In Europe's Shadow

Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Year Journey Through Romania and Beyond

By: Robert D. Kaplan

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

In Bucharest, Romania's capital, Kaplan discovered that few Westerners were reporting on the country - one of the darkest corners of Europe during the Cold War. In an intense and cinematic travelogue, Kaplan explores the history and culture of the only country in the West where the leading intellectuals have been right-wing rather than left-wing; a country that gave rise to the dictator Ion Antonescu, Hitler's chief foreign accomplice during WWII; a country where the Latin West mixes with the Greek East, producing a fascinating fusion of cultures.

In Europe's Shadow is a deep and vivid immersion into one place, a country that is a metaphor for Europe's current challenge in confronting Vladimir Putin's Russia. With the brilliant, insightful Kaplan as our narrator and eyewitness, this book is a shorthand masterpiece about imperialism and a country critical to our understanding of the last century in Europe.

Robert D. Kaplan is the author of 16 books on foreign affairs and travel translated into many languages, including The Revenge of Geography, Monsoon, Balkan Ghosts, and Warrior Politics. He has been a foreign correspondent for The Atlantic for over three decades. In 2011, Foreign Policy magazine named Kaplan among the world's "100 Top Global Thinkers".

©2016 Robert D. Kaplan. Random House, an imprint of Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Wrestling with History

Robert D. Kaplan has chosen to focus his career on understanding Romania and surrounding countries. Why? Because he pretty much had the area to himself, he says, while others were focusing on the Middle East and other hotspots. Nobody spent time in Bucharest, much less Moldova or the other nearby territories. This could be used as an excuse for a shallow, touristy overview of the region, but Kaplan has ended up writing a book with depth and thoughtfulness.

Kaplan focuses on Romania from the 1930s through World War II, Communism and the fall of the Soviet Union. He philosophizes at length on the meaning of nationalism, ethnic identity and individualism. He writes coolly about the horrors that have been visited upon the country and its people, by both the fascist leadership in World War II and the Communists under Ceaucescu and his predecessor--as well as invaders in prior centuries. He repeatedly returns to the risks facing Romania today, primarily from Vladimir Putin's Russia, which seeks to destabilize its neighbors to prevent them from allying too strongly with the West or becoming a threat to Russian power.

While the book is dense with ideas, it is not always easy listening. I frequently found my attention wandering as Kaplan described the works of yet another scholar or his visit to yet another Romanian town. Listening to the book, you miss the illustrations which might provide some color. (I sometimes went online to look at the maps to see where he was--but that's not easy when you are listening in a car.)

Paul Boehmer, the narrator, did an excellent job with pronunciations (I assume), but his style was somewhat dry, like a college professor giving the same lectures for the tenth time.

Great book, poor recording

I have listened this book 4 times. The author does a great job, presenting a rather objective image of Romania and its history. The country indeed suffered a lot due to its location. The tragedies of the 20th century with all the horrors that happened, the legionnaires, then the communists are unimaginable today. We need not forget those horrors and we need to protect Europe from falling back to its violent past. I have enjoyed as well the fact that the book is presented as a travel journal, similar in a way to Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The recording is terrible, I don’t understand what is happening why does is sound so bad. The voice is mechanical and unnatural at times. The non English words are completely wrongly pronounced. There are many names of people and places and books, etc. which are butchered. This affects not only the Romania or Hungarian words but also the French and German ones. I hope that this book is re-recorded. It is a pity because the book is rather good.

Insightful and useful

Written in a characteristically diffuse and verbose journalistic style but provides many interesting and useful insights.

Excellent Romania Overview

What did you love best about In Europe's Shadow?

The author had first hand experiences in Romania that were separated by more than 20 years. During that time, the country had dramatically changed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of In Europe's Shadow?

The author noted that as young journalist in Israel, he had no status; there were too many great journalists. When he arrived in Romania (before Perestroika) he was one of just a handful of Western writers covering the country. He reflected on living in a hostel while interviewing senior government officials.

What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?

The performance was well done; this is complicated material that Paul Boehner brought to life.

Romania a true survivor

I found the information very helpful and informative. since I have been there myself I could picture in my mind the places he was talking about. I am sorry we will never get to see the buildings that Ceausescu demolished in Bucharest. I hope others will travel there and see what a wonderful place Romania is and what a true survivor it is. Romania has a wonderful future ahead of it.

Excellent introd. to Romania and history writing.

A very rich book, not only about Romania and its history, but also about life and
career of a journalist. The book illustrates the importance of making decisions in
your life that appear arbitrarily motivated at first. For example to enter a small
bookstore in King George's, Jerusalem, to buy a second hand
book by an unknown author, and then to follow your destiny after reading that book.
Anyone who reads Kaplan's book understands that books and literature are of topmost importance
for anyone who wants to understand reality,

The narrator Paul Boehmer is doing such a good job, that at moments I was sure that
I listen to the author himself.

Memoir of a journalist

If one is really interested in reading the memoirs of a journalist, with reflections on what it means to be a journalist and the experiences of a young freelancer in a foreign country, then this might be a suitable text for them.

I was much more interested in Romania than in the practice of journalism, so overall I was disappointed. The scene of him attempting to dispose of his books foreshadows the rest of the text. The book is much more about Kaplan's nostalgic look back at his years and experiences as a journalist in Romania than it is about the experiences of Romanians. The book is about Kaplan, not Romania.

It rambles through his recollections, with certain memories evoking connections that are not always meaningful or clear to the readers, and one gets the sense that Kaplan is trying to accomplish more than just a reflection on his time in Romania. An attempt at philosophy, to uncover meaning, and to make some commentary not necessarily on Romania but on life itself always seems to be lurking behind his prose, but it never rises to the surface.

Ultimately, one is left with the feeling that someone promised to show them something grandiose, but then never got around to actually doing it.

Deep dive interweaving Romanianhistory & modernity

This was a fantastic interweaving of Romania history and contemporary reality. Highly recommended for anyone inserted in European studies.

Outstanding essay on Romania and the author's experiences of the East

This is a fantastic book, more of an essay than a historical narrative. With the history are peppered stories of the author's previous travels to Romania, and rumination on morality, nationalism, war, and identity. Allusions to other academics, historians, and philosophers are plentiful. I highly recommend.

The narration is terrible. It sounds chopped and stitched back together. By far the sloppiest editing ice encountered on audible. I hope they re-record because it is a story worth telling (sans distraction).

Memoir of a Narcissist

This book could have been so interesting if he had stuck to the facts instead of his pedantic ramblings and irrelevant biographical information.