Between East and West: Across the Borderlands of Europe

This book offers a vivid and human glimpse into Europe's borderlands as they emerged from Soviet rule - back in print after nearly 20 years.

'In this superb book, in which one senses the spirit of Franz Kafka and Bruno Schulz, the dramatic world of the Eastern borderlands comes to life.' (Ryszard Kapuscinski).

As Europe's borderlands emerged from Soviet rule, Anne Applebaum travelled from the Baltic to the Black Sea, through Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine and the Carpathian mountains. Rich in vivid characters and stories of tragedy and survival, Between East and West illuminates the soul of a place, and the secret history of its people.


'A beautifully written and thought-provoking account of a journey along Europe's forgotten edge.' (Timothy Garton Ash).

'A vivid and penetrating assessment of the lands between the Baltic and the Black Sea in all their drama and desolation...a wise and useful book.' (Robert Conquest).

'Combines the excitement of a well-written and adventurous travelogue with sophisticated reportage.' (Norman Davies).

'You will be totally absorbed.' (Norman Stone).


Anne Applebaum is a historian and journalist, a regular columnist for the Washington Post and Slate, and the author of several books, including Gulag - a history, which won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction, and Iron Curtain, which in 2013 won the Duke of Westminster Medal for Military Literature and the Cundill Prize in Historical Literature. She is the Director of Political Studies at the Legatum Institute in London, and she divides her time between Britain and Poland, where her husband, Radek Sikorski, serves as Foreign Minister.