarious future for the European Union. All this and more is now addressed in Eastern Europe! Everything You Need to Know about the History (and More) of a Region That Shaped Our World and Still Does. Ideal for students, businesspeople, and those who simply want to know more about where Grandma or Grandpa came from. Jankowski's book has been widely praised for its blend of easy-to-navigate detail--college course adoptions have ensued (much opportunity yet on this front)--and remarkably reader-friendly prose, which has seen it become popular also with a general audience as a new Cold War of sorts underway, with Eastern Europe again the focus of a resurgent Russia. This second edition promises even more of the same. From the Trade Paperback edition. Section I. A few words about a word ;A note on pronunciation --A word (or two) about time ;Languages ;Geography ;Religion --Section II. Introduction: Prehistory ;Introduction: History ;Introduction: The Classical Age in the East, or, "Eastern Europe - the prequal --Section III. Musical chairs, or, Place names in Eastern Europe ;Eastern Europe in numbers ;Mrs. Jankowska's homemade bigos The Long-awaited 2nd Edition Of The First English-language Comprehensive Popular History Of Eastern Europe