Athene Palace

As European capitals fell during 1940 and 1941, there swarmed to the Athene Palace, Bucharest's Grand Hotel, diplomats, generals, Gestapo spies, and demi-mondaines from all over Europe. Arriving at the crowded Athene Palace on the day Paris fell in June, 1940, American female journalist Rosa Goldschmidt Waldeck observed for the next seven months all the events that unfolded and the international figures that made Romania Europe's last sensational hotbed of intrigue and color.Hitler's beautiful feminine agents held court in the Athene Palace lobby within eyeshot of British diplomats, while around them moved fifth columnists, German economists and generals, American and English diplomats and newspapermen, all who made the Athene Palace the most glamorous spot on the continent. The dramatic events of this turbulent period are described here chiefly in terms of personalities: Carol and Lupescu, Antonescu and Dr. Clodius, Nazi Gauleiters, British Quislings, Romanian appeasers, and all the types who dominated the scene of World War II Europe... On the surface this is a fast-moving, dramatic book, as readable as a novel, but it is also a most effective dissection of the Nazi New Order.This penetrating insight into the German administration of Europe reveals the reasons underlying the failure of the Nazi regime. Originally published during the Second World War, this new edition is enhanced by a thorough introductory study on the author's life and work by Ernest H. Latham, Jr., former cultural attaché at the American Embassy in Bucharest. Dr. Latham is a well-known specialist in Romanian history and has done extensive research on American and British journalists in Romania during World War II.

History

Waldeck, R

Europe

Histria Books

John Hunyadi: Defender of Christendom

Featuring a fully revised translation The fifteenth century marked a decisive moment in world history as the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into southeastern Europe posed a grave threat to Christianity, highlighted by the fall of Byzantium to the Turks in 1453, drawing the attention of the Papacy and of all the states of Christian Europe. Amidst this turmoil, John Hunyadi rose to lead the struggle against the Islamic invaders. As voivode of Transylvania, and later royal governor and captain-general of Hungary, he became the principal defender of Christian Europe from 1441 until his death in 1456. He led several crusading efforts to halt the Turkish advance into Europe, including a remarkable victory over the Turks at the battle of Niš in 1443 that secured his fame as a warrior for the Christian cause. This biography explores the life and times of John Hunyadi. It traces the history of the threat posed by the Ottoman Turks leading up to the great clashes of the fifteenth century and makes critical use of primary sources to tell the story of the man who directed the effort to defend Christian Europe against the Islamic onslaught. As leader of this struggle, John Hunyadi became a hero not only to Romanians and Hungarians, but to all the peoples of the Balkans as well. He led Christian forces in the great battles of the epoch, including Varna in 1444 and Kosovo in 1448. His last great victory occurred when he conducted the successful defense of Belgrade against the Turks in 1456 for which Pope Calixtus III declared him an “Athlete of Christ.”

Biographies & Memoirs

Muresanu, Camil

Historical

Nicolae Iorga’s A History of Romania: Land, People, Civilization is not a typical historical account of a nation’s past, reciting dates, personalities, and events. Rather, it is an intimate portrait of a land and its people written by its greatest historian. Much like Herodotus in antiquity, Iorga can be considered “the father of history” for his country; the sheer volume and scope of his work make him among the most prolific historians in all of world history. Like a true artist, he paints a portrait of Romania, bringing to life the complex history of this fascinating land. Iorga skillfully weaves together history, art, architecture, language, literature, and culture to give the reader an understanding of the fabric of Romanian society. Originally published in 1925, Iorga’s book was one of the earliest overviews of Romanian history printed in the English language. The author presents the history of the Romanian lands from ancient times until the end of World War I. He reflects on the great personalities and events that shaped the nation, while at the same time examining the various threads that bind it together. This new edition of this classic work includes a list of rulers, a bibliography, an index and numerous illustrations. It is also accompanied by a foreword by David Prodan, another great personality of Romanian historiography, discussing Iorga’s contributions to Romanian scholarship. Nicolae Iorga’s A History of Romania is essential reading for anyone interested in the story of this fascinating land.

