The French version of the book has been compiled by several authors; thus, it comprises an extensive bibliography and presents the most objective view possible on the history of Latvia in the last century.

The book focuses on dispersing popular myths. The most important historical events and processes are viewed in the context of European history and evaluated from the position of the Latvian state.

The book is reviewed by Artis Pabriks, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia, and Paul Goble, vice dean at the Concordia-Audentes University in Tallin and Senior Research Associate at EuroCollege of the University of Tartu. President of the Republic of Latvia Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga about the book: „This is no doubt a work on the Latvian nation, state and their fate during the last century. The book does not present past events and processes from a narrow viewpoint of Latvian historians led by local patriotism. This book is an attempt to arrive at an objective understanding of the past, an understanding that towers above the interests of one nation and one social group. The authors have strived for analysis and evaluation of Latvian history in the wider context of historical events in Europe and the world.

The work comprises a description and analysis of complicated and concealed issues that have not been discussed before – Soviet and Nazi occupation periods, their consequences, holocaust, Soviet mass deportations, collaborationism, resistance to the occupation.

Many politicians and celebrities of the period are evaluated in the book. To a certain extent, the work reveals the present development of Latvian modern time history, and outlines the issues that require further and more detailed study.

This book proves that history and its study is a never-ending process aiming to find out the facts and reasons for what has happened to us.”