A Concise History of Modern Cyprus: 1878-2009 (PELEUS: Studien zur Archäologie und Geschichte Griechenlands und Zyperns, Band 50)

This "Concise History of Modern Cyprus" addresses itself to readers interested in Cyprus who want to learn more than what can be found in guide books or perhaps in newspapers but does not have the time to delve into the history of this island. It is the summing up of my four volume "History of the Island of Cyprus" which is 2,267 pages long and was written in seven years. It covers the era from 1878 when Cyprus became British to 1977 when Makarios signed the so-called High Level Agreement and died a little later. But in order to help the reader to a better understanding of the development from then to the present this concise history contains a short overview of developments after 1977. When writing the short version I was obliged to reduce the facts to a minimum but the interpretations were retained to a great degree. Naturally the description of many details had to be shortened or completely left aside. Nevertheless, I tried to avoid writing a dry handbook of Cypriot history. The aim was an easy reading fascinating text satisfying all scholarly standards with one exception: I waived an extensive scholarly reference apparatus of footnotes and bibliographies. Such an apparatus would have impaired the readability, inflated the text, made the book bulky and expensive. Whoever wants to check a passage quoted or a statement made or learn more details may take the respective volume in his hand. The four volumes match the four chapters of the short version. As the chapters of both editions correspond it is easy to find the location of the item looked for.