A History of Romania: Land, People, Civilization

Iorga, Nicolae

Sigmund Freud’s death drive remains among the most controversial concepts in psychoanalysis, something which post-Freudians never could reach consensus on. Over time, it fell into oblivion. Recent developments, however, have actualized the interest in the death drive as political upheavals and turmoil lead to societal breakdowns that, according to reigning academic theory, should not exist. It has become a burning and contentious topic.\nExisting conflict theories generally unmask structural factors considered as explanatory root causes, whether social, economic, or political, but, typically, these factors may have been in place for decades. These models consistently fail to identify the triggers that ignite abrupt change and what heralds it. Anecdotally, a certain self-destructive sentiment seems to suddenly hold sway, where the established order, the status quo, simply must be destroyed, and the psychological urges to do so are too great to resist. But why would individuals or collectives elect a self-destructive path, which on a superficial level seems to conflict with the survival instinct and the assumption of perpetual human progress? Thus, the question must be posed: are these manifestations of the death drive?\nThe Death Drive: Why Societies Self-Destruct offers an explanatory framework and methodology to predict periods of destruction that often have grim effects on societies, taking as its starting point the controversial death drive concept. The book provides a model to understand and forecast the seemingly irrational destructive human forces that hold such great and sinister influence on world affairs.\nNiklas Hageback has an extensive background in psychology, working with behavioral finance, modelling irrational collective behavior at tier-one financial institutions and consulting firms, such as Deutsche Bank, KPMG, and Goldman Sachs. His previous works include the bestseller, The Mystery of Market Movements: An Archetypal Approach to Investment Forecasting and Modelling, The Virtual Mind: Designing the Logic to Approximate Human Thinking, and Idiots Breed Idiots: Why Men No Longer are Created Equal.

The Death Drive: Why Societies Self-Destruct

Politics & Social Sciences

Hageback, Niklas

Philosophy

Revealing the Inner Contours of Human Emotion: Preserving the Ballets of Anthony Tudor

Neal, Christine

Humor & Entertainment

The fifteenth century Romanian Prince Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is one of the most fascinating personalities of medieval history. Already during his own lifetime, his true story became obscured by a veil of myths. As a result, he has been portrayed both as a bloody tyrant -- who degenerated down throughout the centuries into the fictional vampire of the same name created by Bram Stoker at the end of the nineteenth century -- and as a national and Christian hero who bravely fought to defend his native land and all of Europe against the invading Turkish infidels. Even in more recent historiography, the true history of Dracula has been obscured by Communist and nationalist historiography.This revised second edition of the book widely considered to be the most serious comprehensive study of the historical Dracula, presents the life and times of this remarkable figure of medieval Europe. The author uses all extant Romanian, Turkish, Russian, and German sources to reconstruct the history of this famous prince who, despite his short reign, created a name for himself in the history of his own country, as well as in world history. This book studies the life and times of Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, providing the reader with a better understanding of the personality of this enigmatic figure of medieval history, as well as the times in which he lived. The author also discusses the development of the Dracula myth. Translations of key documents concerning the history of Vlad III Dracula are included in the appendixes.

Vlad III Dracula: The Life and Times of the Historical Dracula

Treptow, Kurt

Lucrezia Borgia: Daughter of Pope Alexander VI

Lucrezia Borgia is among the most fascinating and controversial personalities of the Renaissance. The daughter of Pope Alexander VI, she was intensely involved in the political life of Italy during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. While her marriage alliances helped advance the political objectives of the papacy, she also held the office of Governor of Spoleto, a role normally reserved for Cardinals, making her one of the most powerful and dynamic female figures of the Renaissance. Among the first books to employ historical method to move beyond myth and romance that had obscured the fascinating story of Lucrezia Borgia was this biography written by the noted German historian Ferdinand Gregorovius.Ferdinand Gregorovius (1821-1891) was one of the preeminent scholars of the Italian Renaissance. His biography of Lucrezia Borgia reveals the atmosphere of the Renaissance, painting a portrait of Lucrezia and her relationships with her father Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, her brother Cesare, her mother Vanozza, her father's mistress, Giulia Farnese, her husband Duke Alfonso D'Este of Ferrara, and many others, including important artists and writers of the time. All are vividly portrayed against the colorful background of Renaissance Italy. Gregorovius separates myth from documented fact and his book remains a key reference work on the life and times of the Borgia princess.This new edition of Gregorovius's classic work Lucrezia Borgia is enhanced with an introduction by Samantha Morris, a noted expert on the history of the Borgias. Samantha studied archaeology at the University of Winchester where her interest in the history of the Italian Renaissance began. She is the author of Cesare Borgia: In a Nutshell and Girolamo Savonarola: The Renaissance Preacher. She also runs the website theborgiabull.com.

