The Cheese and The Worms by Carlo Ginzburg – The cosmos of a sixteenth-century Miller – is a book first published in 1976. It is one of the first and most important books of microhistory. Microhistory is a mode of historical writing which focuses on…
Imagining the Balkans by Marii︠a︡ Nikolaeva Todorova is a short book on Balkanism, a take on Said’s concept of orientalism. It is a fascinating read, which I would recommend to all studying Eastern Europe or European history in general. It was recommended to me and…
A Ukrainian Christmas by Yaroslav Hrytsak and Nadiyka Gerbish is a lovely short book, with beautiful illustrations. It offers an insight into the history and traditions Ukrainians have at Christmas. It was a bit more religious than I was expecting, but it is a book…
Europe; war or peace? by Walter Duranty was published in 1935. It is particularly flawed as it is very biased and manages to get everything that will happen next completely wrong. That is beyond the point, of course, as this is an important primary source…
Secret police files from the Eastern bloc by Valentina Glajar, Alison Lewis, Corina Petrescu – Between surveillance and life writing – is a must read book. It’s a short book, of just over 200 pages, on communist secret police services with a focus on the…
The pathologisation of homosexuality in fascist Italy by Gabriella Romano – The Case of ‘G’ – is a short book I read for my studies. Because of the writing and the topic I don’t think it will have a large appeal/interest, so I will say…
Bloc Life by Peter Molloy – Stories from the Lost World of Communism – is a book on three members of the Eastern Bloc – East Germany, Romania, and Czechoslovakia. It showcases how life was in these countries during the Cold War. It presents a…
Approaching an Auschwitz Survivor by Jürgen Matthäus – Holocaust Testimony and its Transformations – is a compilation of 5 essays on the testimony of a Holocaust survivor. Each chapter is written by an expert in Holocaust, Atina Grossmann, Konrad Kwiet, Wendy Lower, Jurgen Matthaus, and…
Conflict Landscapes by Salvatore Garfi – an Archaeology of the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War – was a book I read for my studies. I read a lot on the Spanish civil war, so another take on the conflict, which focuses on the…
Borderland by Anna Reid – A Journey Through the History of Ukraine – is a book recommended even by some Ukrainians. I understand the appeal. It is more of a story than a history book, that some might find dry, so it makes sense that…
The Holodomor by Charles River Editors – The History and Legacy of the Ukrainian Famine Engineered by the Soviet Union – is a short book that is well worth reading. It offers a good insight into Holodomor, but in a very short version, perfect for…
The Gates of Europe by Serhii Plokhy – A History of Ukraine – is a book I read to accompany the course Timothy Snyder gave at Yale and that is available online, alongside the reading list. I would have read this book regardless, as it…
The volunteer by Jack Fairweather – One man, an underground army, and the secret mission to destroy Auschwitz – is the story of Witold Pilecki. In the summer of 1940, after the Nazi occupation of Poland, Witold Pilecki volunteered to go undercover in what was…
The Making of Mămăligă by Alex Drace-Francis – Transimperial Recipes for a Romanian National Dish – is a fascinating book. Mămăligă is polenta, while mălai is corn meal. This is a cereal that was brought over to Europe from America. It is interesting to see…
Invasion by Luke Harding – Russia’s Bloody War and Ukraine’s Fight for Survival – is a well written and worth reading book. It is on the 2023 Political Writing Book prize short list by The Orwell Foundation. The book is mostly descriptive, each chapter touching…
Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd – the rise of fascism seen through the eyes of everyday people – is a fascinating book. While the analysis part of it lacks a bit, the rest is so well researched and so nicely written that…