[Das Baltikum: Geschichte einer europäischen Region. Bd. 1, Von der Vor- und Frühgeschichte bis zum Ende des Mittelalters] : recenzija

ENThis book is the first volume in a triptych in which German scholars and their Baltic counterparts strive to present a comprehensive and upto-date treatment of the history of the east Baltic region in its multi-dimensional involvement with the rest of Europe from the earliest times to the present day. It is the editorsʼ belief that, as a reference work, the book will serve well international academic faculties, students and political decision-makers (!) (p. 20). It must be said at the outset that books like this will hardly be read from cover to cover by any meaningful number of readers. It was a daring undertaking to start a project of such chronological and thematic dimensions in 2006–2007, and bringing the project to its happy end in 2018–2021 has no doubt taken Gargantuan efforts from the editors and their authors. For all this output, the team certainly deserve wholehearted applause. The editors in particular deserve our deep appreciation for their perseverance and management of the whole affair. Such works do not come about even in decades. Great credit must also be given to the VolkswagenStiftung for providing the funds necessary for such long-term research endeavours. Thus, what we have before our very eyes is the major result of an international team effort that became feasible as a consequence of the Berlin Wall coming down in 1989. The present reviewer does not claim any moral right to stand up and look down on what the 18 scholars from six countries have done. I will confine myself to what is closer to my own expertise, and what has drawn my attention as an interested reader. [Extract, p. 155-156]

• Politikos mokslai / Political sciences
• Istorija / History