BOOK REVIEW
A Case for American Leadership in the post-Soviet Sphere
Intermarium: The Land between the Black and Baltic Seas
By Marek Jan Chodakiewicz
Transaction Publishers: New Brunswick (USA) and London (UK), 2012
HC, 568 pages, US$59.00
978-1-4128-4774-2
Reviewed by Nicholas Dima | March 12, 2013
In short, Intermarium (Latin for In between Seas) is a well-researched and well-written book; a balanced combination of theoretical insights with good narratives; an objective study of an area full of subjectivities; and, a thorough summary of important historical events. The book also offers an exhaustive bibliography full of valuable quotations and a much needed alphabetical index. Although it took a team to accomplish this exhaustive study and two decades of research, as well as many field trips, personal interviews, translations and interpretations, all these do not diminish the great personal contribution of the author.
Intermarium is defined as the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the early modern period (1386-1795) or western Ruthenia of the old “Rus.” Currently, the area is made up of the three Baltic republics to the north, Belarus and Ukraine in the center, and to a lesser degree, the republic of Moldova or former Romania Bessarabia, to the south. However, few people associate this vast area with the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. A more detailed background in this regard would have been welcome.
The work is well organized into four parts: Background and brief history; The Armageddon and its aftermath (the period from 1939 to 1992); the post-Soviet years; and, a short segment dedicated to individual recollections.
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