Recommended Books, Films & Music
For an interesting perspective on how Eastern Europe has changed since the Berlin Wall came down, try The Burdens of Freedom: Eastern Europe since 1989 by Padraic Kenney (Fernwood Publishing, 2006). This is part contemporary politics, part history, and a lot of insight into the growing pains the region is experiencing. The Europeanization of Central and Eastern Europe, edited by Frank Schimmelfennig and Ulrich Sedelmeier (Cornell University Press, 2005), is another book along those lines. The authors discuss the impact of European Union reforms, new laws, and regional social policy on Eastern European culture and traditions. Rebecca West's Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia (Penguin Books, 1994) is considered a seminal work about the region that was the former Yugoslavia. West, who was a journalist, novelist, and critic, began her research in the Balkans with the idea of writing a travel book, but the result turned out to be a significant explanation that illuminates the tangled history of the former Yugoslavia. To gain historical perspective, try The Balkans Since 1453 by Northwestern University Professor L. S. Stavrianos (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966). It's a bit ponderous but full of little-known facts. Why Angels Fall: A Journey Through Orthodox Europe from Byzantium to Kosovo, by Victoria Clark (Macmillan Press, 2000), offers a look at Eastern Europe from a different perspective: Clark interprets the region's recent turmoil in terms of past religious conflicts between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians.
Finally, Croatia: Travels in Undiscovered Country, by Tony Fabijancic (University of Alberta Press, 2003), is as entertaining as it is informative. Fabijancic, whose father was born in Croatia, undertakes an epic journey across his father's homeland -- on foot. His conversations with people along the way reveal the mindset of a culture and hint at its future direction.
