The Central and Eastern Europe Handbook

Fitzroy Dearborn are obviously publishers who take great care in the appearance of their books. The lightweight portable handling, white paper, tidy layout, and quite the most stylish index I have seen for a while, all speak to me of quality, pride and professionalism. Let us linger on the index, so often a begrudged and rushed afterthought. Its compiler is anonymous (shame on you, Mr Publisher!) but I will sing his/her praises (definitely not a computerised “it”). OK, maybe not the most taxing of books to index, but the clarity is a joy to behold. The generous space given to...