When fighting in Kosovo began breaking out and hitting news tabloids in mid-1998, the problem was that few people knew about this region's history, let alone its location on the globe. No one could quite understand the motives of Serbs and Albanians, who were at odds with each other. When NATO began bombing rump Yugoslavia for its conduct against Kosovo Albanian civilians, uncritical (and heavily biased) media reports and press coverage were the only source of information that one could turn to for background. While this may have been better than nothing, this information was far from providing a critical and satisfactory explanation and understanding. This was the case, until Tim Judah wrote his second book, the current one now under review.

Judah is a Balkan expert, who speaks numerous languages (including Serbo-Croatian and Albanian) and has written several articles for many newspapers and magazines throughout the world. His previous book ("The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia" [New Haven, 1997 and 2000]) put the Bosnian war into its proper context, while the current puts Kosovo into its respective context. The first chapter is a short, condensed history of Kosovo leading up to the end of the Second World War, while the next sizable portion of the book details key events and personalities throughout the 1980s and 1990s that shaped modern-day Kosovo and unwittingly turned it toward a war-path. Judah discusses the outbreaks of violence in late 1997, the failed efforts of Western diplomats in stopping the bloodshed, a critical and thrilling chapter chronicling the failed Rambouillet peace accords in February 1999, a chapter chronicling NATO's 78-day bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, and the aftermath of Kosovo's tragic conflict: vengeful Albanians returning home and killing Serbs and Roma.

Integral to Judah's work is his assessment of NATO's conduct in the conflict. His thesis is that the entire war was one of "human error," where Western diplomats foolishly believed that they could make Serbia's Milosevic back down within one week. Milosevic, on the other hand, believed NATO to be bluffing and took the alleged bluff. Tensions mounted within the NATO alliance, other world superpowers (in the military sense, aka. Russia and China) began bracing themselves for toil with the US, while Albanian and Serb civilians were either massacred or blown up by NATO's firepower. Totally unprepared of what to expect, NATO carried out blunder after blunder, failed to stop massacres in Kosovo and perhaps made the Balkans even more tense and unstable than before.

It is imperative that readers consult Judah's work for every meticulous detail surrounding Kosovo's recent history. Readers should consult other recent works in understanding Kosovo's ancient past to determine if Serbs really have rightful historical claims to the province, for Judah's first chapter is merely a primer. Of course, there are those critics out there that will cite, as I mentioned in another review, that Judah is not a "professional historian." It is likely that his knowledge, experience and excellent writing style makes his book more valuable and a much better, thrilling and informative read than the work of any academic.

No matter how much graphic TV footage we saw and how many acres of newsprint we read on the Kosovo crisis, nothing gave us enough information about what was really going on. As with any war situation, information was often unavoidably contradictory and confused, tainted with propaganda. Politicians and historians and revisionists will probably mull over the recent events in Kosovo for years before presenting their views.

In the meantime we have war correspondents cranking up the pace with instant records. While the accounts of war journalists lack the historical perspective that can only occur over time, their freshness and immediacy can be electrifying and there is still opportunity for analysis.

Tim Judah's book is a fine example of what can be achieved. This is not a hasty account. Judah presents a surprisingly fair overview of the Kosovo crisis, which he has rigorously researched with exhaustive notes.

Judah fleshes out the major players from the 12th century to the 20th. He traces Kosovo's troubled history back to the Field of the Blackbirds in 1389 when the Serbian Prince Lazar and the Ottoman Sultan Murad faced off becaused Lazar refused to submit to Ottoman rule. Lazar and Murad died, the Serbs lost the battle. Orthodox Christians and Muslims co-existed uneasily for over 600 years, but Judah's details for much of that time are sketchy. Anyway, we get the picture: that's a long time to hone a grudge and perfect the most savage methods of revenge. He has more information about the history of Balkan bloodshed in the 20th century.

Fast forward to 1999 where Judah examines the polarisation of the murderous Milsosovic regime as the Kosovo crisis unfolds, he gives frontline reports of atrocities, details the burgeoning humanitarian disaster and the intense machinations behind the scenes as the crisis unfolded.

His account of the how the Kosovo Albanian and Serbian delegations, NATO and international peacemakers confronted each other over cheese and claret in a chateau in Rambouillet is as astute as it is entertaining. Judah dispells propaganda on all sides. There was also a lot of background about the formation of the KLA I had known nothing about.

He is contemptuous of experts in far away places passing judgment on the tragic events that unfolded, a viewpoint fairly typical of reporters in the field

Judah's objectivity has allowed for clarity - the hallmark of a great journalist. And this certainly is a great read by a journalist with formidable research skills and meticulous attention to detail.

