By Michael Kopanic, Ivan Reguli, David Daniel, Albert Devine, Anton Spiesz
Edited by Dr. Ladislaus J. Bolchazy et alii.
Epilogue by Dusan Caplovic (President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences)
Translated by Joseph J. Palus, Jr.

Description

As a stand-alone volume, no other book in English has such a wealth of contemporary and scholarly information. This title fills an important gap in historiography about events throughout Central Europe over the last fourteen centuries. It presents the history of Slovakia in terms of the latest scholarship and in context of on-going historical debate about Slovak history and its presentation in a post-socialist world. It addresses the historiographical controversies with copious notes and an extensive bibliography.

Special Features

• English Translation
  
• 321 color illustrations
  
• 7 color maps
  
• Preface
  
• Foreword
  
• Epilogue
  
• Updates to 2005
  
• Bibliography
  
• Index

Comparison

This book stands alone, for no other book contains such a wealth of contemporary information, along with full bibliographical data, presented in a well-designed package with hundreds of color illustrations. The notes, which have been especially written for the English-language edition, thoroughly address issues of historical controversy.

Comments and Reviews

The publisher fulfills its aims of "giving the general English-speaking public a book that is inviting to read" while creating a work of Slovak history that "displays scholarly integrity" by a book which is copiously illustrated (over 300 illustrations) and involved a number of prominent authorities in Slovak history. Fourteen chronological chapters present the path of Slovak history with controversies over the meaning of certain aspects of it raised in the endnotes. The extensive bibliography too points readers to debates and alternate, sometimes conflicting interpretations of the events and persons presented in the main text. With all of the seismic changes going on in Central Europe, including the Balkans, since the fail of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s, this comprehensive, up-to-date history is to be welcomed by any reader interested in this region which has become crucial in world affairs. The book with its popular and scholarly elements can be taken at different levels, from introductory survey to exposure to open debates assessing finer points of Slovak history.

-Henry Berry
Midwest Book Review

Illustrated Slovak History: A Struggle for Sovereignty in Central Europe Edited by Spiesz, Caplovic & Bolchazy-Carducci Publ., Inc.

Slovakia is a small, relatively unknown country, lying inconspicuously among larger neighbors: Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine. It is not a trouble-making state, nor does it grab headlines; indeed, few people in the West are even of its existence. Many Americans confuse it with Slovakia to the south (beyond Austria and Hungary) or relate it to the former Yugoslavia. It is a very recent addition to the European family of states, but it has a long, eventful history and a rich culture. Anton Spiesz' book helps fill the large gap in work on the subject, while aiming at a reasonably educated readership, not just scholars. Though not necessarily major players, the inhabitants of Slovakia have been deeply involved in European history. Small in size, Slovakia numbers slightly over 5.3 million inhabitants, predominantly of Slovak ethnicity, but with a sizeable Hungarian component of about 600.000. Smaller minorities include Carpatho-Rusyns, Czechs, Romany (Gypsies), and some Poles and Germans, all of whom reflect the fluidity of migration in past centuries. As a stand-alone volume, no other book in English has such a wealth of contemporary and scholarly information. It addresses the historiographical controversies with copious notes and an extensive bibliography. Also added to this illustrated English edition are a full index, six color maps, historical update to 2005, and a preface. CONTENTS: Preface of the English Edition by Kopanic – Foreword by Gasparovic – publisher's Statement – Beginnings of History in Slovakia – Slavic Arrival: The Founding and Significance of their First State – The Arrival of the Magyars: Building of Hungary – The late Medieval Age – The First Two Centuries of the Modern Era (1526–1681) – A Hundred Year of ReCatholicization (1681–1781) – Headed towards Revolution of 1848–1849 – The Revolution of 1848–1849 – Events Leading to the Austro-Hungarian Compromise (1849–1867) – The Era of Dual Monarchy (1867–1918) – Between Two World Wars (1918–1939) – During the Second World War (1939–1945) – Between 1945 and 1960 – Socialism: from Rise to Fall (1960–1989) – An Afterword by Dusan Caplovic – A Decade of Sovereignty (1993–2004) – Endnotes – Maps – Bibliography – List of Rulers and Presidents – Index, xii + 420pp.

As reviewed by Educational Book Review in June–July 2007

Slovak publisher Ladislaus J. Bolchazy presents an English edition of the work created by the late Slovak economic historian Anton Spiesz, originally published as Ilustrovane dejiny Slovenska: Na ceste k sebauvedomeniu in 1992. The English translation includes a foreword by President Ivan Gasparovic, an afterword by Slovak archaeologist Dusan Caplovic, some 60 pages of endnotes by Michael J. Kopanic (St. Francis U., Loretto, Pennsylvania), and an extensive bibliography. Illustrated throughout with b&w and color photographs, maps and diagrams, the text is suitable for both the specialist and the general reader.

-Reference & Research Book News, February 2007

Author Anton Spiesz. Epilogue by Dusan Caplovic, President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Edited by Dr. Ladislaus J. Bolchazy et alii. Translation by Joseph J. Palus, Jr., Albert Devine, David Daniel, Michael Kopanic, and Ivan Reguli. Notes for the English-language edition supplied by Dr. Michael Kopanic. Academic consulting by Martin Votruba, Albert Devine, Milan S. Durica, Frantisek Vnuk, Ivan Reguli, Charles Sabatos, Patrick Romane, John Karch, Adenko G. Alexy et alii. Associate Editing by Joseph J. Palus, Jr., Albert Devine, Patrick Romane and Richard Wood.

Jednota Review:
Click here to download review by Stanislav J. Kirschbaum (.pdf file - 4.64MB)