It is now almost two decades since Latvia began to emerge—or rather, reemerge—on the international scene as a player in its own right. This was the second time, following a rather brief period of independence that was sandwiched between literally centuries of domination by German, Russian, and other neighboring and acquisitive powers and a painful half century, first under Nazi control, then as a minor and relatively meek part of the Soviet Union. With so little training in statehood, it is amazing just how well Latvia has done since 1991. Its economy has been adjusting and recovering; despite serious problems its society is holding up; its foreign policy goals have been largely achieved; and above all it has proven able to create political parties and the rest of a modern democracy, which functions reasonably well. This does not mean that there have been no failures and that there are no problems, for there is still much to be done, but Latvia has been moving ahead and can be expected to continue doing so. Although by any measure Latvia is a rather small country, it has experienced more history than many far larger ones, and it is quite impossible to understand the present situation without knowing more about the past. Thus, although it does focus strongly on the present situation, today’s challenges, and today’s leaders, this Historical Dictionary of Latvia definitely takes a long view, going back as far as possible and covering a broad range of activities and events. That is done in several hundred entries in the dictionary section, many of them historical and political, but others dealing with the economy, society, religion, and culture. The essential lines of this often-complicated story can more readily be followed thanks to an extensive chronology, and the introduction provides a suitable context for seeing how things came together. Those interested in knowing more can readily proceed by consulting the bibliography.