Giuseppe Mazzini's Young Europe and the Birth of Modern Nationalism in the Slavic World

This is an absorbing history of the emergence of national consciousness and the desire for independence in the Slavic lands of the Russian and Austrian empires in the 1830s and 1840s. Anna Procyk provides a richly detailed account that involves fascinating characters of all sorts-emigre Polish militants, Greek Catholic priests, poets, conspiratorial organizations, and [...] martyrs to the cause of national liberation. -- David G. Rowley, University of Wisconsin-Platteville * <em>The Russian Review</em> * Anna Procyk's monograph represents decades of thorough research, much of it archival. It demonstrates that Ukrainian intellectuals, while divided between the Russian and Austrian empires, cultivated strong ties with their Italian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, and Balkan counterparts. Its value, however, goes beyond its important contributions to our knowledge of modern Slavic nationalism. At a time when nationalism has degenerated into chauvinism and consequently fallen into disrepute, it reminds us that it in its original form, nationalism not only united those who shared an ethnic and linguistic heritage, but embraced all peoples seeking independence in fraternal equality. -- Andrew Sorokowski * <em>The Ukrainian Weekly</em> * Procyk valuably draws our attention to a broad cast of characters little known beyond specialists of this subject. By placing them in a broad international context that extends beyond eastern Europe, Procyk helps to break down the intellectual boundaries that have long compartmentalized the study of individual east European nations, as well as the sharper divisions between west and east European history. In so doing, Procyk offers a model of transnational east European history well worth developing further. -- Jared Warren * <em>H-Poland</em> * If one compares historical research to a jigsaw puzzle, Procyk's study is a corner piece. In our field, many excellent studies are being published that enlighten us about the region's past, its popular politicians, ignored intellectuals, and admired activists. Yet few studies deserve the predicate of 'outstanding' for their wide scope and scholarly depth. Procyk's Mazzini is outstanding because the author convincingly explains how Young Europe activists contributed to the revolutionary activities after 1815, thereby preparing the Spring of Nations of 1848. -- Josette Baer, University of Zurich UZH * <em>Slavic Review </em> * Based on documentary materials - which, along with correspondence and memoirs, also includes interrogations and court records - Anna Procyk sheds light on the leading figures of conspiratorial networks active on Galician soil, on both the Austrian and Russian side. She highlights the importance of women in the spread of revolutionary literature; these women came often from the ranks of the nobility and were particularly active in Polish conspiratorial networks. -- Marta Verginella * <em>The American Historical Review</em> *