[ NOTE: Among the important books which are lacking in the following
list, we wish to mention the very good ones edited by the
International Action Center (http://www.iacenter.org), above all the
most recent
“Hidden Agenda: U.S./NATO Takeover of Yugoslavia“ (International Action
Center, 2002, ISBN 0-9656916-7-5) ]
---
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m073103.html
ANTIWAR, Thursday, July 31, 2003
Balkan Express
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com
The Worthy Balkans Booklist
Recommended Reading for Anti-Imperialists
by Nebojsa Malic
It would be deeply unfair to offer only a list of dreadful books
[http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m071003.html] about the Balkans Wars and
not mention the other kind - the books that help the overall
understanding of the region and the turmoil it has been undergoing for
the past decade or so. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the number
of good books about the region is fairly low. Even so, it is entirely
likely that some good works out there might be overlooked by the list
below.*
One must keep in mind another fact. None of these books gives the full
picture of the crisis. Some try, some succeed better than others, but
the story of Yugoslavia in the 1990s is so complex, it is nearly
impossible to tell in one volume. There is no "Yugoslav Crisis for
Dummies" or "Idiot's Guide to Balkans Wars" on this list. To find them,
you will have to go elsewhere
[http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m071003.html].
So without further ado, the books.
Testimonies
In producing their works, historians often rely on "primary sources"
accounts of people who have actually witnessed, or participated in the
event in question. As a side note, despite being treated as such,
journalists often should not be considered primary sources. Too many
have deliberately
misinterpreted [http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m022102.html] the facts
that their lies reverberate through media coverage even today.
On the other hand, though in some part necessarily self-serving,
memoirs of officials and dignitaries who were actually on the ground
making the news - as opposed to inventing it - are the real primary
sources of intrinsic value.
Take for example, Peacekeeper: The Road to Sarajevo
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/155054098X/
antiwarbookstore/], by the man fully deserving of the title. Canadian
Major-General Lewis McKenzie was not only the first UN commander in
Sarajevo, but a veteran of almost all UN peacekeeping missions. Half
the book is the account of those missions, and is interesting in its
own right. However, the part that focuses on Bosnia in 1992 is truly
captivating.
In Peacekeeper, McKenzie described what would later become a pattern
for every UN commander in Bosnia. Though both Serbs and Muslims greeted
him cordially at first, the latter quickly turned on him when he
refused to take their side. McKenzie even pointed out some Muslim
abuses, earning the
undying hatred of the Sarajevo regime. They've pilloried him as
"pro-Serb" and even concocted a vicious rumor about his involvement
with "Serb rape camps."
Peacekeeper is a poignant chronicle of events in Sarajevo during the
fateful summer of 1992, a must-read.
Balkan Odyssey
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156005212/
antiwarbookstore/], by Lord David Owen, is an important bit of
diplomatic history. The frustrated British negotiator recounts in this
memoir how he vainly tried to mediate between the warring factions in
Bosnia while both
the western media and the American government did their best to make
him fail.
A little-known but brilliant book is Philip Corwin's Dubious Mandate
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0822321262/antiwarbookstore/],
a superb, first-hand account of how the Empire subverted and abused the
UN force in Bosnia, using the peacekeeping mission as subterfuge for
intervention. However, it is best to be somewhat familiar with the
situation in the 1995 Bosnia before reading this book.
Perhaps the most important testimony, though, is Richard Holbrooke's To
End A War
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375753605/
antiwarbookstore/]. Surprised? Don't be. While Holbrooke's memoir
should definitely not
be taken at face value - especially when it comes to his misconceptions
about the Balkans peoples - his arrogant honesty paints a forthright
picture of Imperial intervention, its motives and methods. Many of the
things Holbrooke says without thinking his colleagues would fear to
even contemplate, let alone speak out loud. If for that alone, this
book is a treasure - though at times it may induce vomiting. (see
review [http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m052903.html])
Histories
Bridging the divide between testimonies and histories is Misha Glenny's
The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140257713/antiwarbookstore/].
Glenny was frequently in Croatia
and Bosnia between 1991 and 1995, so his work is somewhat a personal
account - but he also attempts to paint a picture of events as they
unfolded, based on media reports and occasional interviews. Though
Glenny gets the timeline
straight, his emotional style - no doubt influenced by the British
style of narrative - often get in the way of scholarship. This book,
while useful, should be taken with a chunk of salt (see review
[http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m011101.html]).
