Download PDF The Rebirth of East Europe 4th Edition Michael G Roskin Books
Download As PDF : The Rebirth of East Europe 4th Edition Michael G Roskin Books
This book is designed to quickly enlighten readers about nature of East Europe. Comprehensive and multiperspective--yet easy and enjoyable to read--it provides an accessible overview of everything that's politically relevant for the region—geography, political history, Soviet occupation, Cold War, and system collapse. Caught between Empires. Flunking Democracy The Interwar Years. East Europe and World War II. The Communist Takeovers. The Hated Regimes. “We Pretend to Work” The Decay of Communism. 1989 The Gorbachev Factor. The Struggle for Democracy. The Horrors of Yugoslavia. Lessons, Hopes, Fears. For those interested in Eastern European Politics, Cold War History, Comparative Politics, International Relations.
Download PDF The Rebirth of East Europe 4th Edition Michael G Roskin Books
"I must confess that the strength of this book is its organization. For education purposes may seem great - simple and comprehensive. However, as for the contents, it is very disappointing (example 1: the author is using we - Americans, and them - Soviets, East Europeans; example 2: the author exaggerates many issues - like pollution of the CEE and gives no factual data; example 3: he generally uses media, tabloid-style language).
This book is not a good source of knowledge for anyone. It is not appropriate for the beginners (BA level American students) because it gives a completely distorted and simplified picture of the CEE region. The person who knows nothing about the region may take this description as the reality, which is not correct."
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The Rebirth of East Europe 4th Edition Michael G Roskin Books Reviews :
The Rebirth of East Europe 4th Edition Michael G Roskin Books Reviews
- While the book does present events in 20th century Eastern and Central Europe fairly succinctly, the author is clearly guided throughout by his political convictions. While an anti-communist stand is not surprising, Roskin's is quite virulent, and prevents any sense of academic detachment from appearing in the book. Besides, as one of the other reviewers noted, Roskin stoops to absurd simplifications in order to explain events in the region. For example, he blames the weakness of "East European" states on the fact that they were part of empires in the past. But, pardon me, what country in the world was not, at one time, part of an empire? How does that make "East Europe" different from any other region in the world?
As for the more technical aspects of the book, I found the maps in it to be crude, and the use of diacritics on East-Central European names very patchy Roskin applied them to some names and not to others, perhaps revealing the fundamental problem with this book a lack of first-hand knowledge of the region. - The Rebirth of East Europe is a good text for teaching an introductory, undergraduate course in the politics of the region. It is one of the only texts that covers the history, politics, economics, and societies of the region in a lively and succinct manner. The book is well organized, having a logical flow making it easy for undergraduates to follow. Throughout, boxes highlight special topics, which proved useful in generating class discussions. Granted, the author inserts some rather un-academically blunt assertions about communism. However, these may be helpful in generating classroom discussion. In addition, I found his observations largely on track, especially his assessments of the former regimes, the problems facing the new ones, and public attitudes towards both. So long as the book is supplemented with a more detailed text or scholarly readings, it should work out well for your course (additional readings would be necessary in any case as the book is relatively old now - 2001). In short, The Rebirth of East Europe is a good introductory text to the region, and one that will most definitely not bore your students!
- This book is used as a part of an undergraduate class on Eastern European Politics at the university I attend taught by a prominent Serbian professor. With his endorsement, I'm confident that the material in this book is accurate.
I found this short book to be an excellent and fairly easy to follow introduction to the convoluted political history of Eastern/Central Europe. It was mentioned by another reviewer that Roskin attributes much of the conflict the region has seen over the past 20 years to the dueling Ottoman and Hungarian Empires. He also pointed out that much of world has been ruled under empire over history which is true. But the Ottoman and Hungarian Empires were occupants of the region, and as opposed to the empires that flourished during the 19th and 20th centuries, did little to nurture the concept of nation-state. That the people who lived within the borders of France were able to identify with the French flag with little regard to the concept of historical ethnicity is one of the reasons that France has flourished as a multi-ethnic state in the modern era. In the case of Eastern Europe, it seems that fighting often breaks out along ethnic and sectarian lines. Or so, Roskin theorizes. - Its rare to find a text that is written in an accessible manner, which covers a lot of territory clearly, and which makes important analytical points. The Roskin book fits the bill perfectly as an introduction to the history of East Europe. I have been using it as an introductory book for students (including juniors and seniors) for years and it always praised by them. Unlike the only other reviewer, I did not find it biased, and the book provides plenty of factual material to allow students to make up their own mind about the issues.
- While this book provides a decent cursory review of East Europe, it is not to be taken as an authority on the subject. Many times, Roskin will oversimplify political agendas and use imprecise vocabulary to describe his subjects. For a comprehensive look at the political factors of the area, I would suggest something more along the lines of Henry Kissinger's Diplomacy.
- I must confess that the strength of this book is its organization. For education purposes may seem great - simple and comprehensive. However, as for the contents, it is very disappointing (example 1 the author is using we - Americans, and them - Soviets, East Europeans; example 2 the author exaggerates many issues - like pollution of the CEE and gives no factual data; example 3 he generally uses media, tabloid-style language).
This book is not a good source of knowledge for anyone. It is not appropriate for the beginners (BA level American students) because it gives a completely distorted and simplified picture of the CEE region. The person who knows nothing about the region may take this description as the reality, which is not correct. - Of all the bad things I have read on Eastern Europe, this book is the worst. I already wrote a long criticism in reviewing another of Roskin's books, so I will not repeat it here, although he deserves all the criticism he can get. If "chitatel"'s students liked Roskin's book, it only goes to show how harmful the book is uninitiated students, without other access to information on the region, read Roskin as if he were telling the truth.
- This book is a very easy read and alot of information the best part was the service and how fast it arrived.
