Gottschee was a German-speaking feudal domain in the royal Austrian Duchy of Carniola (Herzogtum Krain), which was founded around the year 1300. This feudal domain sat on the southern border of the Holy Roman Empire, later called the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Gottschee 1406-1627 is an authentic look into the life and government of this feudal domain on the frontier of these empires. Drawn from original source documents, and accurately translated into English from 15th century and later German, the book shows the interaction of the subjects, the ruling local nobility, and the government of the Duchy of Carniola, a duchy belonging to the Habsburg emperors. Included is interesting and seldom-seen information on farmers' petitions for redress of grievances; the system of tithes, taxes, and feudal duties; the opening of forest lands for new farms; a 1406 document granting the Gottscheer peasants unique rights not found amongst the peasants of other parts of Europe; military frontier obligations; the Habsburg system of leasing feudal domains to lesser nobles; church and pastoral affairs; and royal management of feudal properties, plus hundreds of ancient Gottscheer village and family names -- the ancestors of a distinct German linguistic group that existed there for over 650 years.

The book is fascinating reading for anyone whose ancestors come from the Gottschee region (now called Kocevje and in south central Slovenia), or who are interested in how the Habsburg emperors managed their personally-owned feudal domains in this remote frontier domain, to include the impact of the Turkish invasions.

Gottschee 1406-1627: Feudal Domain on the Frontier of Empire was beautifully translated into English by Andrew J. Witter, a professional translator, and it gives an most interesting insight into how people lived on Austria's remote frontier.

This short, but incisive book represents a decade of research by Mitja Ferenc, a leading Slovene historian, on the Gottscheer German ethnic group which occupied an area of southeastern Slovenia (a Germanic "linguistic island") for 650 years. The current book is translated by Edgar Erker into English from the dual German/Slovenian edition first published in 1993. It is the official catalogue that accompanies the permanent exhibition dedicated to the Gottscheer culture in the museum of the city of Kocevje in the present Slovenia. The book's strength is that it manages to distill a great amount of factual information related to the reasons "why" the Gottscheer lost their ancestral homeland, being first resettled by the Nazis and then finally driven out of Slovenia.

In conducting his research, the author has gone to all the major archives in Europe, as well as having visited each of the 170 or so former Gottscheer settlements at least three times--a seemingly exhaustive undertaking. Consequently, the book contains valuable information (especially in the Appendix) not found anywhere else: such as the number of houses that still exist in each of the former Gottscheer villages; the current state of preservation of what is left of churches, chapels and cemeteries; and what happened to this area under the Communists. The many before-and-after photos of the former Gottscheer villages serve to illustrate the tragedy that befell this unlucky ethnic group once Hitler invaded Yugoslavia and began to apply his various ethnic policies.

This may well be the best short book on the former Gottschee using the most up-to-date research. Mitja Ferenc, who has devoted much of his professional career as a consultant to the Slovenian Ministry of Culture to studying this unique German ethnic group, has written a remarkable work that stands as a fitting memorial to the Gottscheers whose culture had been an integral part of the history of Slovenia.

In this book, editors Zlatko Šabiæ (University of Ljubljana) and Charles Bukowski (Bradley University, Massachusetts) construct a framework for addressing the process of NATO enlargement from the perspective of small states such as Slovenia aspiring to join NATO. In his foreword, George W. Grayson points out that more small states (with populations under ten million) abound in Europe since the end of the Cold War. These small states have found themselves in a "catch-22" situation vis-á-vis global and regional organizations. A small state is more vulnerable to the effects of membership in such an organization, and yet, if it remains outside the organization, it weakens its own political and economic standing and hence exacerbates its own vulnerability. The book is composed of seven chapters, mostly written by Slovenian scholars. The majority of the chapters are case studies of Slovenian-U.S. relations in light of Slovenia's efforts to join NATO. The book contributes to the literature by providing an insightful analysis of Slovenian foreign policy.---Johanna Granville, PhD

This book is a biography about a husband and wife who truly understand and believe in the power of prayer. I've read so many "how to" books on prayer, but this story tells the true life experiences of a woman so close to God, that she knows her prayers will be answered, she prays without ceasing, and has the faith of a mustard seed. Set in Yugoslavia around WWII, the reader is moved to truly appreciate all that God has supplied. Great story. A little hard to follow at first with the foreign names and places, but stick to it. Life changing reading.