For a history of Kosovo and to some extent Serbia in general, one
should try to find Alex Dragnich and Slavko Todorovich's The Saga of
Kosovo
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0317184520/
antiwarbookstore/], printed in 1984 by Columbia University Press (and
adapted online
[http://www.kosovo.com/sk/history/kosovo_saga/default.htm]).
Robert Hayden's Blueprint for a House Divided
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0472087568/
antiwarbookstore/] fills an important niche, trying to explain
Yugoslavia's collapse from the standpoint of constitutional
nationalism. It is in fact aptly subtitled "The Constitutional Logic of
the Yugoslav Conflicts". (More info:
http://www.press.umich.edu/titles/11066.html). Too many
analyses of Yugoslavia's demise ignore the crucial role of
constitutional conundrums that encouraged ethno-statism, especially
from 1974 onwards.
Thomas Fleming's Montenegro: The Divided Land
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961936495/antiwarbookstore/]
is the very example of what a short history should be: concise yet
incredibly informative, offering a sea
of relevant facts and analyzing historical patterns. This is simply the
best history of Montenegro currently available. Its importance cannot
be overstated, since the current regime in Podgorica has been
falsifying history wholesale in order to justify its separatist
tendencies.
Analysis And Media
It is obvious to anyone even remotely acquainted with the Balkans that
media impact on the Yugoslav crisis cannot possibly be underestimated.
Though a comprehensive analysis of media manipulations has not yet seen
the light of
day - and since the machinations continue, that day may still be far
off - good critical analyses of lies employed in the Kosovo war can be
found in Phil Hammond's Degraded Capability
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/074531631X/
antiwarbookstore/] and Philip Knightley's The First Casualty
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/080186951X/
antiwarbookstore/] (reviewed here:
http://evatt.labor.net.au/news/201.html).
Michael Parenti's To Kill A Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1859843662/
antiwarbookstore/] analyzes Yugoslavia's violent dissolution from the
beginning. Though its economic preconceptions may be disputable,
Parenti's incisive work contributes a great deal to understanding the
clear pattern of dismemberment that emerges from consecutive Imperial
interventions. (see review
[http://www.swans.com/library/art7/ga104.html])
In the same league is Diana Johnstone's Fools' Crusade: Yugoslavia,
NATO and Western Delusions
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158367084X/antiwarbookstore/]
(see reviews here http://swans.com/library/art9/lproy04.html, here
http://swans.com/library/art9/herman10.html and here
http://swans.com/library/art9/ga156.html). Johnstone not only analyzes
the Imperial interventions, she also addresses the leftist warmongers
who spearheaded them, a frequently ignored subject. Read intro
here: http://swans.com/library/art9/dianaj01.html.
Honorable Mentions
Scott Taylor's Inat: Images of Serbia and the Kosovo Conflict
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/189589610X/antiwarbookstore/]
and Diary of an Uncivil War
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1895896207/antiwarbookstore/]
(read excerpt: http://www.antiwar.com/orig/taylor2.html) are a
refreshing break from the mainstream-peddled nonsense about the wars in
Kosovo and Macedonia is, though some people might be put off by the
magazine-style prose. Taylor has long followed the Canadian military,
and seems to have a keen sense for recognizing baloney when he hears it.
Anthony Lloyd's My War Gone By, I Miss It So
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140298541/
antiwarbookstore/] may not seem like worthy reading at first. A
confessed English drug-user with family issues, Lloyd sought out danger
in Bosnia and Chechnya, posing as a journalist but really just spending
time with the locals. His picture of war is gritty and realistic. His
experiences with Muslims and Croats - he hated Serbs - offer invaluable
glimpses into the collective hysteria that was Bosnia at war. Not for
the queasy, but definitely worth reading.
