The previous review makes some very good points about the many flaws in this hastily compiled and poorly written "historical dictionary." However, I don't believe the intent of the authors was to engage in a propaganda exercise, nor that the publisher had some hidden agenda in printing it; on the contrary, it is part of a series of "European Historical Dictionaries," which, if this volume is any indication, are not of a very high quality. The problem with this book is that it seems to be more of a political lexicon for the Republic of Croatia rather than an actual historical dictionary. For if it was a historical dictionary, it would not contain uncritical entries on certain medieval Croatian kings (like Trpimir II and Kresimir I, II & III), whose very existence beyond the realm of legend is doubted by most serious historians of this region during the Middle Ages, whether in Croatia or abroad. Even more controversial is the uncritical acceptance of the theory that the pre-Ottoman era heretics of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia were Bogumils (a heresy otherwise centered in Bulgaria). This issue is still the subject of much controversy among historians and far from settled. These are just two examples which show that the authors are not critical historians, and that they depended too heavily on a few sources for such information. Also, if this were truly a historical dictionary, there would not be insubstantial one-line entries on such important Croatian historical figures such as 19th century writers August Senoa and Antun Gustav Matos or politicians like Ante Trumbic. There is no entry at all for the very important turn-of-the-century political leader Frano Supilo, while at the same time there are entries for often obscure and sometimes laughable contemporary political figures like Hrvoje Sosic, Slavko Degoricija, Joja Ricov, Marija Peakic-Mikuljan and even the (recently assassinated) Serbian war criminal and all-around thug Arkan. In this sense, this "dictionary" even fails as a "who's who" for the contemporary political scene in Croatia - particularly since it was published five years ago and is now truly dated.

"The Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Croatia" is a controversial book, beginning with its title. The Republic of Croatia became recognized as a sovereign country in 1992. The question that poses itself, before we even enter the contents of this dictionary, is whether it is at all possible to write the history of a state little more than two years after its international recognition, when the civil war from which it emerged had yet to reach its peak?

Wrapping a political agenda in a "scientific", usually "historical," folder is just one of the methods employed in promoting a political goal into an internationally recognized status. The claim that a certain political aspiration has historical roots and that as such it has been an object of scientific research, makes the aspiration legitimate. Moreover, if it is not challenged it acquires the solidity of fact and paves the way to the desired changes. The conflict between current politics and history is an area of research that is probably not lacking material for exploration nowadays. This book expands the controversy, adding a new spin to it by insinuating itself, with all its disregard for the facts, its fabrications and prevarications in the reference section of a respected university library where academic research usually begins.

Inaccuracy of data, one of the major problems with this book, strikes the reader from the very first pages. The infamous Nazi satellite state, the Independent State of Croatia, according to the authors, was proclaimed on April 10, 1942,(Chronology xxiii) exactly one year later than it really occured on April 10, 1941. If the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia were presented accurately in this book, it would have been viewed in the line of two other salient historical events which all happened within 8 days in April 1941, and the nature of this Nazi satellite country would have been self-evident.

April 6, 1941Attack on Yugoslavia with the bombing Belgrade by German army. April 10, 1941 Proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia April 14, 1941Recognition of the Independent State of Croatia by Germany and Italy.

One of the longest entries, the "Borders of Croatia" (36) creates only further confusion since Croatia is also a geographical area having different borders from the Republic of Croatia. The following is perhaps a good illustration: The present interruption of the Croatian territory at Neum goes back to the same time, when Bosnia-Herzegovina was given access to the sea. It was a concession of Dubrovnik to the Ottoman Empire. It is exactly in this place that the Bosnian President Izetbegovic now wants a corridor to the sea for the Muslims.

According to the authors of this book, although Neum has been a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina for about 300 years, Neum is here defined by the authors as a "present interruption of the Croatian territory." The implication is that it is a Croatian territory, that the territory is interrupted, and that such an interruption is only for the "present," which further implies that it is not only temporary but also of a short duration. The next politically loeaded statement informs that the Bosnian President Izetbegovic " now wants a corridor to the sea for the Muslims."

Describing Neum as a corridor in political terminology implies no more than a geographical connection to something rather than the legitimate claim to that territory on other grounds. The claim that it is the Bosnian President Izetbegovic who "wants" it suggests two things: that it is (only) he who makes that claim and that such a claim is rather subjective because he "wants," which sounds rather personal, almost like a whim. And why does he want it? It is said that he wants it for Muslims, although he, as the president of the state, at least officially, represents all the nationalities who live in the state over which he presides.

The same thing could have been described as a territorial dispute between the states of the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnia wants the borders to remain unchanged, claiming their control over Neum to be historically grounded, since 300 years of their legitimate possession of Neum was only interrupted during World War II, when it was controlled by the Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi satellite state. But, such an account, although closer to the facts, would not make the Croatian claim sound justified.

On the other hand entries that have nothing in common with the Croatian nation or the Republic of Croatia are included such as: "Miroslav Gospel" (156), "Sevdalinke" (193) "Bosanska Posavina" (39) etc. It is characteristic that all those apparently unrelated entries have one thing in common - a Bosnian element. The explanation for such a criterion can be found in the phrase that "Croatia officially inherited the borders fixed by the former Yugoslavia". This statement too is loaded with the implication that the present boarders of Croatia are not the ones with which the Republic of Croatia should be content, because they are officially inherited, and inherited from the former Yugoslavia, which was a Communist country. Merely by that fact it should be questioned. And the way they were established by the former Yugoslavia is that they were "fixed". If something is "fixed" it is rather imposed than mutually agreed to. And what was imposed by the former Communist regime was, of course, not just!

Questioning the borders of the Republic of Croatia to the extent and in the manner the authors did in this book, indicates a political agenda of Croatian territorial expansion into Bosnian territories. In view of such claims, this book could also be perceived as a piece of propaganda rather than an impartial historical overview. It is worth exploring how this book was placed in the reference section of a reputable university library (Robarts Library - University of Toronto), and what the motives of the publisher to promote this manuscript were.