This is a fine book. ...Townson seems genuinely inclined to steer away from Western paternalisms. While she observes and explicates the social and political weaknesses she encountered in Romania, she discovers in the hearts and minds of the people she now knows as friends many values, traditions, and intellectual gifts that Americans and others in the West have either misplaced or never knew. ...for those scholars who wish to look beyond a bricks and mortar study of Romanian culture, this poignant unleashing of Romanian voices will be a welcomed addition to the field.
