The earliest forms of ice hockey developed over the centuries in numerous cold weather countries. In the 17th century, a game similar to hockey was played in Holland known as kolven. But the modern sport of ice hockey arose from the efforts of college students and British soldiers in eastern Canada in the mid-19th century. Since then, ice hockey has moved from neighborhood lakes and ponds to international competitions, such as the Summit Series and the Winter Olympics. Historical Dictionary of Ice Hockey traces the history and evolution of hockey in general, as well as individual topics, from their beginnings to the present, through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary has more than 600 cross-referenced entries on the players, general managers, managers, coaches, and referees, as well as entries for teams, leagues, rules, and statistical categories. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about ice hockey.

The Olympic Movement began with the Ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Greece on the Peloponnesus peninsula at Olympia, Greece. It is not clear why the Greeks instituted this quadrennial celebration in the form of an athletic festival. The recorded history of the Ancient Olympic Games begins in 776 B.C., although it is suspected that the Games had been held for several centuries by that time. The Games were conducted as religious celebrations in honor of the god Zeus, and it is known that Olympia was a shrine to Zeus from about 1000 B.C. In modern time The Olympic Movement attempts to bring all the nations of the world together in a series of multisport festivals, the Olympic Games, seeking to use sport as a means to promote internationalism and peace. This fifth edition of Historical Dictionary of The Olympic Movement covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1000 cross-referenced entries on the history, philosophy, and politics of the Olympics, major organizations, the various sports, the participating countries, and especially the athletes. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about The Olympic Movement.

Belarus is one of fifteen successor states of the former Soviet Union. It’s the only post-Soviet state that is in full of control of its territory and has no territorial conflicts with its neighbors. It’s squeezed between Russia and the European Union. Belarus had never been an independent nation prior to the Soviet Union’s disintegration and its identity is still evolving. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Belarus contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Belarus.

Latvia is located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. After a brief period of independence between the two World Wars, Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994. Latvia continues to revamp its economy for eventual integration into various Western European political and economic institutions. Since May 2004 Latvia is a member of the European Union. This third edition of Historical Dictionary of Latvia contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Latvia.

This book covers the history of Haiti starting in 1492 with the initial European landing of the island to the present day. Haiti shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Haiti proclaimed its independence from France on January 1, 1804 following the only successful slave evolution in the Americas. As a result of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804), Haiti became the first independent Latin American nation and the second independent nation in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States. Throughout its history it has suffered political violence, and a devastating earthquake which killed over 300,000 people. Historical Dictionary of Haiti, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has more than 500 cross-referenced entries on important personalities as well as aspects of the country’s politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Haiti.

On the stroke of midnight on 1 January 2013, the inhabitants of Slovakia celebrated a major milestone in their history: two decades of democratic government and personal freedom. This is so far the longest period of such rule in their history. This anniversary surpasses by a few months their only previous, generation-long, experience, namely in the First Czecho-Slovak Republic (1918-1938). The difference, of course, is that the Slovaks no longer share a state with another nation but run their own affairs. Slovakia is now an accepted and recognized member in the family of nations whose athletes, artists, and other notable personalities are acknowledged around the world. It is a member of international organization's and multilateral institutions and participates in efforts to maintain peace and enhance prosperity around the world. The third edition of Historical Dictionary of Slovakia provides a thorough update of the many accomplishments that Slovakia has achieved. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The cross-referenced dictionary section has over 1000 entries on significant persons, places and events, political parties and institutions, literature, music and the arts. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Slovakia.

Once on the margins of European empires, notably those of France, England and Spain, then a focus of international rivalries and wars during the 18th century, Canada is now a nation that is front and center in the world's affairs. Canada's emergence as a modern industrial nation and a key player in the resource, commodities, and financial institutions that make up today's world shows many aspects of what ex-colonial powers have gone through_except that compromise and reform rather than revolution and revolt have been the cardinal historical features. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Canada greatly expands on the first edition through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and over 500 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important persons, places, events, and institutions, as well as on significant political, economic, social, and cultural aspects. This book is an essential guide to the history of Canada.