The Latvian edition, published by the University of Latvia Press in 2019, includes additional comments and notes from the book’s editor, Prof. Andris Levens, which help to explain the contents of the book to a broader Latvian audience.
In contrast to other historiographical books on the Baltic Sea Region, this book concentrates on the various cultures of the Baltic Sea Region and not on military conflicts and political history. In an interview with Latvian Radio to mark the occasion of the publication of the book, Prof. North explains that as a historian who is interested in the cultures and economies of countries, he was unhappy with the previous confrontational depiction of Baltic history. He is convinced that ‘the cultural and economic history of the Baltic is as important, or probably even more important than the political histories’.
The book looks at the various linguistic communities that have co-existed in the Baltic Sea Region for thousands of years, but that have only been grouped together as peoples or nations since the Middle Ages or even later. At the same time, the Baltic has been home to intensive exchange on all levels of communal and cultural life, leading to the creation of supranational cultures such as the Vikings, the Slavs or the Hanseatic League.
Further Information
Interview on Latvian Radio
Chair of Modern History
Contact at the University of Greifswald
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. phil. Michael North
Chair of Modern History
Bahnhofstraße 51, 17489 Greifswald
Tel.: +49 3834 420 3308
northuni-greifswaldde