This is the best book I have ever read. It has really restored my faith and changed my life. I met the son Yanni and he is truly a faithful man. I did not know anyone with such a string faith. The story really makes you appreciate what we have.

This is the most inspirational book I have ever read. My heart was broken and convicted so deeply as I read of the prayer-lives of the invidividuals within its pages. May it challenge you as it has me.

...The author's ideas on the origins of the Slovenian people are badly researched, lazy, and basic. Certainly undeserving of any words bigger than 'bad', 'lazy,' and 'basic.'

The rest of it is quite good I guess, noting there's few reasonable attempts in English at a book on Slovenia...

If this third edition of Lonely Planet Slovenia is anything like the first, it warrants a complete overhaul of the section entitled "WW II & the Partisan Struggle." Much misinformation has been disseminated since the end of that war, and only recently has the truth emerged concerning the true patriots of Slovenia. It is obvious that the author was given false and outdated information, and he therefore unwittingly perpetuates the myth of the Slovenian "collaborators."

I had no choice - this was the only guide book on Slovenia in the bookshop last year (1997). But boy, what a guide book! In fact, I would rate it the best guide book I've ever read. It had excellent information, including hotel fax number, which was a great help. We also had two local contacts in Ljubljana who told us where to visit. When they read this book they were impressed by how thorough it was. The route they suggested was exactly the same one written in the book. One of them even asked if he could have the book after we're done with it! (The LP guide book on Austria, which we also used for the same trip, was not nearly as good.) One of the hotels it recommended was the Jadran Hotel in Bled, which was an extention of the Grand Hotel Toplice but cost much less. We had a room whose balcony faces the lake. Oh, what a view! I highly recommend a visit to Slovenia, and this book. Follow whatever is suggested in it, and you are in for a treat! One suggestion: most hotels now have e-mail addresses. It would be great if they were published in the guide book along with the phone and fax numbers. --Leslie Gabriel

A good story but in my opinion ther's nothing special about the pictures.

My mom bought a copy of this book...about 20 years ago. She got it because it reminded me of a sampler she had made depicting chicks in front of a blazing sun. It was one of my top fives as a kid. When I found it again here, I was beside myself. It arrived speedily, and in perfect shape at that. This virtual thrift shopping is a good substitue for the real thing!

this was a good but at some times very confusing.

it starts off with a boy going to a book store. then he spots a book that is the owners. he steals it(it is very magical) then goes into his school attic (skipping school) then he starts to read it and is transported into the world of the never ending story. i am not going to give away what happens next on his adventures but then after a few adventures he is able to create his own world. more adventures then he has to bath in waters that no longer lets him go back. then he goes back to his father buys new clothes (extremly buff and much taller) and gives back the book he stole. then he becomes freinds with the book store owner who was also like him and went into that world. and then thats the end and i am sorry i could'nt give you more details i have not read it in a few years.

Petrin, named Finance Minister of Slovenia about a year ago (in March or April, 1999), is a well respected economist in Slovenia; her views on restructuring the economy of the most successful and prosperous former Communist country, Slovenia, are set forth in this brief book. What is striking about this book is, first of all, that Petrin advocates restructuring the economy slowly, not with shock therapy that has been so prevalent (and unsuccessful) in other parts of Eastern Europe. Petrin shows evidence that this approach has paid off for Slovenia, which is now on the inside track to European Union membership. The second unique aspect of Petrin's book is that she deals with specific parts of restructuring, such as privatization in Slovenian industry, and she prescribes specific policy solutions for making transition successful within the existing economic framework.

As a Gottschee, this is written in German and the photographs are black & white. It has stories and a history of the Gottschee. If you can get a copy it is a good read if you can read German.

As Slovenia embarked on the road to independence, no one thought it would be easy. Slovenia is a small, alpine country... once Communist and once a part of Yugoslavia. I wrote my Master's thesis about Slovenia's economy, and finding reliable, helpful and unbiased information was next to impossible. However, I found this book, which contained a great deal of credible information as well as avenues for further research.

Of particular value for me were chapters on the economy of Slovenia, which is highly unique among Eastern European economies in that it has remained buoyant throughout its struggle for independence from Yugoslavia (and the loss of the Yugoslav market) as well as economic recession in Western Europe (Germany, Austria), Slovenia's primary economic partners.

The book as a whole, however, brings together all the issues that Slovenia faces, from the labor market, to the political system, to language and education policy.

This is an excellent overview of a new nation from a variety of viewpoints.