History Derailed: Central and Eastern Europe in the Long Nineteenth Century

At last, a synthesis of Eastern European history of the 19th and early 20th centuries that covers all the major issues, social, eocnomic, political and intellectual, uses the best in both pre-and post-Communist era scholarly studies, and presents in a clear, well-organized, and readable style. He has no axes to grind, and explains clearly how the many ethnic groups and their main oppressors sharpened theirs by adapting western concepts of nationalism and group identity, shifted these powerful ideas from an intellectual elite to the masses, and helped bring about the horrors of two world wars and the current mess in the Balkans. Well done. Essential reading.