For the most part, the contributions in this collection are very informative and useful studies of various aspects of gender issues in the former Yugoslavia. If nothing else, it's refreshing to see a book that covers such a chronically under-studied topic. The first article on the 'traditional' Yugoslav family by anthropologist Andrei Simic, although first published in 1983, was a good choice to head this selection of studies. His observations of some typical aspects of family relations and the gender roles therein provide a good basis for understanding other gender-related issues. Most of the other articles deal with a specific region or former Yugoslav republic (i.e. Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, etc.) Among the best is an article by Julie Mertus on women in Kosovo. She illustrates the many problems faced by Albanian women activists, particularly the deep and sometimes self-induced repression exercised by this extremely patriarchal society. The examples she cites from her fieldwork are very illuminating. Two articles by Gordana Crnkovic are particularly interesting, and too short in my opinion. Both deal with literature as this pertains to gender: the first covers mainly Serbian and Croatian women authors, while the second deals with the way women are portrayed in literature. The afterward by Branka Magaš is also helpful in that it ties together some of the common themes.

To read "Jim" Grant, former Executive Director ofUNICEF, is to read Cole P. Dodge--who survives Grant and remainssingularly dedicated to bettering the healthcare delivery systems to both women and children the world over.

This collection of essays examines the origins, course and aftermath of NATO's attack on Kosovo (March-June 1999). Part I's nine essays look at the war's background and history. Part II presents ten diverse opinions on NATO's attack and consequent occupation of Kosovo. There is also a selection of relevant documents, including the notorious Appendix B of the Rambouillet Text, and a chronology of events.

NATO continually praised itself for precisely attacking only military targets, but they gradually changed to attacking civilian targets like TV stations, and to using cluster bombs, eventually killing three times as many civilians as soldiers.

In a particularly significant essay, Patrick Thornberry, Professor of International Law at Keele University, shows how international law embodies respect for state sovereignty, and reminds us that the UN's first purpose is to maintain 'international peace and security'. Article 2(7) of the UN Charter protects the state in its domestic jurisdiction from UN intervention, except for enforcement measures unanimously agreed by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter. Thornberry writes, "The Milosevic indictment does not contain a genocide count." There was no genocide. "Security Council resolutions - taken singly or together - did not authorise the use of force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." "Presumptively, action outside the Charter framework violates it." The editors agree, concluding, "NATO went beyond the authority of the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and effectively set them aside."

Humanitarian intervention is illegal under the UN Charter. The International Court of Justice, in the case of Nicaragua v United States of America, ruled against the US government, stating, "as to respect for human rights in Nicaragua, the use of force could not be the appropriate method to monitor or ensure such respect." Yet the British government uses this illegal assault as a precedent for its subsequent illegal wars of aggression.

A supposedly temporary NATO protectorate (which is still there), imposed by 30,000 NATO troops, did not stop Kosovan forces from driving out 100,000 civilians, half the Serb population, after the war ended. It is delusion that destroying, then occupying, a country brings democracy.

All nations need sovereignty and democracy, to defend themselves against the US drive to dominate Europe and the world.

As Slovenia embarked on the road to independence, no one thought it would be easy. Slovenia is a small, alpine country... once Communist and once a part of Yugoslavia. I wrote my Master's thesis about Slovenia's economy, and finding reliable, helpful and unbiased information was next to impossible. However, I found this book, which contained a great deal of credible information as well as avenues for further research.

Of particular value for me were chapters on the economy of Slovenia, which is highly unique among Eastern European economies in that it has remained buoyant throughout its struggle for independence from Yugoslavia (and the loss of the Yugoslav market) as well as economic recession in Western Europe (Germany, Austria), Slovenia's primary economic partners.

The book as a whole, however, brings together all the issues that Slovenia faces, from the labor market, to the political system, to language and education policy.

This is an excellent overview of a new nation from a variety of viewpoints.

This book is an excellent read for all Monica fans. Even though it is intended primarily for children, there are a lot of facts about Monica's life and career. Obviously, Mark Stewart did his homework. The best part of this book, however, is the number of unique pictures! There are photos of Monica throughout her career, and even as a junior training in Florida! This book is a must for all Monica fans!

This book took the author ten years to complete. It gives a panoramic view of the cultural development of the Croats and Serbs from the 12th to the 19th century through a judicious selection of original texts from these eight centuries. The author translated, edited, and wrote introductions to each of the works, which include saints' lives, religious and secular poetry, history, law codes, epic poetry, folktales, proverbs, and incantations, among others. The book is bilingual, with matching texts (Serbian or Croatian and English)and thus it can provide a picture of the development of the literary languages of the Serbs and Croats over the centuries. The introductions and notes will guide students and others who wish to do further research on a particular theme. Named a "book of the year" by the library journal "Quest", when it first was published, it has recently been republished.

Perhaps the best English-language textbook history of Titoist Yugoslavia. In the first edition published in 1984, Ramet highlighted the importance of inter-republican contradictions within the Yugoslav Federation and the trend towards confederalization. A somewhat rigid theoretical framework gives the added chapters on the road to war a tacked-on feel

Louis Adamic, a native of what is now Slovenia, emigrated to America as a young man, became a fairly well-regarded writer, and in 1932 received a Guggenheim fellowship to write in Europe. He decided to pay a brief, dutiful visit to his family, whom he hadn't seen in 19 years and who had never met his American wife. But he ended up spending the full term of his fellowship traveling through the (new) country of Yugoslavia and writing this book about his impressions. It's well worth reading if you have roots in this part of the world, or want to know more about the background of the present crisis. Adamic's comments on the relationships and the differences between the various peoples who share the country are telling, and he successfully avoids the Serbian romanticism that mars many other books on Yugoslavia (e.g., Rebecca West's "Black Lamb, Gray Falcon"). The photographs are occasionally hokey, but contain many fascinating details of costume, architecture, and daily life. Yugoslavia in the 1930's was in an uneasy state of equilibrium under an incompetent King, and it's sadly apparent how this state of affairs contributed to the country's many cataclysms later in the century. This isn't a "scholarly" work, it's impressionistic and opinionated, but as an "insider's" perspective it's extremely valuable.

Preamble: "The Other Balkan Wars" is a reprint of the Report of the International Commission To Inquire into the Causes and Conduct of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). It was published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in May-June of 1993, under the presidentship of Morton Abramovitz.

Professor George F. Kennan has written the Introduction only for this book -date unavailable.

Quite a long time ago, almost twenty years before CEIP president, Morton Abramowitz, has brushed this book from the shelf, I have had the original in my hands, and this with the greatest care. My father, as a volunteer telegraphist was in the midst of the first book's subject.

Giving an opinion of the first and the second edition in English -I have no knowledge of any translation- is a task of the utmost seriousness. Let Good Lord help me to condense my view in less then a thousand words. At that point I will more than gladly respond to your kind offer and continue along this lines.

Sincerely, DJGB Popadich

In this well written thoughtful work Chalmers Johnson makes a great case for what he sees as a more accurate approach to Chinese communist history and the reasons for the success of the CCP where the KMT failed. For those of you who may be wondering how it was possible for the CCP to go from nearly being wiped out in Jiangxi to conquering all of China this text has many feasible answers. The text is also a clear study of the use of social mobilization and Nationalism in communist propaganda in both China and Yugoslavia. Johnson uses many Japanese sources, supporting his claim for the influence of the Japanese invasion of China(1931 or 1937 depending on your point of view)as a leading cause for the success of the CCP. For those who are interested in contemporary Chinese history and Asian geo-politics this book is GREAT! I would recomend it to any student of Asian studies.