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This history of Romania in a regional context is intended for the English-speaking general reader who seeks an overall presentation, from ancient times to the present day. It includes a selected bibliography of works useful for further exploration. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good Book, but SCARY editor
Kurt Treptow is a convicted child molester and pedophile.He is currently serving 7 years in Romanian prison for engaging in illegal sexual acts with children at the Center's office, some of these children as young as 8 years old.Worse yet, he VIDEOTAPED these acts.Many of these exploited children are currently in psychiatric therapy to heal their wounds.

While the book may be good, there has to be alternatives available that don't end up supporting creeps like Treptow.He is an embarassment to all Americans and U of I grads alike.

a history of Romania
well-documented; should have dedicated more space for the communist regime crimes. Overall, an interesting lecture. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Read it, but question it
I wish I knew of an *impartial* history of Transylvania.Unfortunately the Romanian and Hungarian takes on Transylvania are worlds apart, not only on interpretation but on facts, so that genuine impartiality may not be possible.

I can't recommend this book; though it is not positively anti-Hungarian, it states a one-sidedly Romanian (and Ceausescu-era) position without even mentioning any alternatives.Its tone is rather "flag-waving" Romanian patriotism.

It also indulges in some Marxist oversimplifications: for instance, the term "feudalism" is used only in its extremely broad Marxist sense rather than in the more specific sense used by non-Marxist historians.

I don't know whether to blame Pascu for the quality of the book, or the circumstances in which it was written and published.At that time, any questioning or qualification of the official line would not have been tolerated.On the other hand, Pascu was a prominent historian throughout Romania's Communist period, and may well have been the chief architect of that official line.

Overall, I suspect that it was written as a textbook for Romanian high school students in the 80s - there is no complexity, no touching on complications or contradictions in Transylvania's exceptionally messy history. ... Read more

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This is the first biography of King Michael of Romania for many years. Based on royal archives, Queen Helen's unpublished diaries, sources in Romania, and interviews with King Michael, Queen Helen and Crown Princess Margarita, it integrates the story of Michael with that of the country which he once ruled, and which he once tried to save. Michael was the only constitutional monarch to have led his people in person during the Second World War. After refusing to be a puppet to give legitimacy to the regime Hitler had set up in Romania he led a coup d'etat against the Germans which shortened the war and postponed the communist dictatorship of his country. For three years, from 1944-7, with the Soviet army in occupation, the Western Allies unable to help, and the two main democratic parties virtually destroyed, he hung on grimly to some degree of constitutional democracy until Stalin showed his hand. Exiled after the war for fifty years, Michael continued to be regarded with affection and support by the Romanian people. When he returned in 1996 he told them, 'I love you. Don't forget that.' ... Read more

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This study provides an in-depth overview of the development of a national identity in Romanian art, architecture and design at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries. By exploring the political, cultural and artistic forces that molded the emerging art scene, the text represents the first synthetic attempt to examine the interrelationship of the Romanian arts as a whole. Kallestrup also makes available relevant unpublished materials which highlight the international significance of artists who were previously little known outside of Romania.

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Romania is a middle income European Union member economy of Central-Eastern Europe. It has been referred as a "Tiger" due to its high growth rates and rapid development. Until 2009, Romanian economic growth was among EUs fastest. Gross domestic product contracted 7.1% in the third quarter of 2009 from the same period a year earlier, and the IMF estimates that the budget deficit will be as high as 7.8% of GDP. Romania has the 11th largest economy in the European Union by total nominal GDP and the 8th largest based on purchasing power parity and is one of the fastest growing markets in recent history with consistent annual GDP growth rates above 6% (+8.4% for 2008 ). Romania is a member of the European Union (7th largest country), its most important trading partner. Its capital, Bucharest, is one of the largest financial and industrial centres in the region, with a metropolitan area of more than 2.6 million people. Romania has experienced growth in foreign investment with a cumulative FDI totaling more than $100 billion since 1989. Prior to the late 2000s recession, some economic predictions indicated that Romanian GDP will double from 2006 to 2011, and one scholar has even suggested that Romania will overtake Italy in GDP per capita by 2020. Despite a growth rate of 7.1% in 2008, in 2009 the Romanian economy was heavily affected by the global financial downturn and contracted by some -7.2%. The IMF, the European Council, as well as some independent analysts predict that growth will resume in 2010. Future prospects are tied to the country's increasingly important integration with the European Union member states. The country is expected to join the Eurozone no later than 2014. GDP of Romania between 1870 and 2003 in 1990 International dollars. A... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=25640 ... Read more

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The interest in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 has exceeded the expectations of the publishers of this volume. The first edition, which was published five months ago, is already exhausted and a second is now called for. Meanwhile there has broken out and is now in progress a war which is generally regarded as the greatest of all time—a war already involving five of the six Great Powers and three of the smaller nations of Europe as well as Japan and Turkey and likely at any time to embroil other countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa, which are already embraced in the area of military
operations.

