The Baltic region is frequently neglected in broader histories of Europe and its international significance can be obscured by separate treatments of the various Baltic states. With this wide-ranging survey, Andrejs Plakans presents the first integrated history of three Baltic peoples - Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians - and draws out the common threads to show how it has been shaped by their location in a strategically desirable corner of Europe. Subordinated in turn by Baltic German landholders, the Polish nobility and gentry, and then by Russian and Soviet administrators, the three nations have nevertheless kept their distinctive identities - significantly retaining three separate languages in an ethnically diverse region. The book traces the countries' evolution from their ninth-century tribal beginnings to their present status as three thriving and separate nation states, focusing particularly on the region's complex twentieth-century history, which culminated in the eventual reestablishment of national sovereignty after 1991.
"A masterful survey of the history of the eastern Baltic littoral by one of the leading authorities in the field. Essential reading for anyone interested in understanding contemporary Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania."
DAVID J. SMITH, University of Glasgow
"A tour de force of concise and yet comprehensive history-probably the most complete and nuanced in any language."
WALTER C. CLEMENS, JR., Boston University
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