Central Europe

"The claim of Europe to be regarded as an independent continent does not rest upon the great area of its Russian territory, with the long boundary towards Asia, but rather upon the group of its western peninsulas and islands, enclosed and divided by gulfs. These many, variously shaped members are, however, only welded into a geographical whole by the mass of Central Europe lying in their midst. Its well-marked outline and independent destiny are due to the important fact that two depressions in the body of the mainland ¿ the Baltic and the Pontic ¿ have had access to the ocean through the sinking of their outlets. On the line where these two slightly salt basins of the Baltic and Black Seas come nearest together, the line between Pillau and Odessa, the continent narrows suddenly from 1600 miles to 800." [...]
This wonderfull historic book on the geographie, history and many more details on Europe was initally published in 1903.