Customer Reviews

Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918-1940

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This book is important to Lithuanian historiography because this is the only English title I know that deals with Lithuania in the interwar years. Other titles, like von Rauch's book, group the three Baltic states' history together under one title. This book is solely dedicated to Lithuanian interwar history.

The book is well written by prestigious authors who have done their research. The notes at the end are extensive. The book is clearly written. Even a novice in Lithuanian history would have an easy time following this volume.

The book does an excellent job of showing the pivotal role Lithuania had in the eastern European balance of power between Germany and the USSR versus the Polish, French, British alliance. The book reminds of the title 'Lithuania: The Rebel Nation' by Stanley Vardys. The authors do a great job of clearly explaining the plight of Lithuania in this balance of power.

Another interesting note is that some of the authors in this edited book are from Lithuania. It is interesting to see the view of homegrown Lithuanians on this time period in Lithuanian history. They rate high in their objectivity.

Anyone interested in Lithuanian history should own this book.

As a grandchild of paternal Lithuanian immigrants and maternal French immigrants, I was always interested in my heritage. Information on French history abounds but my knowledge of my Lithuanian roots was totally dependent on vague stories repeated by my father that were difficult to put in a historic context. This book clarified and totally collaborated the stories that I grew up with and deepened my respect for this amazing freedom-loving country.

It is an excellent account of Lithuanian foreign policy between the world wars: its struggle with Poland regarding Vilnius/Wilno Region, with Germany regarding Klaipeda/Memel Region, its balancing act between Soviet Russia, Nazi Germany, and Western Europe. It all ended badly, but the book analyzes how a small nation attempted to prevent the unpreventable disasters by leveraging conflicts between the nations. As it is said, where two fight, the third wins. Lithuania hoped to be that "third." After reading the book you not only know what happened, but also start appreciating the struggles, complexities, and general mess in interwar Europe. You start to understand the subtle differences and why they were so important.

The topic is extremely complex, but the authors make it an easy and captivating read. Events are not isolated in Lithuanian world: there is always a glimpse of what world or European events caused this or that event. The book captures just the right balance between details and general overview: just enough details to convey the complexity of issues, and not enough to overwhelm. Issues are discussed from several positions and views without endorsing any of them. The authors clearly done their research and know their stuff.

Highly recommended.