A book for those who were watching one of the biggest scenes of crime at the end of the 20th century from the TV screens. To try to learn and understand the complexity of the problem which layed "down there" for decades and nobody wasn't interested to solve it until the mass killing came to the scene. To understand the importance of the issue and to justify the right NATO air war. And, Tim has done a great job. He uses real people to tell their stories, politicans and the independent historic facts. Well writen, too. Read it.

An excellent addition to the literature on Yugoslav and Serbian history. A must for anyone who would like to learn more about the region. Concise and easy to read. The entries on events and important individulas and institutions have not been burdened by the subjective interpretations and judgements. Highly recommended reading for general public and Yugoslav scholars.

Finally, we have a comprehensive and coherent masterwork on Yugoslavia from a Balkan expert and an IPE scholar. The post-Cold War literature on international relations of Yugoslavia's demise, in its substance and method, for the most part, has not discriminated between truth and opinion. It has not discriminated between what is true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment, separated from the facts, unrealistic, and informed by prejudice.

Information and knowledge about the Balkans, Yugoslavia, and Serbia,have often been created and disseminated through uncorroborated reports and teleological research prone to errors: accepting a (policy) claim when it was false, rejecting it when it was true, or solving the wrong problem instead of the right one. Serious readers, scholars, and policy makers engaged in the Balkan affairs and U.S. foreign policy, therefore, should pose several questions:

(1) has the so-called "advocacy journalism" based on the reports from conflict stakeholders -- past, current, or prospective clients and proxies provided information or disinformation?

(2) has the "advocacy journalism" cultivated (a) ignorance and cognitive closure about causal links and their effects; (b) stirred input/output discrepancies that led to cognitive dissonance and suppression of reasoned judgment; or has it enhanced our understanding of causes and consequences of internal conflicts and interstate wars?

(3) have we improved our learning skills, and advanced our knowledge with briefings, statements, and judgments provided by bureaucrats, staff members, and policy makers in a ministry or agency?

Answers to these questions suggest that research and management of international affairs, so far, have been adverse for the study of history and policy. We have discovered fallacies and errors in the intelligence process and planning ex postfacto. We have had to contend with policy advocacy and policy application that stem from these fallacies and errors. Serious and much needed research to discourage the use of fallacies and to avoid costly conceptual and policy errors,so far, has been insufficient and inadequate.

Suster's "Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" in the English-speaking world has long been overdue. Since the end of the Cold War, the public was satiated with the literature on ethnic and regional conflict. This literature, with few exceptions, lacked the precision and depth required for serious social research. Academic and policy discourse has been in need of a discriminate and balanced evidence and inference. We make history and theory synthesis possible through this intellectual production of discriminate and balanced evidence and inference.

Zeljan Suster's book fills the large factual and analytical gap that exists in the contemporary literature on Yugoslavia. Besides the comprehensive lexicon of the names, events, and processes, the book's introductory chapter provides a concise but inclusive analytical background for the main period covered in the book. This analysis is refreshing and stimulating. It makes prospects for serious research on this and similar topics important and feasible. The "Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia" is a standard reference for scholars, students, and policy makers.

S. B. M. Pesic, University of Pittsburgh

Finally, a comprehensive and coherent volume on Yugoslavia from a Balkan expert and an IPE scholar. The post-Cold War literature on international relations of Yugoslavia's demise, in its substance and method, for the most part, has not discriminated between truth and opinion -- between what is true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment, separated from the facts, unrealistic, and informed by prejudice.

Regrettably, information and knowledge about Serbia, Yugoslavia, and the Balkans have often been created and distributed by media generated and / or by media forwarded pictures, reports, and commentaries. This type of evidence has largely been based on leaks from known and unknown sources. Therefore serious readers, scholars, and policy makers engaged in the Balkan affairs and U.S. foreign policy should pose several questions.

(1) Has the so-called "advocacy journalism" based on the reports from conflict stakeholders -- past, current, or prospective clients and proxies -- provided information or disinformation?

(2) Has the advocacy journalism cultivated (a) ignorance and cognitive closure about causal links and their effects; (b) stirred input-output discrepancies that led to cognitive dissonance and suppression of reasoned judgment; or (c) has it enhanced our understanding of causes and consequences of internal conflicts and interstate wars?

(3) Have we improved our learning skills, and advanced our knowledge with briefings, statements, and judgments provided by bureaucrats, staff members, and policy makers in a ministry or agency?

