Notes To the Univ of Toronto:A History Book

The Ukraine under normal conditions is a highly esoteric topic for North Americans and Western Europeans. The country has never been on the Grand Tour, is expensive to get to and hard to travel in without an automobile. Nonetheless, it is September 2014. The Ukraine is at war again with Russia and this would be a good time to learn a little of the history of this country.

Magosci is nothing less than masterful in tying together the political, military, economic and cultural events of the Ukraine which for most of its history has had foreign rules and highly fluid borders. He explains the complex relations between Poland and Russia which for several centuries vied for control of the Ukraine. He also explains the complex religious history involving primarily the Greek Catholics and Orthodox churches but also including Judaism, Islam, and Armenian Catholicism. He provides an excellent overview of the Ukraine's major writers and composers. At the end, the reader thus has acquired a solid, introductory knowledge of all aspects of Ukrainian society.

Magosci has thus given us a very sold overview. What is now needed are more monographs examining the many issues and time periods in greater detail.