BOOK NOTES

A comprehensive compilation about an "unexpected nation"

"The Ukrainians:Unexpected Nation," by Andrew Wilson. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000, 366 pages, $29.95 (cloth).

British journalist Anna Reid called Andrew Wilson's latest book a "lively, detailed and eminently sensible exploration of who the Ukrainians are and why they are important." Edited by Yale University Press, the book "The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation" provides a comprehensive guide to modern Ukraine and to the versions of its past propagated by both Russians and Ukrainians.

Why the "unexpected nation?" In the preface, Mr. Wilson states that "the emergence of an independent Ukrainian state in 1991 came as a great surprise in the chancelleries, universities and boardrooms of the West - a surprise that many are still adjusting to."

The book concentrates on the complex relationship between Ukraine and Russia, beginning with the myth of common origin in the early medieval era, then looking closely at the Ukrainian experience under the tsars and Soviets, and the path to independence in 1991. It also considers the history of Ukraine since 1991 and continuing disputes over identity, culture and religion, as well as explores the conflicts in Ukrainian society between its "Eastern" roots and Western aspirations.

Ms. Reid, the author of "Borderland: A Journey Through the History of Ukraine," says that Mr. Wilson's new book "should become required reading for anyone with a serious interest in Eastern Europe."

Mr. Wilson is a lecturer in Ukrainian studies at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London. He is the author of "Ukrainian Nationalism in the 1990s" (1997), "Ukraine: Perestroika to Independence" (1994) and "Nation-Building in the Post-Soviet Borderlands" (1998).

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 18, 2001, No. 7, Vol. LXIX

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