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August 2015 Vol. 52 No. 12

The scholarly and political consensus on the Baltic states is that after nearly a half-century of being locked in the Soviet Union, they have recovered their European identity as effective democracies, states with the rule of law, and economies that are successful market systems.  King and McNabb (both, emer., Pacific Lutheran Univ.) attempt to describe the transition.  The 11 chapters of the book address an unusually broad range of subjects, including the educational systems, fiscal governance, the "managing" of transformation, democratic institutions, civil society, and security of the Baltic states.  Not surprisingly, the book lacks coherence, and the theme of "nation-building" is not pursued in any depth.  The list of issues addressed is long, but each is considered superficially.  For example, less than two pages are devoted to anti-corruption.  Similarly, the growth of political parties in all three Baltic countries is covered in two pages of text.  Moreover, each topic is divided into three segments addressing each of the  Baltic countries.  Although the text is very sparely sourced, there is an extensive bibliography.  The book could be recommended as an introduction to the Baltic states.

--R. P. Peters, Univ. of Massachusetts at Boston and Harvard University Davis Center for Russian

Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and lower-division undergraduate students.