GREGOROVIUS, FERDINAND

Community & Culture

Zalmoxis: Obscure Pagan

Lucian Blaga (1895-1961) is judged by many to be Romania’s most original philosopher and greatest poet of the twentieth century. While scholars with access to his works in Romanian are well-aware of their importance, his writings have remained, until now, little known in the English-speaking world.\nZalmoxis is Blaga’s first play and one of his most important literary works. It underlines much of his philosophy. Blaga’s attachment to Expressionist ideals is discernible in his treatment of the characters primarily as vehicles of ideas and his preference for primitive nature over the cultured metropolis.\nThe book includes an introduction by Keith Hitchins of the University of Illinois, a leading historian of Romania in the United States, and a scholar intimately acquainted with Blaga’s philosophy. In it, he discusses the importance of Blaga’s life and work. The translation is by Doris Platnus-Runey from Wayne State University.

Literature & Fiction

Blaga, Lucian

Platnus-Runey, Doris

Dramas & Plays

This comprehensive course in modern Romanian is intended for English-speaking university students and others interested in learning this Eastern Romance language. Its purpose is to provide English speakers interested in Romania with a comprehensive course in the language, something greatly lacking at present. Designed by a leading American linguist, in consultation with several Romanian experts, this textbook will be of great use at universities throughout the English-speaking world where Romanian is taught. It goes far beyond the basic tourist language courses presently available and provides a serious training program for anyone interested in learning the Romanian language.The course is divided into two parts. Part One (Chapters 1-16) is intended to develop oral proficiency, each lesson containing a preparatory section in which the student is simultaneously introduced to pronunciation, intonation, and new semantic and syntactic structures. This portion is the cornerstone for entire lesson. It is followed by a memorizable dialogue; a section with grammatical notes, drills and exercises, and a homework assignment. The texts are couched in cultivated colloquial speech. In Part Two (Chapters 17-31) grammatical explanations become more thorough and formal and the texts become more erudite as emphasis shifts to the written language. At the same time, Part Two shifts emphasis from conversation to vocabulary acquisition by means of extensive reading selections, preceded by shorter texts which anticipate new vocabulary, and difficult constructions that appear in the main text. The manual also includes useful appendixes treating pronunciation and inflection and a comprehensive Romanian-English glossary.The author, James E. Augerot, was professor of East European languages at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, USA. A noted specialist in the Romanian language, he was also a Fulbright lecturer at Babe&#537;-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca.

Romanian/Limba Româna: A Course in Modern Romanian

Augerot, James

Leaders & Notable People

Granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England and Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Marie (1875-1938) became princess of Romania through her marriage to Ferdinand of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, crown prince of Romania on 29 December 1892. She became queen of Romania, her adopted country, on 11 October 1914 when Ferdinand assumed the throne following the death of King Carol I. Queen Marie became known worldwide for her charitable efforts and her work nursing wounded soldiers on the front lines during World War I. She also took part in the political and diplomatic efforts that led to Romanian national unification in 1918. This collection of documents helps to reveal important aspects of the life and personality of this remarkable twentieth century monarch.\nThis collection of documents, comprised of three parts, illustrates the queen’s relationships with two remarkable Americans. The first selection is the diary of George Huntington, an American professor who visited Queen Marie, together with his family, in 1925. The second part, compiled by the British writer Hector Bolitho, presents the correspondence between Queen Marie and an American admirer, Ray Baker Harris. This text contains extensive quotes from the queen’s letters to the young American. The final section is a selection of letters written by Ray Baker Harris to the queen. Ray Baker Harris, later a librarian at the Library of Congress, compiled an extensive collection of materials relating to the Romanian queen and later donated them to the archives of Kent State University in Ohio.\nAmericans and Queen Marie of Romania is edited by Diana Fotescu, a researcher at the Cotroceni Museum in Bucharest, Romania, the former royal palace where Queen Marie lived. She compiled the materials presented in this volume during her work in the archives at Kent State University in Ohio and the National Central Archives in Bucharest, Romania.

Americans and Queen Marie of Romania: A Selection of Documents

Fotescu, Diana

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