Historical Atlas of Central Europe: Third Revised Expanded Edition 2018
by Paul Robert Magocsi

My original intent in purchasing this book was to add to my Carpatho-Rusyn knowledge. I know very little about the various groups that swept through central Europe, other than there were many, many armies passing through, invaders who remained and frequent political and governmental boundary changes.

However, I quickly realized that this is an essential reference book for anyone interested in the history of Central Europe through all its iterations.

This 275-page book will teach you anything and everything you ever wanted to know about the historical, geographical and political influences affecting Central Europe from ancient times until today.

The Table of Contents is lengthy:

Introduction to the Original Edition
Note to the Second Revised and Expanded Edition
Note to the Third Revised Edition
1. Central Europe: geographic zones
2. Central Europe, ca. 400
3. Central Europe, 7th and 8th centuries
4. Central Europe, 9th century
5. Early medieval kingdoms, ca. 1050
6. The period of feudal subdivisions, ca. 1250
7. Poland, Lithuania, and Bohemia-Moravia, 13th-15th centuries
8. Hungary-Croatia and Venetia, 14th-15 centuries
9. Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia, and the Ottoman Empire, 14th-15h centuries
10. Central Europe, ca. 1480
11. Economic patterns, ca. 1450
12. The city in medieval times
13. Ecclesiastical jurisdictions, ca. 1450
14. Central Europe, ca. 1570
15. Protestant Reformation, 16th century
16. Catholic Counter Reformation, 16th-17th centuries
17. Education and culture through the 18th century
18. Central Europe, 1648
19. Poland-Lithuania, the Habsburgs, Hungary-Croatia, and Transylvania, 16th-17th centuries
20. The Ottoman Empire, the Habsburgs, Hungary-Croatia, and Transylvania, 16th-17th centuries
21. Central Europe, ca. 1721
22. Poland, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire, 18th century
23. The Napoleonic era, 1795-1814
24. Central Europe, 1815
25. The Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1815-1914
26. The Balkan Peninsula, 1817-1912
27. The Balkan Peninsula on the eve of World War I
28. Canal and railway development before 1914
29. Population, 1870-1910
30. Ethnolinguistic distribution, ca. 1900
31. Cultural and educations institutions before 1914
32. Germans in Central Europe, ca. 1900
33. Jews and Armenians in Central Europe, ca. 1900
34. The Catholic Church, 1900
35. The Orthodox Church, 1900
36. Central Europe, 1910
37. World War I, 1914-1918
38. Central Europe, 1918-1923
39. Poland, Danzig, and Lithuania in the 20th century
40. Belarus and Ukraine in the 20th century
41. Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia in the 20th century
42. Austria and Hungary in the 20th century
43. Romania and Moldova in the 20th century
44. Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Kosovo in the 20th century
45. Slovenia, Trieste, and Istria in the 20th century
46. Croatian and Bosnia-Herzogovina in the 20th century
47. Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia in the 20th century
48. Bulgaria and Greece in the 20th century
49. Central Europe, ca. 1930
50. World War II, 1939-1942
51. World War II, 1943-1945
52. Central Europe after World War II
53. Population movements, 1944-1948
54. Population in the 20th century
55. Ethnolinguistic distribution, ca. 2010
56. Central Europe, 1980
57. Industrial development, 1945-1989
58. Education and re-education in the 20th century
59. The Catholic Church in the 20th century
60. The Orthodox Church in the 20th century
61. Post-Communist Central Europe

The Table of Contents pretty much speaks for itself. The 61 chapters provide the historical details that accompany the 60+ maps and 48 tables. The reading is a bit intense, but each chapter is short and the visual accompaniments make understanding the region’s complex history much easier.

Also, because the chapters are all short – each is only a handful of pages – it works well to read a chapter or two, take a break and then return.

Important to note, too, in a book that could veer widely politically in one direction or another, the commentary is presented in a factual, straight forward neutral manner. It’s pretty much “This is the way it was/is” without any finger pointing.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of the forces that still influence Central Europe in the 21st century. Being 50% Carpatho-Rusyn myself, this is the story of my ancestors and I’ve found it fascinating.

Everyone’s favorite online shopping site has this book available for $77, which is a hefty price tag. Even the used copies are $70 plus shipping. However, visit instead the Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center, which has new copies for $65. Even with a $4 mailing fee, it’s a way less expensive purchase.