Romania under Basescu: Aspirations, Achievements, and Frustrations during His First Presidential Term, edited by Ronald F. King and Paul E. Sum, is comprised of seventeen contributions from scholars in Europe and North America and addresses from varying perspectives the politics of Romania during the first presidential term of Traian Basescu. With separate sections focusing on issues of governance, civil society, and public policy, it highlights a central paradox of post-communist Romanian development: having one foot stretching toward the future and the other rooted firmly in the past.