Historical Dictionary of Brussels

by Paul F. State

Overview

Brussels has become the “capital” of Europe, serving as the headquarters for key regional and international agencies, including the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, UN organizations, multinational businesses, lobbying firms, governmental groups, and nongovernmental organizations. Its status as a diplomatic, political, and economic center assumes ever greater importance as the EU grows in depth and breadth.

This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Brussels covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Brussels.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810879201
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/16/2015
Series:	Historical Dictionaries of Cities, States, and Regions
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	590
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

Paul F. State has lived and worked in Brussels and maintains close ties with the city. He is an editor in European history a translator, a journalist, and a writer on topics in international affairs, politics, and history. His is the author also of A Brief History of the Netherlands (2008), A Brief History of Ireland (2009), and A Brief History of France (2010).

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreword Jon Woronoff
Preface
Acknowledgments
Reader’s Note
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
Maps
Chronology
Introduction
THE DICTIONARY
Appendixes
A. The Nineteen Communes of the Brussels Capital Region
B. Population of the City of Brussels, ca. 1400–2012
C. Burgomasters of Brussels, 1830–Present
D. Minister-Presidents of the Brussels Capital Region
E. The Nine Nations
F. Division of Residents According to Language Used
Bibliography
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

The volume is a mine of information for anyone wanting a useful summary of the achievements of a range of individuals and of organizations which have played a prominent role in the city’s history or of events which have made Brussels so important to the movement towards European union. The curious reader will no doubt be rewarded for their outlay by access to a range of information on subjects as diverse as the story of Edith Cavell, nursing heroine of the Great War and the history of chocolate confectionery in Brussels. How many outside Brussels are aware that the city houses a museum devoted to the cultivation of a local vegetable, the Brussels Witloof or white endive? The volume is completed by a number of useful... illustrations. The volume should be on the desk of every Brussels bureaucrat!

Reference Reviews

The volume is a mine of information for anyone wanting a useful summary of the achievements of a range of individuals and of organizations which have played a prominent role in the city’s history or of events which have made Brussels so important to the movement towards European union. The curious reader will no doubt be rewarded for their outlay by access to a range of information on subjects as diverse as the story of Edith Cavell, nursing heroine of the Great War and the history of chocolate confectionery in Brussels. How many outside Brussels are aware that the city houses a museum devoted to the cultivation of a local vegetable, the Brussels Witloof or white endive? The volume is completed by a number of useful... illustrations. The volume should be on the desk of every Brussels bureaucrat!

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The volume is a mine of information for anyone wanting a useful summary of the achievements of a range of individuals and of organizations which have played a prominent role in the city’s history or of events which have made Brussels so important to the movement towards European union. The curious reader will no doubt be rewarded for their outlay by access to a range of information on subjects as diverse as the story of Edith Cavell, nursing heroine of the Great War and the history of chocolate confectionery in Brussels. How many outside Brussels are aware that the city houses a museum devoted to the cultivation of a local vegetable, the Brussels Witloof or white endive? The volume is completed by a number of useful... illustrations. The volume should be on the desk of every Brussels bureaucrat!

"American Reference Books Annual"

...the first English-langauge reference text to cover the places, people, events, and institutions of Brussels...a handy resource for students, academics, professionals in the public and private sectors, residents, and visitors. In addition to the dictionary itself, the text contains a chronology of significant events; an introductory essay on the city and its people; appendices on population, linguistic, and other statistical data; and an extensive bibliography.

Reference and Research Book News

The author pays special attention to the role of the city as a center of rebellion against great kingdoms and empires, the significance of a bilingual capital along the geographic boundary between Romance and Germanic languages, and the role of the city as a center for international organizations. A bibliography of major works serves as an excellent starting point for more in-depth research. Other useful features include a list of acronyms, maps, tables of populations and political figures, and plates of important sites.

American Reference Books Annual (ARBA)

Anyone who cares about the battered and abused capital city of Europe should acquire this volume. Written by the American journalist Paul F. State, this sober and scholarly book is the fruit of long hours spent in inhospitable wastes of city's archives....this is a quite magnificent book.

The Bulletin

...a pleasure to read and a very useful reference source....Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduates and higher.

Choice

The author pays special attention to the role of the city as a center of rebellion against great kingdoms and empires, the significance of a bilingual capital along the geographic boundary between Romance and Germanic languages, and the role of the city as a center for international organizations. A bibliography of major works serves as an excellent starting point for more in-depth research. Other useful features include a list of acronyms, maps, tables of populations and political figures, and plates of important sites.

American Reference Books Annual

...a pleasure to read and a very useful reference source....Recommended. General readers; upper-division undergraduates and higher.

CHOICE