From the ruins of the former Yugoslavia, a new sovereign state has emerged of which the wider world has little knowledge: the Republic of Macedonia. Hugh Poulton traces the history of the people of Macedonia from classical times to the present. The impact of nationalism in the Balkans and the disintegration of the Ottoman empire are examined in relation to Macedonia, with special reference to the bloody territorial struggles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The partitioning of Macedonia between Greece, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania and the inter-war experience are discussed, as are World War II and the Greek Civil War. Later chapters examine how Tito fostered a separate Macedonian consciousness and how the Macedonians fared in relation to the other Yugoslav ethnic groups. The book concludes with Macedonia's emergence as an independent state in the face of Greek opposition, and a discussion of its chances of avoiding entanglement in the war in the Balkans.