Summary
In a useful reference on the geography of Europe, students can find information about the economic, social, and political influences that affect the world around them as it relates to this diverse region. On both a local and global scale, Europe explores the cultural divide between Eastern and Western Europe. Although Eastern Europe, encompassing the former Soviet countries, has typically been known to shun ideas of democracy and freedom, the difference between it and Western Europe has become more economic than political in recent years. Some of these differences are political, ethnic, religious, and demographic in nature and lend variation to a culture that might otherwise be perceived as homogeneous. In this one-volume reference, students and teachers of geography will come to know Europe, from the inside out.