This War of Many Nations had its origin in Balkan situation. It began on July 28 with the declaration of the Dual Monarchy to the effect that from that moment Austria-Hungary was in a state of war with Servia. And the fundamental reason for this declaration as given in the note or ultimatum to Servia was the charge that the Servian authorities had encouraged the Pan-Serb agitation which seriously menaced the integrity of Austria-Hungary and had already caused the assassination at Serajevo of the Heir to the Throne.

No one could have observed at close range the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 without perceiving, always in the background and occasionally in the foreground, the colossal rival figures of Russia and Austria-Hungary. Attention was called to the phenomenon at various points in this volume and especially in the concluding pages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Real Transylvania
This review relates to the University of California hardback edition, jointly released in the US and the UK, ISBN 0520060016.

A journey into contemporary life-cycle rituals: weddings, funerals, and death-weddings in Transylvania. Author Kligman spent over a year with Transylvanian peasants, yielding a book "beautifully written and moving," as it examines the contents of contemporary peasant rituals, lore, and oral poetry.

Most importantly, Kligman looks at how these societies use metaphor and symbol within the context of a modern, ever-present, socialistic state, allowing "the villagers to expres emotions and negotiate relations among themselves and the state."

Hardback with a sewn binding in dustjacket. Cloth over boards. Photo plates. 410 pp. 5 Appendices, Glossary, Index. 50 pp of narrative End Notes and an 18 p Bibliography. ... Read more

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After forty-five years of strict rule, it took nothing less than a miracle for communism in Romania to fall in such a short period of nine days. It was only with the help of the merciful hand of a loving God that this rapid change in the government could take place. Through GodÂ’s own way and time, political barriers were overcome which allowed the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to be preached in Romania.

Customer Reviews (1)

Good job, but !
This is the best book, so far, I've read about Romanian history in brief, but, possibly because it is translated from French to English, the language is quite heavy, especially for non-native English speakers. I still recommend if interested in Romanian history. ... Read more

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Chapters: Demographics of Romania, Former Capitals of Romania, Histories of Cities in Romania, Territorial Disputes of Romania, Iaşi, Siret, History of Timişoara, Second Vienna Award, Maritime Delimitation Between Romania and Ukraine, Demographic History of Romania, Târgovişte, Suceava, History of Oradea, Câmpulung, Curtea de Argeş, Baia, Decreţei, Putna, Suceava. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 96. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Iai -The city is historically referred to as: Scholars have different theories on the origin of the name "Iai". Some argue that the name originates with the Sarmatian tribe Iazyges (of Iranian origin), one mentioned by Ovid as "Ipse vides onerata ferox ut ducata Iasyx/ Per media Istri plaustra bubulcus aquas" and "Iazyges et Colchi Metereaque turba Getaque/ Danubii mediis vix prohibentur aquis". A now lost inscription on a Roman milestone found near Osijek, Croatia by Matija Petar Katani in the 18th century, mentions the existence of a Jassiorum municipium, or Municipium Dacorum-Iassiorum from other sources. Another explanation is that the name originated from the Iranian Alanic tribe of Jassi. The Hungarian name of the city (Jászvásár) literally means "Jassic Market"; the antiquated Romanian name, Târgul Ieilor (and the once-favoured Iaii), may indicate the same meaning. Oral sources say that the name may come from an archaic form of the Romanian word "to exit" because the city was an important trade node in the region. Golia Monastery Archaeological investigations attest the presence of human communities on the present territory of the city and around it as far back as the prehistoric age. Later settlements included those of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture, a late Neolithic archaeological culture. The name of the city is first officially mentioned i...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=215076 ... Read more

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Chapters: Demographics of Romania, History of Ethnic Groups in Romania, Religious History of Romania, Thraco-Roman, Csangos, Demographic History of Romania, Religious Persecution During the Soviet Occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, Foreign Forced Labor in the Soviet Union, Decreţei. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 61. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The term Thraco-Roman refers to the culture and language of the Thracian and Dacian peoples who were incorporated into the Roman Empire and ultimately fell under the Roman and Latin sphere of influence. The term was coined in 1901 by Ovid Densusianu, who used it to describe the "oldest epoch of the creation of the Romanian language", when the Vulgar Latin spoken in the Balkans between the fourth and sixth century, having its own peculiarities, had evolved into what is known as Proto-Romanian. By extension, historians started to use the term to mean the time period of the history of the Romanian people until the 6th century, which witnessed the cultural and linguistic Romanisation of many Daco-Thracian tribes. The territory where this process took place, consensually agreed to be near the Jireek Line is characterized as having two main peculiarities: Page from the Notitia Dignitatum, a late Roman register of military commands, depicting shields of the magister militum praesentalis II. An analysis of East Roman army in 350-476 shows that the Danubian regions provided 54% of the total units. It is for this reason that Galerius "avowed himself the enemy of the Roman name and proposed that the empire should be called, not the Roman, but the Dacian empire".Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, is the first to describe the Getae as Thracian tribes. Several other sources from Antiquity claim the ethnic or linguistic identity...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=5706627 ... Read more

