A Concise History of Finland

Few countries in Europe have undergone such rapid social political andeconomic changes as Finland has during the last fifty years. David Kirby heresets out the ... » 

Few countries in Europe have undergone such rapid social political andeconomic changes as Finland has during the last fifty years. David Kirby heresets out the fascinating history of this northern country for centuries on theeastwest divide of Europe a country not blessed by nature most of whoseinhabitants still earned a living from farming fifty years ago but which todayis one of the most prosperous members of the European Union. He shows how thissmall country was able not only to survive in peace and war but also topreserve and develop its own highly distinctive identity neither Scandinaviannor Eastern European. He traces the evolution of the idea of a Finnish nationalstate from the long centuries as part of the Swedish realm through selfgovernment within the Russian Empire and into the stormy and tragic birth ofthe independent state in the twentieth century. «