Endangered Peoples of Europe : Struggles to Survive and Thrive

The European continent is the homeland for many diverse cultures struggling to maintain their ways of life and thrive or even to survive in the 21st century. Endangered Peoples of Europe: Struggles to Survive and Thrive profiles more than 12 endangered peoples, ranging from the Scottish Highlanders, the Basques in Spain, the former Yugoslavians, to the Cypriots. Their cultural identity, stemming from ancient times yet ever changing, is perhaps more at risk than at any other time in history because of such menaces as nation building, the drive toward homogenization, wars and ethnic cleansing, and globalization. The chapters are written by anthropologists based on their field work or by specialists with intimate knowledge of the situation, which guarantees unparalleled accuracy and immediacy. Endangered Peoples of Europe: Struggles to Survive and Thrive is a rare opportunity to delve into the current problems facing many groups who are often in the news and others that are lesser known. Each chapter profiles a specific people or peoples with a cultural overview of their history, subsistence strategies or economic opportunities, social and political organization, religion and world view, threats to survival, and responses to these threats. A section entitled "Food for Thought" provides questions that encourage a personal engagement with the experiences of these peoples, and a resource guide suggests further reading and lists films, videos, pertinent organizations, and web sites. Students and the general audience will find this an invaluable resource for expanding their knowledge of Europe today.

JEAN S. FORWARD is a lecturer in anthropology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.