The Middle Kingdoms
A New History of Central Europe

Rady is a good introduction to the the history of Mitteleuropa. He begins with the Romans and the various migrations that swept across the continent. He includes Germany (and the western Rhinelands), which I don't typically include in Central Europe; perhaps that is post WWII thinking on my part. As......more

First of all this has nothing to do with China. The Kingdoms that Rady writes about are those in Central Europe. It begins with those provinces of the Roman Empire that were south of the Danube, After the fall of Rome, many of the countries that survived, such as parts of the Holy Roman Empire, Pol......more

Labai reikalingas darbas aprašyti centrinės Europos istoriją, randant bendrus vardiklius šiam, ir mūsų, regionui. Tačiau išpildymas nekoks. Galbūt per sunku vienoje knygoje apimti tiek daug istorinių gijų. Viskas per daug chaotiška ir gaunasi paviršutiniškai.......more

Really impressive book that creates an easy to follow narrative of Central Europe over more than 1000 years. Feels like it shifts focus much more on art and culture post-WW1. I really liked those parts and would have loved to see it more throughout the book. They also might have been there but I was......more

Rady’s history of Central Europe, in broad strokes covers the area from the post-Roman period to the end of political communism, and the region’s incorporation into the European Union. The primary takeaways from the book are fourfold, but they are not exhaustive by a long shot. 1) Central European st......more