Budapest [antikvár]

Preface to the Series and Acknowledgments The present volume is a component of a series that, when completed, will constitute a comprehensive survey of the many aspects of East Central European society. The books in the series deal with peoples whose homelands lie between the Germans to the west, the Russians, Ukranians, and Belorussians to the east and north, and the Mediterranean and Adriatic seas to the south. They constitute a particular civilization, one that is at once an integral part of Europe, yet substantially different from the West. The area is characterized by a rich diversity of language, religion, and government. The study of this complex area demands a multidisciplinary approach, and, accordingly, our contributors to the series represent several academic disciplines. They have been drawn from the universities and other scholarly institutions in the United States and Westem Europe, as well as East and Cenfral Europe. The confributors of the present volume are prominent Hungarian experts of the field. The editors, of course, take full responsibility for ensuring the comprehensiveness, cohesion, intemal balance, and scholarly quality of the series we have launched. We cheerfully accept this responsibility and intend this work to be neither justification nor condemnation of the policies, attitudes, and activities of any persons involved. At the same time, because the contributors represent so many different disciplines, interpretations, and schools of thought, our policy in this, as in the past and future volumes, is to present their contributions without major modifications. Special thanks are due to Mr. Zsolt Sebestyén for the set designand to Professors Cecil D. Eby and Nóra Arató for copy-editing the text. Budapest, March 15, 1997. Béla K. Király Editor in Chief