Russian and East European Studies

A much-needed history of the efforts of American Slovaks on behalf of their countrymen in Europe. Cude's book is a good corrective to the numerous histories of the ill-fated Czechoslovak Republic written by leading scholars in the West.--M. Mark Stolarik, Emeritus
At last, we have a book by a professional historian that documents the important role American Slovaks played in the development of Slovak national identity, the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918, and the autonomy movement throughout its history. Slovak leaders in the United States always knew about this, but the general public did not, and many scholars of Czechoslovakia largely ignored it. Michael R. Cude's book will restore the leading role of American Slovaks to its rightful place in the history of the ill-fated Czechoslovak Republic.--M. Mark Stolarik, University of Ottawa
Cude examines the Slovaks in America and their relationship to their homeland. They became instrumental in the development of Czechoslovakia during the First World War. Yet, following the war, they were marginalized, even vilified, by both Prague and Washington despite efforts to continue to advocate on behalf of their conationals before the 1948 communist coup virtually ended their role. This study is an important addition for our understanding of both East Central European and American history and politics.--Gregory Ference, Salisbury University
This volume gives a reliable, thorough, and original account of Slovak cultural and political life in America.-- "Slavic Review"
When Czechoslovakia was created in the wake of the First World War, Czechs and Slovaks disputed many aspects of the new state and government. In succinct and organized fashion, Cude traces decades of fervent Slovak American political engagement on behalf of their erstwhile homeland and connects it to the late twentieth-century movement for Slovak independence after the fall of communism.--Ellen L. Paul, Fort Lewis College