Review
Helps to fill a large gap in English-language materials on this region. -- [Review of the 1st Edition] ― American Reference Books Annual
Highly recommended. -- [Review of the 1st Edition] ― Choice Reviews
This is an extremely objective reference work, whose useful information will be lasting. -- [Review of the 1st Edition] ― Central and Eastern European Review
Updating the 2004 edition, released when Kosovo was still a Serbian province, this indispensable subject guide aims to increase our understanding of Europe's newest country while incorporating developments occurring since its February 2008 declaration of independence. Elsie (Historical Dictionary of Albania) opens with a chronology, dating from 547 C.E. Four hundred alphabetically organized and highly accessible entries follow, each running several paragraphs and offering a summary explanation of the people, places, organizations, events, and customs that have defined the country's turbulent history. Perhaps of greatest value to researchers is the spectacular, thematically divided 89-page bibliography. An essential reference for a previously underrecognized subject. ― Library Journal
This dictionary covers Kosovo’s complicated past as a nation of mostly ethnic Albanians who have been under the rule of the Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires as well as a part of Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and, most recently, Serbia. The entangled intricacy of this past is exemplified in the introductory material. The chronology that follows “Acronyms and Abbreviations” and “Maps” is more than 25 pages long, with more than half of that covering just 1990 to the present. Events range from Slavic settlement of the area in the year 547 to the 2010 arrest of the head of the Kosovo Central Bank for corruption. In addition to history, the alphabetically arranged and heavily cross-referenced entries in the body of the dictionary cover political, social, and biographical topics. Additional material includes an appendix of major place-names in the different languages of Kosovo, lists of government officials as well as political parties and organizations, and a comprehensive bibliography of nearly 100 pages with its own table of contents. Overall, this would be a good addition for both public and academic libraries. ― Booklist
The first edition of this book (CH, Apr'05, 42-4390) was titled Historical Dictionary of Kosova. Elsie (independent scholar) has renamed this second edition to reflect the official name of the country, which became independent in 2008. Nearly 100 entries have been added, for a total of 475, the majority of which deal with persons, historical and contemporary, who have had some impact on the development of Kosovo; most relate to Albanian Kosovars. Boldface type within articles indicates cross-references. The section on acronyms not only lists the name equivalent but also gives the English translation. The extensive bibliography now includes works in languages other than English. A chronology that begins in 547 becomes much more detailed through the 1980s up to July 2010. The introduction gives a short history of Kosovo. Seven maps are included. Summing Up: Highly recommended. ― Choice Reviews
About the Author
Robert Elsie is the author of over 50 books and numerous articles. He has served as a translator and interpreter of Albanian, most recently before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and he presently works for the Hague Tribunal.