Answers to these questions and the outcome of such a research and management of international affairs have been adverse for history, theory, and policy. We have discovered ex ante and the ex postfacto fallacies and errors in the intelligence process, and planning. We have had to contend with policy advocacy and implementation that stem from these fallacies and errors. Serious and much needed research to discourage the use of fallacies and to avoid costly conceptual and policy errors, so far has been insufficient and inadequate.

Suster's Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the English-speaking world has long been overdue. Since the end of the Cold War, the public was satiated with the literature on ethnic and regional conflict. This literature, with few exceptions, lacked the precision and depth required for serious social research. Academic and policy discourse has been in need of a discriminate and balanced evidence and inference. We make history and theory synthesis possible through this intellectual production of discriminate and balanced evidence and inference.

Zeljan Suster's book fills the large factual and analytical gap that exists in the contemporary literature on Yugoslavia. Besides the comprehensive lexicon of the names, events, and processes, the book's introductory chapter provides a concise but inclusive analytical background for the main period covered in the book. This analysis is refreshing and stimulating. It makes prospects for serious research on this and similar topics important and feasible. The Historical Dictionary of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia should be a standard reference for scholars, students, and policy makers.

Boban S. M. Pesic, University of Pittsburgh

So, Slobodan Milosevic has been toppled.. Guess that means all will now be peaceful in Kosovo!

Well, no, actually..and this book will tell you why.

Written just before NATO's 1999 air campaign over Kosovo, Julie Mertus illuminates the process by which trust between Serbs and Kosovars became impossible. It hints at Phillip Gourevitch's reflection that "power comes when you convince your enemy to inhabit YOUR version of HIS story".

That struggle, each wanting the "correct" version of history to stand, lies at the heart of all Balkan conflicts of the last ten years.

Through innumerable interviews with the ordinary people of Kosovo, Serbian and Albanian, Julie Mertus reveals how competing myths came to be, and how they then contributed to an environment where terrorism and atrocity became - ultimately - a logical choice.

She does not go back to the mythology surrounding the 1389 defeat of the Serbian Prince Lazar at Kosovo Polje - the rallying point for Milosevic. (Covered already in Noel Malcolm's "Kosovo: A Short History). Mertus shows how events within our generation created defining national stories.

Two quick examples.

In 1990, thousands of schoolchildren fell ill. The ethnic Albanian understanding: they were deliberately poisoned, probably with Sarin gas, by Serbian authorities. It was proof of the evil Serbs would be willing to do to Albanians. The UCK (Kosovo Liberation Army) recruited youths with the argument that without resistance, they would all be poisoned again.

The Serb response to the same event was that it was mass hysteria at best, or at worst a deliberate plot by ethnic Albanians to generate international sympathy against them, the Serbs. It proved the extent of the Kosovars' untrustworthiness, their deviousness.

There could be no common ground between those views. Which story you believed, defined you.

Similarly, there is the case of Djordje Martinovic, a Serbian peasant who turned up at hospital with a bottle in his rectum and a story about being assaulted in his field by "masked men". Although later apparently recanting his story, and confessing his "assault" had been a botched act of self-gratification, for Serbs it became a rallying point. Dismissing the recantation as an Albanian plot, Serbs were only too happy to believe that this, the violation of an honest peasant in an act with echoes of the old Turkish practice of impaling, was the extent to which ethnic Albanians would not hesitate to stoop. Martinovic quickly returned to his original story. He remains on the list of Serb martyrs to this day.

Today, Kosovo remains in an effective state of partition, nearly all its former Serb population living above the divided city of Mitrovica. Without the presence of KFOR troops, armed conflict would be inevitable. It is not their religion, or even their language, that divides Serb from Kosovar. It is the incompatability of the stories they tell. Since this book was written, both sides have volumes of fresh grievances, accentuating their enemy's inhumanity and highlighting their own victimhood. These stories, nearly all with some grain of truth, are now being woven themselves into the complex fabric of national myth.

Brilliantly, painstakingly and without taking sides, Prof. Mertus has given us a vivid account of how events become remembered. She gives us the template to understand better all the intractable conflicts of our times.

Mertus has found a new way to analyze how the elite can transform a conflict. Her theme of the "Truths" resonates strongly throughout the book. Her unbiased view and in-depth discussion left me wanting more. My interest in the subject of Balkan history grew from reading this title.

Julie Mertus has done a fine job of writing from her on the spot investigations of what she found during her interviews.

