Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends

Central Europe: Enemies, Neighbors, Friends

This historical survey of Central Europe covers a region that encompasses contemporary Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia. Central Europe abandons the Cold War convention of defining Central Europe in the bipolar terms of East and West, and emphasises the underlying continuities in the region's history. It opens with the initial coversion of the pagan peoples of the region to Christianity before 1000 A.D. and ends with the revolutions of 1989 and the problems of post-Communist states today. Johnson provides a broad comparative overview of the events, national traditions, conflicts, and patterns of development that are essential for an appreciation of how Central Europeans view their histories, themselves, and each other. Each chapter is organised around issues or events that are important for developing an understanding of the region's internal dynamics. Johnson illuminates the competing religious, cultural, economic, national, and ideological interests that have driven the history of Central Europe. Thorough, objective, and focused, Johnson's work stands out both as a useful book for understanding an area of growing interest and a brilliant account of a region that is only just beginning to receive the attention it deserves.