Review by Choice Review
Written with style and based on a broad range of archival and published materials, this local study provides a new way of looking at issues of national identity in East Central Europe. Building on the work of Gary Cohen (The Politics of Ethnic Survival: Germans in Prague, 1861-1914) and others, King (history and international relations, Mt. Holyoke College) analyzes the history of German and Czech-speaking residents in the town of Budweis/Bud^D&ejovice, which belonged to the Habsburg Monarchy until 1918, then became part of Czechoslovakia until 1939, when it was incorporated in Hitler's Third Reich. Following WW II, the town was again part of the Czech state. In the century he treats, King shows how the status and loyalties of the "Budweisers" in the book's title changed from the local into the larger state and national identity of Czech or German. He is careful to avoid traditional national rhetorical stereotypes and successfully tries to understand what nonnational considerations shaped the everyday life experience of his subjects. Three maps, seven illustrations, 40 pages of endnotes, and a thorough bibliography complement the subtlety and scholarly sophistication of the text. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All levels and collections. P. W. Knoll University of Southern California
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