By way of introduction, I would like to say that this is an extraordinarily well-written book that divulges the gruesome atrocities that took place in my hometown. Srebrenica, a so called UN "SAFE AREA", was under the constant attack of the Serbian army, during the Bosnian war. UN's primary task was to protect civilians from Serbian soldiers but they failed. Innocent Bosnian civilians were betrayed by the International community and left for dead. UN officials and others in charge appeared to be indifferent to the immense suffering of the Bosnian people. As is well-known, one of the worst massacres after the World War 2 took place in Srebrenica. In my view, the international community must be held accountable for these heinous deeds. UN's indifference and passivity cost at least 10.000 innocent lives! This is extremely unjust and it makes me enraged and bewildered! This is truly a splendid book that I highly recommend to all people who want to gain an insight into horrendous plights of Bosnian people!

I agree with the other reviewers that this is powerful and important book. I recently had a chance to hear Patrick McCarthy speak and found out that all of the proceeds from this book will go to the Oric family. A worthwhile purchase.

After The Fall: Srebrenica Survivors In St. Louis is an outstanding photodocumentary that combines the informative text of Patrick McCarthy with the impressive documentary photography of Tom Maday to present the genocidal tragedy of the Bosnia-Herzegovina city of Srebrenica and its effects on the lives of one extended family in St. Louis, Missouri. In July 1995, more than 7,500 Bosnians from the city of Srebrenica were massacred by troops of the Bosnian Serb Army. Another 30,000 women and children were forcibly removed from their homes in this United Nations-declared "safe area". The siege of Srebrenica represented the greatest atrocity witnessed in Europe since the days of the Nazi holocaust, yet it was only one episode in a larger war of extermination against the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1990s. Some 20,000 Bosnian refugees (approximately 500 of them survivors of Srebrenica) came to settle in St. Louis. After The Fall is a superbly presented, highly recommended memorial, testament, and account of this horrific tragedy that these St. Louis based refugees must come to grips with as represented in the lives, statements, and images of one such extended family.

This fabulous book gives you a look into the life and struggles of a young Yugoslavian couple back in the turn of the century. It shows the strong ties families had to their religion as well as the persecution those who found and accepted Christ went through. As you read this suspensful page turning book, you can't help but smile and remember that God always keeps his promises to those who truely believe and fully trust in Him.

Hidden Rainbow is a book about struggling. Its about standing up for what you believe in, because its right, even when your whole community shuns you and your family avoids you. The only choice it seems is to flee the country and leave everything behind. Why risk it all? What could make a person so sure that they would give up the only life they ever knew? Trust. If there is only one thing this book teaches, it is to trust. trust that God has everything in control and no matter what happens He will guide you, keep you and protect you if you trust. A powerful novel, its hard to put down and hard to forget.

John and Anna Olesh, a hard working Yugoslavian couple, struggle to raise their family in the poverty of pre-WWI Serbia. Their difficulties increase when they turn from the superstitious sprituality they have known their whole lives, toward the Light and Truth that they know they must embrace.

A big, passionate book by the New York Times correspondent, who has tried to pack everything into it: the Bosnian experience of the war (told through several family histories), the Western response and UN policy, and the historical background. Cohen argues well against the 'ethnic hatreds' doctrine, but tends to substitute World War II hatreds instead. However, his analysis of UN failure, including evidence drawn from minutes of a high-level meeting held before the fall of Srebrenica, will be of lasting importance

this is the book to read. Its absolutely fantastic. Roger Cohen has a very sharp pen. For me its not just enough to read the book myself, I want to buy other copies and give to friends.

The destruction of Yugoslavia is not the easiest of subjects to fully comprehend. Cohen's informative and excellently written narrative is the best place to start. Cohen does more than just describe the events, he attempts to get beneath the surface to understand the psychology behind the unspeakable atrocities committed during the various wars. The trajedy of Yugoslavia cannot be understood without a recounting of the atrocities committed there during World War II, atrocities that largely went unpunished. All of this and more are recounted by Cohen in his very readable account. It is must reading for anyone interested in recent European history.

If you're exploring your family history - if you're interested in what really happened after the war - this book is a must read! It touched my heart and made me realize what my ancestors went through. . .

A must-read book to understand the complete history of WWII and its aftermath. Every person needs to learn this as part of our history--especially those whose relatives were affected in Europe. Although chilling, its gripping reality teaches us true history.

A family is awakened in the middle of the night as strangers with guns and knives burst into their home. The Father is not there to comfort them, he has been taken away and shipped off to Russia. The Mother is alone with her children. The strangers make demands in a foreign language and indicate they are forcibly taking the family away from their home. The family is terrified and they have no choice but to obey, leaving all of their possessions behind.

And so begins this shocking story of concentration camps, starvation and death - all taking place as World War II was ending - and when these atrocities were supposed to have ended. It's the story of the Expulsion, a period of time after WWII when Tito came to power in the then country of Yugoslavia, and proceeded to kill over half a million* Danube Swabians (ethnic Germans). Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Germans were killed by Tito's forces and thousands of others were locked in concentration camps and starved. Their only crime? They were German.

