At first glance, this seems to be a peripheral topic in a peripheral Cold War theater—Estonian and Polish diaspora networks in Sweden and their contacts with their homelands. At second glance this is a brilliant synthesis of the history of half a century of transnational resistance and opposition networks in the Baltic Sea region. Of course, the author is able to demonstrate convincingly that this region was not peripheral during the Cold War and exile communities played an important role in sustaining opposition towards socialism.

This monograph is well written, highly readable, and follows a convincing line of argumentation. The author is careful with terminology and his study is indeed a pioneering work. He uses the relevant historiography in English, Estonian, German, Polish, and Swedish, as well as archives in Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden. In addition, the contemporary press and fifteen interviews are employed to offer a broader perspective.

The choice of Estonia and Poland is well thought through, since the Estonian SSR was the Soviet republic with the most exposure to the west and the Polish People's Republic was for a long time the most liberal country in the eastern bloc. Both countries possessed an active diaspora in Sweden since World War II. In his narrative, Stöcker covers mainly the transnational networks between Sweden, Poland, and Estonia. Due to his knowledge of Swedish, he is able to include the Finnish perspective as well and offers sufficient space for the larger picture. The author is able to compare regularly the cases of Estonia and Poland. It becomes clear that Soviet republics had much lesser leeway and possibilities than “independent” satellite states. This comparison appears to be very fruitful.

The study is structured after a long and solid introduction in six main chapters, each covering roughly a decade, the conclusions, and an appendix with biographical sketches of the fifteen interviewees. Overall, it is an interesting and convincing study. Unfortunately, some minor points of criticism are necessary. Sweden recognized the annexation of the Baltic states de jure and not only de facto, as Stöcker insists (7). Soviet military bases were established in the Baltic states three months before the Finnish Winter War, so the Baltic governments could not try to avoid the fate of Finland as the author claims (21). He also has problems putting the events between the Soviet occupation and annexation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania into the right order (23, 27–28). Russian troops left Lithuania in 1993 and it was not the Red Army leaving in 1994 (15). To better understand the scale of the mass flight in 1944–45, it would be helpful to mention the number of inhabitants in each of the Baltic Sea countries.

The first chapter offers an historical overview of the entangled histories of northeastern Europe. The second chapter deals with resistance and opposition from 1939 until 1949, including the experience of German occupation. At the time, Sweden served as an important center for Estonian and Polish resistance, although after the war many measures failed to resist the Soviets. The Soviets were only able to repatriate a tiny fraction of the Estonian and Polish refugees to Sweden.

The third chapter covers the Cold War era in the 1950s. Émigrés attempted to collect information from behind the Iron Curtain, intelligence operations from both sides occurred, and radio stations like Voice of America broadcast programs in east European languages. Across the “Sea of Peace,” first encounters occurred with tourists and émigrés traveling to their homeland. The next chapter describes how those encounters intensified, for example, with a regular ferry connection between Helsinki and Tallinn, and a generational change softened the anticommunist stance of the exiles.

The fifth chapter deals with the transnationalization of the opposition in the region in the 1970s. The smuggling of books and information intensified, even technical equipment for Polish samizdat was smuggled into the country. The author stresses the huge differences in the conditions in Poland and Estonia and is able to integrate the larger picture into his narrative. The last chapter covers the last decade of socialism and how individual opposition turned into large-scale protest. Stöcker identifies major differences between his two cases: while Poland employed a strategy of negotiation, Estonia opted for anticommunism to overcome the regime. Thoughtful conclusions round up the text.

Overall, it is a great achievement to cover half a century of such diverse cases in a readable way. Some minor flaws should not shed negative light on this monograph.