The Forest Traveler is a penetrating inquiry into the life and activities of one of the most important national her es of Bulgarian history. Georgi Stoikov Rakovski's life (1821 1867) mirrored a period of turbulent events in Southeast Europe. This in-depth biography unfolds against the backdrop of the declining Ottoman empire as Bulgaria underwent a period of national renaissance in the nineteenth century. The activists who spearheaded attempts to liberate their country from Ottoman rule were romantic idealists who borrowed their theories of nation building and national rights from abroad. As a literary figure and a revolutionary, Rakovski's image colors most Bulgarians' perception of their modern history. This work aims to strip away much of the mythological aura that surrounds Rakovski's life and to present this revered revolutionary as a more realistic figure. An excellent example of the biographical genre, Mari Firkatian's book on Rakovski is a solid piece of research and historiographical reassessment. It presents for the first time to an English-speaking audience one of the important, and at the same time, controversial figures of the Bulgarian national idea and revolutionary movement of the nineteenth century. Maria Todorova
Biographers of great national her es risk creating one-dimensional images. Although Rakovski is one such hero to Bulgarians, The Forest Traveler is a thoroughly researched biography unbiased to the point of severity that is an important contribution to the history of the political and spiritual awaken-ing of Bulgaria in the second half of the nineteenth century. Stephane Groueff