This story is told through the eyes of a child. The author, Elizabeth Walters, was only 4 years old when these events began. After 3 years, her family eventually escaped the camps and they walked by foot across Hungary and halfway across Austria. They scaled a mountain range to reach safety in the American Zone.

Most of the Western Media, and even our history books have neglected this horrific time in history, and some officials even deny that the action against Yugoslavian citizens of German nationality ever took place.

That's why the book, Barefoot in the Rubble, by Elizabeth Walters is so important. She dares to speak the truth about a period of history that remains largely unknown. Ethnic Cleansing is not limited to one country, or one time period in history. For centuries this has been going on and continues even to this day. This is a story that must be heard.

Source: *"Nemesis at Potsdam" - Alfred M. de Zayas

The poetic description of sadness at the heart of this short novel is very moving.

Within the pages of this book, Tisma has brought to life a small part of the world which, at the time, was sadly caught between the clash of two ideologies that were slowly descending, like dark clouds, upon Europe - communism and fascism. The consequent racial suspicions, which leave no one untouched, are real: Hungarians, Jews, Serbians, all are caught in the ideological swirl which, as we know, had devastating consequences for the people of the region: pogroms, the invasion by Arrow Cross Hungarians, the murder of communists (Blam's sister)...

The novel also delves into the unconscious of violent retribution, something which, as we have learned in recent years, only leads to the perpetuation of violence. Mr. Tisma must have had the wars that raged throughout the 90s in mind (i.e., Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina) while he was writing his novel. (The precariousness of the region, of which we are all aware, is in part the result of a failure to put the past behind, to let go, to forgive.) The dream-like scenes, where long-dead friends of Blam's pay their executioners in kind, are harrowing.

A short novel about a region of the world whose history we unfortunately know too little about, and but one tiny chapter in the book of horrors that were visited upon the European Jewish community.

The Book of Blam is a wonderful book and an important book. It recounts the events during the Holocaust period in what is now Serbia. After reading this and Tisma's Kapo, he has a style of writing that is unlike most writers that I have read from Eastern Europe; concise, flowing storylines and easy to read. His story has been told many times before but there is something to Tisma's writing that makes Genocide appear as normal to these killers as washing their hands or going for a walk. His is a voice of reason in Novi Sad, a city with little tolerance then and now. After the events in the Balkans during the recent past, sad to say, not much has changed.

This is the literary equivalent and then some of the photographic essay "A Vanished World" and Anne Frank's diary in 1950, had she survived. And an all too useful exploration of how survivors of the abyss might look at the world. I can't say I'm looking forward to reading Tisma's other work, but read it I must.

Neka znade dusman kleti da ce i nas kucnut' cas. Ako ima boga nece vise nikada cetnicka ruka zuluma ciniti. Dabogda im otpale obadvije. Neka vakih albuma, nek svijet vidi sta su radili jebo ih caca koljacki.

Mozda bi trebalo dat popusta nasem svijetu u tudjini, znas poskupo je to. Eto toliko od mene.
PS. A za slike, jebaji ga, sta ja znam slike ko, slike....nisu za zida

I recently came across this book and a testament to its power is that I am not personally or particularly involved or interested in the Sarajevo conflict but found myself deeply impacted by these photos and accompanying text. I found this to be a wonderfully original idea--to have a compilation of photos from native photographers as opposed to the standard international reporters. It gave a unique perspective.

The killing fields of Bosnia, like so many wars, attracted the world's most renowned journalists. But of all of the war correspondents who covered the war in Bosnia, none have depicted the tragedy, suffering and heroism of war as honestly as Leslie Fratkin - and that's because Fratkin had the foresight to realize that no outsider could tell the story of Sarajevo as well as Sarajevans. Fratkin, an accomplished photographer in her own right, arrived in Bosnia to cover the war and simply set down her camera. She spent the next five years tracking down Bosnian photographers, who now live all over the world, looking at their pictures and listening to their stories. Sarajevo Self-Portrait is the culmination of her efforts. It tells the story of nine Bosnian photographers as they chronicled the destruction of their own country. Through a series of extensive interviews, which accompany their bodies of work, we hear how they struggled to hold their lenses still as their friends and families were struck down by snipers' bullets, how they schemed to smuggle film into the city through and underground tunnel, and how at times they used their won urine instead of developing chemicals to make their prints. At times tear-jerking, and at other times gut-wrenchingly comical, Sarajevo Self-Portrait is one of the best, and certainly the most sensitive book to come out of the war. Anyone who wants to understand the human side of that war should buy this book.