Although present-day Ukraine has only been in existence for something over two decades, its recorded history reaches much further back for more than a thousand years to Kyivan Rus'. Over that time, it has usually been under control of invaders like the Turks and Tatars, or neighbors like Russia and Poland, and indeed it was part of the Soviet Union until it gained its independence in 1991. Today it is drawn between its huge neighbor to the east and the European Union, and is still struggling to choose its own path... although it remains uncertain of which way to turn. Nonetheless, as one of the largest European states, with considerable economic potential, it is not a place that can be readily overlooked. The problem is, or at least was, where to find information on this huge modern Ukraine, and since 2005 the answer has been the Historical Dictionary of Ukraine in its first edition, and now even more so with this second edition. It now boasts a dictionary section of about 725 entries, these covering the thousand years of history but particularly the recent past, and focusing on significant persons, places and events, political parties and institutions as well as more broadly international relations, the economy, society and culture. The chronology permits readers to follow this history and the introduction is there to make sense of it. It also features the most extensive and up-to-date bibliography of English-language writing on Ukraine.

Although English-language histories of Ukraine have been published since the 1930s, there has been no one-volume compendium of articles covering Ukrainian history from ancient times to the present, emphasizing the modern period. The A to Z of Ukraine introduces Ukraine to the reader through 700 entries on population, geography, economy, politics, and culture; descriptions of institutions, cultural monuments, political parties, battles and wars; and biographical sketches of key individuals in politics, the arts and sciences, the church, and the military. The work includes nine maps and a comprehensive chronology of Ukrainian history. It also features the most extensive and up-to-date bibliography of English-language writings on Ukraine currently in print. Scholars, students, and other readers interested in Ukraine's history will find this comprehensive volume a most useful resource.