The Power of Song: Nonviolent National Culture in the Baltic Singing Revolution - New Directions in Scandinavian Studies

The Power of Song shows how the people of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania confronted a military superpower and achieved independence in the Baltic "singing revolution." When attacked by Soviet soldiers in public displays of violent force, singing Balts maintained faith in nonviolent political action. More than 110 choral, rock, and folk songs are translated and interpreted in poetic, cultural, and historical context.

Guntis Smidchens is the Kazickas Family Endowed Professor in Baltic Studies in the Scandinavian studies department at the University of Washington.

"An excellent and thorough work and a significant and important addition to our understanding of the role that folklore and popular culture play in shaping political events." --Timothy Tangherlini, UCLA

"A monumental study addressing a sorely neglected aspect of one of the last century's most dramatic geopolitical upheavals. This book will stand, for years and even decades to come, as the standard, authoritative source on its topic." -Kevin C. Karnes, Emory University