Romania: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories) (Paperback)

by Nicolae Klepper (Author) "The Geto-Dacians, forefathers of the Romanians, were first mentioned in the fourth eentury B.C. by the Greek historian Herodotus and probably made their appearanee in..." (more)
Key Phrases: organic regulations, royal dictatorship, national theater, Soviet Union, World War, King Carol (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
As a state, Romania has only been in existence since 1859, but the history of its people stretches to the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age, to the Geto-Dacians and Romans. This concise history tells the fascinating story of the evolution of the Romanian people, the creation of the Romanian Principalities, their struggle against empire-building powers, and their eventual unification to form the state of Romania.

About the Author
Nicolae Klepper

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; illustrated edition edition (February 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781809355
• ISBN-13: 978-0781809351
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #494,165 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for the Romanian-bound traveller, July 2, 2008

By	Angus Konstam (Edinburgh, Scotland) - See all my reviews

This book is an excellent survey of Romanian history, from the prehistoric period to the aftermath of the Communist era. It was the best history book on the subject I've read, and although it doesn't really warrant the term "fully" illustrated, it contains over 100 images, many of which I've never seen published before. Actually, Nicolae Klepper does a lot more than write a national history, as the book is grounded throughout in Romanian art, architecture, music, culture, gastronomy and custom. The author has mixed all this together to produce an extremely readable history book, a must for anyone planning to visit the country.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing book., July 12, 2007

By	S. Teles (Utah USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book falls short of being "an illustrated history". It has far too few pictures, maps etc. to achieve that claim. The books treats only few selected subjects extensively however most of the other topics are presented rather briefly. I believe it would have been better to keep everything brief and maybe make this book part of the for Dummies collection something like "Romania for Dummies".

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall OK Book, August 21, 2007

By	Roger Crowley "amateur historian" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book did present a number of "facts" that weren't available in other Romanian history books I've read (though some were rehashes of the Party line taken by the communist "historians" and "revisionists"). It would have been nice to let us know when some of these facts came from communist-era historians who, it seems, more often than not wrote a form of Romanian mythology instead of a Romanian history. And at times, I was lost while reading ... not sure what timeframe I was in. The book could have used a little more organizational effort. Maybe in a future reprint. Still, there was enough useful information to make the book worthwhile reading.