A review by jaclyn_youngblood
In Europe's Shadow: Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Year Journey Through Romania and Beyond by Robert D. Kaplan

3.0

I wanted to read about Romania, which Kaplan afforded me. He references interesting (including sometimes for their decidedly "wrong-side-of-history" assessment, in retrospect) original works of fiction and non, by Romanian authors. I particularly enjoyed the bits at the end by professors and nonprofit professionals discussing Russia circa 2014 and the role of Romania vis-a-vis the EU into the future. All of that said, I found most of his prose whiny and judgmental, even while he was claiming to be nostalgic. While I don't necessarily disagree with it being annoying to have movie posters of US films plastered in hotel lobbies in other countries, he seems to place the blame squarely on the towns themselves. Or maybe I'm just being nitpicky. I did enjoy the discussion of borders, and I certainly learned more about the various regions of today's Romania, which may help elucidate future (hopefully!) trips to the country.