Coda
This list is by no means definitive, or final. New works are becoming
available every day, and some of them may not be rubbish. Suggestions
for book reviews are very much welcome [mailto:backtalk@...],
of course. Perhaps some day, the quality of reason will manage to
overwhelm the quantity of lies peddled in its stead. Here's to hope
that it does.
list, we wish to mention the very good ones edited by the
International Action Center (http://www.iacenter.org), above all the
most recent
“Hidden Agenda: U.S./NATO Takeover of Yugoslavia“ (International Action
Center, 2002, ISBN 0-9656916-7-5) ]
---
http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m073103.html
ANTIWAR, Thursday, July 31, 2003
Balkan Express
by Nebojsa Malic
Antiwar.com
The Worthy Balkans Booklist
Recommended Reading for Anti-Imperialists
by Nebojsa Malic
It would be deeply unfair to offer only a list of dreadful books
[http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m071003.html] about the Balkans Wars and
not mention the other kind - the books that help the overall
understanding of the region and the turmoil it has been undergoing for
the past decade or so. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the number
of good books about the region is fairly low. Even so, it is entirely
likely that some good works out there might be overlooked by the list
below.*
One must keep in mind another fact. None of these books gives the full
picture of the crisis. Some try, some succeed better than others, but
the story of Yugoslavia in the 1990s is so complex, it is nearly
impossible to tell in one volume. There is no "Yugoslav Crisis for
Dummies" or "Idiot's Guide to Balkans Wars" on this list. To find them,
you will have to go elsewhere
[http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m071003.html].
So without further ado, the books.
Testimonies
In producing their works, historians often rely on "primary sources"
accounts of people who have actually witnessed, or participated in the
event in question. As a side note, despite being treated as such,
journalists often should not be considered primary sources. Too many
have deliberately
misinterpreted [http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m022102.html] the facts
that their lies reverberate through media coverage even today.
On the other hand, though in some part necessarily self-serving,
memoirs of officials and dignitaries who were actually on the ground
making the news - as opposed to inventing it - are the real primary
sources of intrinsic value.
Take for example, Peacekeeper: The Road to Sarajevo
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/155054098X/
antiwarbookstore/], by the man fully deserving of the title. Canadian
Major-General Lewis McKenzie was not only the first UN commander in
Sarajevo, but a veteran of almost all UN peacekeeping missions. Half
the book is the account of those missions, and is interesting in its
own right. However, the part that focuses on Bosnia in 1992 is truly
captivating.
In Peacekeeper, McKenzie described what would later become a pattern
for every UN commander in Bosnia. Though both Serbs and Muslims greeted
him cordially at first, the latter quickly turned on him when he
refused to take their side. McKenzie even pointed out some Muslim
abuses, earning the
undying hatred of the Sarajevo regime. They've pilloried him as
"pro-Serb" and even concocted a vicious rumor about his involvement
with "Serb rape camps."
Peacekeeper is a poignant chronicle of events in Sarajevo during the
fateful summer of 1992, a must-read.
Balkan Odyssey
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0156005212/
antiwarbookstore/], by Lord David Owen, is an important bit of
diplomatic history. The frustrated British negotiator recounts in this
memoir how he vainly tried to mediate between the warring factions in
Bosnia while both
the western media and the American government did their best to make
him fail.
A little-known but brilliant book is Philip Corwin's Dubious Mandate
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0822321262/antiwarbookstore/],
a superb, first-hand account of how the Empire subverted and abused the
UN force in Bosnia, using the peacekeeping mission as subterfuge for
intervention. However, it is best to be somewhat familiar with the
situation in the 1995 Bosnia before reading this book.
Perhaps the most important testimony, though, is Richard Holbrooke's To
End A War
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375753605/
antiwarbookstore/]. Surprised? Don't be. While Holbrooke's memoir
should definitely not
be taken at face value - especially when it comes to his misconceptions
about the Balkans peoples - his arrogant honesty paints a forthright
picture of Imperial intervention, its motives and methods. Many of the
things Holbrooke says without thinking his colleagues would fear to
even contemplate, let alone speak out loud. If for that alone, this
book is a treasure - though at times it may induce vomiting. (see
review [http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m052903.html])
Histories
Bridging the divide between testimonies and histories is Misha Glenny's
The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140257713/antiwarbookstore/].
Glenny was frequently in Croatia
and Bosnia between 1991 and 1995, so his work is somewhat a personal
account - but he also attempts to paint a picture of events as they
unfolded, based on media reports and occasional interviews. Though
Glenny gets the timeline
straight, his emotional style - no doubt influenced by the British
style of narrative - often get in the way of scholarship. This book,
while useful, should be taken with a chunk of salt (see review
[http://www.antiwar.com/malic/m011101.html]).