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1989 marked the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. A mid-December protest in Timi?oara against the eviction of a Hungarian ministergrew into a country-wide protest against the Ceau?escu régime, sweeping the dictator from power.On December 22, President Nicolae Ceau?escu had his apparatus gather a mass-meeting in Bucharest downtown in an attempt to rally popular support for his regime and publicly condemn the mass protests of Timi?oara. This meeting mirrored the mass-meeting gathered in 1968 when Ceau?escu had spoken out against the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Treaty countries. This time however, the people turned angry and riot broke out. During the events of the following week, marked by confusion and street fighting, it is estimated that 1,051 people lost their lives. To this day, the real number of casualties are unknown and so are the identities of the individuals responsible for them. Those responsible for the casualties are still called "the terrorists". Ceau?escu was arrested in Târgovi?te. After a summary trial by a kangaroo court, he and his wife were executed on December 25. ... Read more

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Chapters: Jassy-kishinev Offensive, Rodion Malinovsky, Allied Commission, Operation Tidal Wave, Second Battle of Târgu Frumos, First Battle of Târgu Frumos, Transnistria, Siege of Odessa, Tacam R-2, First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive, Romanian Prisoners of War in the Soviet Union, Crimean Campaign, Cruciada Împotriva Comunismului, Bombing of Romania in World War Ii, Tudor Vladimirescu Division, Battle of Podu Iloaiei, Battle of Romania, Mareşal Tank Destroyer. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 84. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Following the termination of hostilities in World War II, the Allied Powers were in control of the defeated Axis countries. Anticipating the defeat of Germany and Japan, they had already set up the European Advisory Commission and a proposed Far Eastern Advisory Commission to make recommendations for the post war period. Accordingly they managed their control of the defeated countries through Allied Commissions, consisting of representatives of the major Allied Powers. Under the provisions of Article 37 in the Armistice with Italy Instrument of Surrender, September 29, 1943, the Control Commission for Italy was established on November 10, 1943 and was dismantled following the conclusion of the Italian Peace Treaty at the Paris Peace Conference in 1947. King Michael I of Romania was awarded the Order of Victory (the highest Soviet order) for overthrowing the pro-German Marshal Antonescu in the August 23 coup. Afterwards, though Romanian troops fought against Nazi Germany and their allies in Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, this was not recognized by the Paris Peace Conference. Romania was occupied by Soviet forces (until 1958), King Michael forced to abdicate, and Communism forcibly imposed.In The Armistice Agreement with Rumania September 12, 1944, it was stipul...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=4215601 ... Read more

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Romanian Revolution of 1989. Romania, Communist Romania, Nicolae Ceau?escu, History of Romania since 1989, Revolutions of 1989, Bra?ov Rebellion, List of books about the Romanian Revolution of 1989, List of films about the Romanian Revolution of 1989 ... Read more

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Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Nicolae Constantin Batzaria, Besaria, Basarya or Bazaria (also known under the pen names Mo Nae, Mo Ene and Ali Baba; November 20, 1874 January 28, 1952), was a Macedonian-born Aromanian cultural activist, Ottoman statesman and Romanian writer. A schoolteacher and inspector of Aromanian education within Ottoman lands, he established his reputation as a journalist before 1908. During his thirties, he joined the clandestine revolutionary movement known as the Young Turks, serving as its liaison with Aromanian factions. The victorious Young Turk Revolution brought Batzaria to the forefront of Ottoman politics, ensuring him a seat in the Ottoman Senate, and he briefly served as Minister of Public Works under the Three Pashas. He was tasked with several diplomatic missions, including attending the London Conference of 1913, but, alerted by the Three Pashas' World War I alliances and the Young Turks' nationalism, he soon after quit the Ottoman political scene and left into voluntary exile. Batzaria eventually settled in Romania and became a prolific contributor to Romanian letters, producing works of genre fiction and children's literature. Together with comic strip artist Marin Iorda, he created Haplea, one of the most popular characters in early Romanian comics. Batzaria also collected and retold fairy tales from various folkloric traditions, while publishing original novels for adolescents and memoirs of his life in Macedonia. A member of the Romanian Senate for one term, he was active on the staff of Romania's leading left-wing journals, Adevrul and Dimineaa, as well as founder of the latter's supplement for children, before switching his allegiance to the right-wing Universul. Batzaria was persecuted and probably imprisoned by the communist ... More: http://booksllc.net/?id=24045673 ... Read more