Book excerpt: Marshalling 129 maps, numerous diagrams and incisive textual commentary, the Atlas of Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century draws a definitive picture of the changing shape of Eastern and some of central Europe from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, charting the emergence of a volatile world from the abrupt collapse of the communist system. An invaluable guide to a complex subject, this Atlas: * gives a general introduction to the physical, ethnic and religious composition of the region * includes summary maps of Eastern Europe in 1900, 1923, 1945 and 1994 * charts the ebb and flow of the first and second world wars in Eastern Europe * presents detailed information relating to consituent territories, elections, economic developments, land holding patterns for key individual countries in the inter-war years * provides crucial social and economic data, evidencing changes under communist domination * gives maps of the new states of the post-communist years with details of elections and economic indicators for Albania, Belarus, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Slovakia, and others. * contains an extensive glossary listing the major towns of the area under their linguistic variants