For a history of Kosovo and to some extent Serbia in general, one
should try to find Alex Dragnich and Slavko Todorovich's The Saga of
Kosovo
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0317184520/
antiwarbookstore/], printed in 1984 by Columbia University Press (and
adapted online
[http://www.kosovo.com/sk/history/kosovo_saga/default.htm]).
Robert Hayden's Blueprint for a House Divided
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0472087568/
antiwarbookstore/] fills an important niche, trying to explain
Yugoslavia's collapse from the standpoint of constitutional
nationalism. It is in fact aptly subtitled "The Constitutional Logic of
the Yugoslav Conflicts". (More info:
http://www.press.umich.edu/titles/11066.html). Too many
analyses of Yugoslavia's demise ignore the crucial role of
constitutional conundrums that encouraged ethno-statism, especially
from 1974 onwards.
Thomas Fleming's Montenegro: The Divided Land
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0961936495/antiwarbookstore/]
is the very example of what a short history should be: concise yet
incredibly informative, offering a sea
of relevant facts and analyzing historical patterns. This is simply the
best history of Montenegro currently available. Its importance cannot
be overstated, since the current regime in Podgorica has been
falsifying history wholesale in order to justify its separatist
tendencies.
Analysis And Media
It is obvious to anyone even remotely acquainted with the Balkans that
media impact on the Yugoslav crisis cannot possibly be underestimated.
Though a comprehensive analysis of media manipulations has not yet seen
the light of
day - and since the machinations continue, that day may still be far
off - good critical analyses of lies employed in the Kosovo war can be
found in Phil Hammond's Degraded Capability
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/074531631X/
antiwarbookstore/] and Philip Knightley's The First Casualty
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/080186951X/
antiwarbookstore/] (reviewed here:
http://evatt.labor.net.au/news/201.html).
Michael Parenti's To Kill A Nation: The Attack on Yugoslavia
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1859843662/
antiwarbookstore/] analyzes Yugoslavia's violent dissolution from the
beginning. Though its economic preconceptions may be disputable,
Parenti's incisive work contributes a great deal to understanding the
clear pattern of dismemberment that emerges from consecutive Imperial
interventions. (see review
[http://www.swans.com/library/art7/ga104.html])
In the same league is Diana Johnstone's Fools' Crusade: Yugoslavia,
NATO and Western Delusions
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158367084X/antiwarbookstore/]
(see reviews here http://swans.com/library/art9/lproy04.html, here
http://swans.com/library/art9/herman10.html and here
http://swans.com/library/art9/ga156.html). Johnstone not only analyzes
the Imperial interventions, she also addresses the leftist warmongers
who spearheaded them, a frequently ignored subject. Read intro
here: http://swans.com/library/art9/dianaj01.html.
Honorable Mentions
Scott Taylor's Inat: Images of Serbia and the Kosovo Conflict
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/189589610X/antiwarbookstore/]
and Diary of an Uncivil War
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1895896207/antiwarbookstore/]
(read excerpt: http://www.antiwar.com/orig/taylor2.html) are a
refreshing break from the mainstream-peddled nonsense about the wars in
Kosovo and Macedonia is, though some people might be put off by the
magazine-style prose. Taylor has long followed the Canadian military,
and seems to have a keen sense for recognizing baloney when he hears it.
Anthony Lloyd's My War Gone By, I Miss It So
[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140298541/
antiwarbookstore/] may not seem like worthy reading at first. A
confessed English drug-user with family issues, Lloyd sought out danger
in Bosnia and Chechnya, posing as a journalist but really just spending
time with the locals. His picture of war is gritty and realistic. His
experiences with Muslims and Croats - he hated Serbs - offer invaluable
glimpses into the collective hysteria that was Bosnia at war. Not for
the queasy, but definitely worth reading.
Coda
This list is by no means definitive, or final. New works are becoming
available every day, and some of them may not be rubbish. Suggestions
for book reviews are very much welcome [mailto:backtalk@...],
of course. Perhaps some day, the quality of reason will manage to
overwhelm the quantity of lies peddled in its stead. Here's to hope
that it does.