In Nations in Transit 1997, Freedom House asked leading regional specialists and in-house experts to answer a checklist of 46 indicators for twenty-five post-Communist countries in seven key areas: political processes, civil society, independent media, rule of law, governance and public administration, privatization and economic reform. The survey, organized in an easily accessible question-and-answer format, was reviewed by an oversight board of leading scholars from Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, and Columbia University. The results are incisive, authoritative and comprehensive country-by-country reports which asses the progress of ex-Communist countries in ridding themselves of repressive political systems and inefficient statistic economies. As an added dimension, Freedom House - which for nearly 25 years has rated political rights and civil liberties around the world in its benchmark Annual Survey of Freedom - developed a rating system which allows for a comparative analysis of countries in terms of democratic and market reforms. Nations in Transit 1997 is an invaluable resource and reference tool for governmental and non-governmental institutions, schools or universities, and anyone interested in better understanding the political, economic and legal structures and institutions that comprise the infrastructure on which the transition to open societies and open markets depends.