The History of Lithuania by four historians is to be translated into English, French, Russian, Spanish, Polish, and German.
History professor Alfredas Bumblauskas said there's a lack of such publications at the moment as Lithuania "is often evaluated based on outdated sources or external publications."
"This book is short and therefore more intended for the general public. But I would dare to think that those authors who write about Lithuania but still do not read (about it) will perhaps try and understand our position," Bumblauskas, one of the co-authors, told BNS following the presentation.
Antanas Kulakauskas, another co-author, said they tried to write the book "in a European way and for Europe."
"We did not want to change the way of thinking but our goal was to provide information to the wider public from the inside, the necessary minimum of factual information along with current interpretations of Lithuania's history," Kulakauskas said.
The 280-page book, which starts with Lithuania's first mentioning in written sources from 1009, was also co-written by historians Alfonsas Eidintas and Mindaugas Tamošaitis.
During the book's presentation, Minister of Foreign Affairs Audronius Ažubalis urged "not to forget anything, to talk openly and clearly about everything, differentiate regular periods of the state's evolution and not to be afraid of responsible evaluation of past events."
The minister called 2013 a year of opportunities as Lithuania's EU Presidency will be a great opportunity to introduce to the world the country and its history.
