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Cambridge Concise Histories
A Concise History of Albania
A Concise History of Albania charts the history of Albania and its people, within their Balkan and European contexts. It shows the country's journey from its ancient past, still shrouded in mystery and controversy, through its difficult transition from a particularly brutal form of communism to an evolving form of democracy and a market economy. Bernd Fischer and Oliver Schmitt challenge some of the traditional narratives concerning the origins of the Albanians, and the relations between Albanians and their Balkan neighbours. This authoritative and up-to-date single-volume history analyses the political, social, economic, and cultural developments which led to the creation of the Albanian state and the modern nation, as well as Albania's more recent experience with authoritarianism, war, and communism. It greatly contributes to our understanding of the challenges facing contemporary Albanians, as well as the issues confronting the region as a whole as it attempts to grapple with one of the last remaining significant ethnic issues in the Balkans.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
440 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2022
15 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 2, 2023
This book comprehensively fits 1500+ years of Albanian history in just about 400 pages. Almost the entire book focuses on political and military history, which is hard to summarize given the large number of forces that have occupied Albania over the years and Hoxha’s communist regime, but the authors still managed to do so.
I would have liked to learn more about social history of Albanian people’s daily lives during the different eras, but then it wouldn’t be “concise”. Nevertheless, this is a good starting point for those interested in Albanian political history.
I would have liked to learn more about social history of Albanian people’s daily lives during the different eras, but then it wouldn’t be “concise”. Nevertheless, this is a good starting point for those interested in Albanian political history.
September 26, 2023
De Krook
Goeie voorbereider voor een epic reis met mijnen beste makker
Goeie voorbereider voor een epic reis met mijnen beste makker
September 10, 2024
This book is a great one to start with if you're unfamiliar with Albanias history. It's not a dry read which isn't an easy feat when squeezing hundreds of years in under 400 pages.
July 18, 2025
This book attempts to tell, within a compact 400 pages, first the history of the Albanians as an ethnos, and then the history of Albania as a nation-state within its post-Ottoman borders. It limits itself purely to political history, so for most of the book one should expect not much more than the charting of who controlled the country and the forces that challenged that rule.
Readers hoping for more social history, artistic life, etc. may therefore be disappointed, but such are the sacrifices that had to be made. The book also contains more detail on the Ottoman and post-Ottoman years than anything before, though this is understandable when written sources on Albania only became abundant that late. I personally already knew a lot about Albanian history due to previous reading and much time spent in the country, but the early independence years and the reign of Zog were a blind spot for me, since these get overshadowed by both the Ottomans and Communism, and the book was very informative about the turmoil and dysfunction of this era.
A commendable aspect of the book is that it fairly quickly educates the reader against some common nationalist myths that are widespread in the Western Balkans. For example, while Albanians commonly believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Illyrians, this book draws on the ample research that shows that this ethnos originally arose as one of prehistory’s Central Balkan peoples, in a region up and away from the coast. And while both Serbs and (particularly Kosovar) Albanians tend to depict the contemporary tension between their peoples as something that has always existed, the authors underscore how much of this goes no farther back than political turns in the Late Ottoman era; there is even an ample discussion of longtime Albanian–Slav coexistence in the southern half of Albania, which is obvious from toponymy and ethnography but rarely talked about within the region today.
The book has considerable weaknesses, however. First of all, it got insufficient editing, which ought to be blamed not so much on the authors but the publisher. I’m not talking about just typos, though their presence here is appalling for a publisher as august as Cambridge University Press. I’m talking about passages repeating just a bit later in the text, or even once on the very same page. It is the job of an editor to smooth out these matters, particularly when space is at a premium.
Unlike some concise histories that keep the main text short and easy to read, but include a Notes section with citations, this book has only a brief Further Reading list in the Appendix. I would have liked to follow up on a few particular claims here that sounded interesting, e.g. that organized Christianity seems to have vanished from northeastern Albania for two centuries in the late first millennium, or that a South Slavic language was preserved near Himara until very recently, but the reader won’t know where to turn.
Readers hoping for more social history, artistic life, etc. may therefore be disappointed, but such are the sacrifices that had to be made. The book also contains more detail on the Ottoman and post-Ottoman years than anything before, though this is understandable when written sources on Albania only became abundant that late. I personally already knew a lot about Albanian history due to previous reading and much time spent in the country, but the early independence years and the reign of Zog were a blind spot for me, since these get overshadowed by both the Ottomans and Communism, and the book was very informative about the turmoil and dysfunction of this era.
A commendable aspect of the book is that it fairly quickly educates the reader against some common nationalist myths that are widespread in the Western Balkans. For example, while Albanians commonly believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Illyrians, this book draws on the ample research that shows that this ethnos originally arose as one of prehistory’s Central Balkan peoples, in a region up and away from the coast. And while both Serbs and (particularly Kosovar) Albanians tend to depict the contemporary tension between their peoples as something that has always existed, the authors underscore how much of this goes no farther back than political turns in the Late Ottoman era; there is even an ample discussion of longtime Albanian–Slav coexistence in the southern half of Albania, which is obvious from toponymy and ethnography but rarely talked about within the region today.
The book has considerable weaknesses, however. First of all, it got insufficient editing, which ought to be blamed not so much on the authors but the publisher. I’m not talking about just typos, though their presence here is appalling for a publisher as august as Cambridge University Press. I’m talking about passages repeating just a bit later in the text, or even once on the very same page. It is the job of an editor to smooth out these matters, particularly when space is at a premium.
Unlike some concise histories that keep the main text short and easy to read, but include a Notes section with citations, this book has only a brief Further Reading list in the Appendix. I would have liked to follow up on a few particular claims here that sounded interesting, e.g. that organized Christianity seems to have vanished from northeastern Albania for two centuries in the late first millennium, or that a South Slavic language was preserved near Himara until very recently, but the reader won’t know where to turn.
March 23, 2023
A really great, seemingly comprehensive, snapshot of the history of Albania and Albanians. I would have liked more talk about ancient times, though sources are limited, of the significance of Skanderbeg, historically and symbolically, and about the Gheg population and their figures/involvement in the country’s history. All in all, I learned a lot to supplement prior knowledge and I have a greater understanding of the country’s political landscape domestically and internationally today, as well as current political actors. I’d recommend this book as a good starting point to anyone interested in the country and its people. Also, learning of all the hardship and turmoil that the Albanians endured and still face, it makes me grateful that my Albanian-rooted family ended up in the United States.
March 31, 2023
Insightful book about history of Albania, very accurate and objective in facts and description of current and past events that have shaped our history. Highly suggested.
May 23, 2023
A perfect read for anyone curious about Albania and Albanian History
December 15, 2022
Probably the most accurate, objective, and well-researched work written by prominent Albanologs.
This book helped me better understand my country, as well as pieced together various thoughts, memories, experiences, and history lessons throughout my time in Albania.
Albania has a very unique, and generally tragic history. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the country.
This book helped me better understand my country, as well as pieced together various thoughts, memories, experiences, and history lessons throughout my time in Albania.
Albania has a very unique, and generally tragic history. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the country.
February 18, 2024
Great understanding of Albanian history - especially the foundation of Albania on common language i found interesting
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews