Fall Of Yugoslavia [Paperback]

 

 

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I must say that the author's analysis is brilliant as far as the political situation is concerned, covering with detail the period from the independence of Slovenia in 1991 to the Dayton agreements in 1995, and enriching the essay with abundant geographical information, which is absolutely necessary to explain such a complex multinational State, with an enormous variety of ethnic groups that formed Tito's Yugoslavia. The author's point of view is incredibly cold as must be one who describes and tells; therefore, I can't doubt Misha Glenny's impartiality, which is extremely difficult when you may not resist the temptation to choose one of the sides in conflict. The truth is that, despite lots of propaganda, Yugoslavia was destroyed not only by the Serbs, but also by the means of the Croats and the Bosnian Muslims. The problem was that the Muslims were the weakest part, so they suffered the most, while the Serbs applied force to keep at first the integrity of the country and next to create their own Great Serbia, and the Croats, as guilty as the Serbs on committing war crimes and ethnic cleansing, built their own State sacrificing the unity of Yugoslavia. About Eslovenia, it left the federation almost unnoticed, almost without noise, but from some JNA commanders' opinions, letting Slovenia go was the fatal error which led to the Serb-croat war and the destruction and split in two States of Bosnia-Hercegovina. In the book the author says that the Serbs feared that the creation of an independent Croatia would arise Germany's Fourth Reich, and that Serbs thought president Tudjman was the German's puppet, to draw the conclusion that this fear was utterly abdurd and preposterous. Well, for me it's not preposterous at all, because Germany had created in the IIWW a puppet State, that is, Croatia ustasha regime, a terrorist country which was guilty of exterminating thousands and thousand of Serbs, Jews and other Slavic minorities during the war. The Serbs simply didn't want this to repeat again. By the way, to know more about the ustasha puppet fascist State and the responsibility of the Catholic hierarchy in Croatia and the Holy See in the war's atrocities, I highly recommend Richard West's "Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia". Besides, Slovenia and Croatia wouldn't have declared their independence breaking the Constitution of 1974 and the unity of the country hadn't been for the strong support of Germany and Austria. Particularly Germany pressed the European Economic Community to accept the secession as a consumate fact and recognize both countries, and this recognition opened them the UN recognition worldwide, in what has been from my point of view an enormous irresponsibility which pushed yugoslavia into a civil war. Correcting Misha Glenny's words, it's not a Balkan war but a civil war, which means that brother fought brother and neighbour killed neighbour in every village, particularly awful in Bosnia-Hercegovina. Now I want to show, from my opinion, the book's weak points: a) The lack of a previous analysis of Tito's Yugoslav institutions, society and economic situation, basical to understand what befell Yugoslavia after Tito's death in 1980. b) The lack of a detailed and deep account of military operations, the JNA structure, command , aims and forces before and during the war, as well as the role played by such important figures as generals Adzic, Kadijevic, Negovanovic, Mladic, Milovanovic, Mrksic, Panic and Perisic. c) The construction and development of Srpska Republic is overviewed, and it's necessary a deeper study of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia.

However, the book is a splendid historical essay, a masterpiece of knowledge which will no doubt fulfill the needs of anyone interested in knowing much more than what the mass media news broadcast constantly about the former Yugoslav ethnic groups, how all this hatred began. But... how will it end? The Balkans haven't written their last historical page yet.

I was looking for an overview of the balkan conflict. This book does not offer that. It does not give someone without a great deal of prior knowledge a good historical reference for what led to war. I feel like the author of this book assumes the reader is extremely familiar with the conflict and decided to write a book sharing some of his personal experiences that coincided with major events in the conflict. The chapters severely lack coordination. As somebody else mentions it goes into way too much detail about insignificant figures. I also purchased "Yugoslavia, Death of a Nation". Though I've only finished the introduction and first chapter I already feel like I've learned more than after completion of "The Fall of Yugoslavia". Maybe after completing "Death of a Nation" going back through "The Fall of Yugoslavia" might be interesting, doubt it though...

Absolutely stunning. This book is a must for anyone who is interested in the Balkans. Mishy Glenny's account of this last decade was captivating from beginning to end, (despite the small print). I would describe it as a real eyeopener for someone who's only familiarity with this area was the second world war and what the media told us during the 90's.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Expertly Conveys Eerie Sense of Being Witness to Disaster
Misha Glenny, a longtime observer of matters Balkan who is blessed with knbowledge of the local languages, has written this impressionistic yet brilliant portrayal of the... Read more

Published on Mar 9 2001 by Kelli

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Job By Misha Glenny
Reading some parts of this book was one of my assignments in my "Contemporary Political Transitions" class in the University. Read more

Published on Aug 27 2000 by Aykut

2.0 out of 5 stars Simply over-rated
This book was among the first of the now almost countless multitude of books written by reporters, commentators, political analysts, etc. Read more

Published on Feb 25 2000 by Edward Bosnar

5.0 out of 5 stars THE authoritative work on the wars in the former Yugoslavia
Glenny's book is THE authoritative work on the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. Having read the book over 5 years ago, I still see some of the things he described in the book... Read more

Published on Feb 24 2000 by Milan Pavlovic

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly involving and impartial
Misha Glenny is an expert on the wars in ex-Jugoslavia. An Englishman, and a speaker of Serbo-croat, Glenny takes his reader through the mess that was the Yugoslav civil war, with... Read more

Published on Dec 29 1999

1.0 out of 5 stars Are there no Outlines? Are there no editors?
Maddeningly disjointed and disorienting. I turned to this book as to a celebrated tutor, wanting Glenny to make straight the crooked paths of Yugoslavian history. Read more

Published on Dec 22 1999 by Jonathan Leach

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, pithy, first-hand narrative for Balkan aficionados
Having worked in Bosnia in the late '80s, this book has particular relevance for me. I know the place names, the people, the locations and the language. Read more

Published on Oct 27 1999

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written and not up-to-date.
I have read some very good books on the Balkan region. This is one of the most poorly written books on any subject. Read more

Published on Aug 18 1999

1.0 out of 5 stars You better hope you know alot about Yugoslavia...
The author makes the asumption that the reader already possesses an in-depth knowledge of Yugoslavia. This is not for the average nor intermediate reader. Read more

Published on Aug 17 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars A firsthand dissection of a seemingly inevitable conflict.
Mr. Glenny aptly details the collapse and destruction of Yugoslavia as he colors his analysis with important and relevant historical points, giving at least some background and... Read more

Published on July 1 1999

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