Baltic

Rezensionen / Stimmen

Moody has extensively travelled around the Baltic Sea and written a fascinating book on its changing politics in the shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Baltic is essential reading for beginning to understand the present tumult in Europe as part of long European history -- Helen Thompson, author of DISORDER There are countries that take on Russia, and countries that don't. In this masterful account of political and societal resistance, Moody travels across Poland, the Baltics and the Nordics describing how this part of Europe understood Putin long before the rest. Mixing deep research with vivid reportage and a clear-sighted argument, this essential book is in turns alarming and uplifting -- John Kampfner, author of WHY THE GERMANS DO IT BETTER This is a brilliantly written book on an area about which many in Britain know little but they will now no longer have any excuse for remaining ignorant. Moody takes us through the entire Baltic sea littoral to show us how it is the frontline in the confrontation with Vladimir Putin and how it has much to teach us -- Brendan Simms, author of EUROPE: THE STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY An absolute must-read -- Andrew Marr This is a fascinating and original book examining the nine Baltic sea countries, looking at their troubled history and their current resurgence within Europe. Elegantly written and fizzing with fresh insights, this is an important and definitive study -- Frank McDonough, author of THE WEIMAR YEARS Oliver Moody's lucid and accessible book sheds light on one of the most crucial yet least understood places in Europe. Baltic is a tour de force, somehow packing the mind-boggling complexity of the region into a captivating page-turner -- Katja Hoyer, author of BEYOND THE WALL Magnificent. An outstanding book that underlines the critical importance of the Baltic that is as exciting to read as it is important -- Peter Frankopan, author of THE SILK ROADS The Baltic emerges in Moody's well-researched book as an East-West borderland shadowed by Slav-Teuton antagonisms . . . urgent -- TLS Brilliantly written, convincingly argued and compelling... Moody's truly impressive achievement in this book is to provide a detailed explanation of the background to the Baltic
conflict * Literary Review * This timely and insightful book charts the self-confident rise and importance of the countries of the Baltic sea region and the need to listen to them as the focus of geopolitics shifts steadily eastwards. It analyses thoroughly the context of Russia's war upon the Ukraine, explains the central and increasing significance of hybrid "grey zone" forms of conflict and examines Russia's complex and dangerous motivations. Oliver Moody argues that the Baltic needs to be understood coherently in its own terms and not just as the eastern end of western Europe, and so shows the ways in which the "West" can win this decisive conflict -- Charles Clarke, former UK home secretary An insightful and thought-provoking book about a fascinating region of the world -- Marcel Dirsus, author of HOW TYRANTS FALL In these geopolitically volatile times, much international attention is paid to the Taiwan Straits and the battlefields of Ukraine, but too little to the Baltic Sea. Oliver Moody explains its strategic relevance, and offers important insight into why the nine countries bordering the Baltic face very similar problems, but often look at them in entirely different ways -- Helene von Bismarck, historian and author Timely and insightful -- The Times A timely analysis . . . well-researched -- Financial Times A rigorous study . . . the region is one of the least understood places and the author explains both its historical trajectory and strategic relevance * Irish Times * Grim, prophetic and as gripping as any fictional thriller . . . Hard to put down * Spectator * Brilliantly-written . . . this region, which many in western Europe still view as peripheral, is actually central to current events and, crucially, to the future of the west itself -- Daily Express, Books of the Year A brilliant blend of history and reportage - as well as a primer for why this area is central to the world of tomorrow -- BBC History Magazine, Books of the Year