- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Three Rivers Press; Revised edition edition (Jun 7 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0812933036
- ISBN-13: 978-0812933031
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13.7 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#879,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #74 in Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > International
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
Warren Zimmermann was the American ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1992, the period when the breakup of the Soviet empire caused the Balkans to slide into war. In this candid insider's account he recounts the failures of American and European diplomacy to prevent a catastrophe that was, according to Zimmerman, not only foreseeable but entirely preventable. The most chilling pages in this book depict Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who looked the ambassador in the eye, puffed on his Italian cigarillos, and stated that "Serbia has nothing to do with Bosnia." Now, as U.S. troops prepare to pull out of Bosnia by the end of 1996, Zimmermann's memoir paints a bleak future for this war-torn corner of Eastern Europe.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Zimmerman, U.S. ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1992, here offers an authoritative diplomatic history and firsthand report of events leading up to the conflagration that destroyed that east European state; literate and engrossing, it jibes pretty much with the record as we know it. Making short shrift of such arguments as that the country was a tragedy waiting to happen and that it was impossible for its diverse ethnic groups to live together, the ambassador lays the blame for the "catastrophe" squarely on the various republican leaders whose selfish interests overrode the goal of maintaining national unity. He leaves no doubt that the architect of the genocidal war that followed upon the breakup of the state was Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic. One of the most intriguing parts of the book is the author's reports of his meetings with Yugoslav politicians who played roles in their nation's demise, including Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Ante Markovic, the last prime minister of Yugoslavia. From the vantage of hindsight, Zimmerman expresses regret that he didn't recommend the use of force by the U.S. and its allies to stop Serbian aggression as early as 1991. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wow,
By Kosovar (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Origins of a Catastrophe: Yugoslavia and Its Destroyers- -America's Last Ambassador Tells What Happened an d Why (Paperback)
Origins of Catastrophe is a book for everyone who likes to see how Yugoslavia was broken up before it even existed. Warren Zimmerman - a former Yugoslavian U.S. Ambasador writes frankly and in details on all his encounters with the Yugoslavian beasts that lived in Serbia's parliament.When it comes to Kosovars long sufferings from serbs, he talks as if he were an Albanian but when it comes to Kosova's history he talks as if he were a Milosevic! He failed to mention Edith Durham's journals on Balkans in which she clearly explains that it was the Slavs who settled where Albanians always were at around 600 AD - but he doesn't failed to mention Rebecca West's 1184 pages book - more than half of them full of lies. This book was published in 1996 and the serbs which Zimmerman blamed and praised in his book - revealed their true selves only after the 1999 Kosova War - so I am pretty sure that Warren Zimmerman now has an even harsher view on serbs and more sympathetic views when it comes to Kosova's independence which is inevitable. Slow or fast, it is getting downloaded! After all this book became another treasure on my home library.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insight into socipathic leaders,
By Mark B. Hazelbaker (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Origins of a Catastrophe: Yugoslavia and Its Destroyers- -America's Last Ambassador Tells What Happened an d Why (Paperback)
Ambassador Zimmerman does a good job of candidly assessing the missteps of American foeign policy managers in dealing with the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. He convincingly argues that Yugoslavia's disintegration was not inevitable, and that the socioeconomic factors of that nation were no more inclined to cause the catastrophe than are conditions in many other nations. He attributes the collpase to the rise of vicious leaders like Milosevic and Tudjman who used nationalism and ethnic hatred to propel themselves to dictatorial power. Ambassador Zimmerman's book is an important contribution to realizing the devastating impact that socipoathic personalities have when they work themselves into positions of power. The Ambassador's book is also a powerful argument for the value of the United States' professional foreign service officers (FSOs). Mr. Zimmerman exemplifies the best in our tradition of professional FSO's, a tradition lately undermined by neglecting to appoint FSOs to high positions in the State Department and embassies. If we had more people like Mr. Zimmerman working in the field, we would have better intelligence about the world.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Totally biased and demonizing.,
By Douglas Mrkonjic (Windsor, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Origins of a Catastrophe:: Yugoslavia and Its Destroyers- -America's Last Ambassador Tells What Happened an d Why (Hardcover)
I found the book totally biased and chauvinistic towards the Western view of events and history of the region. For a man who supposedly spent a lot of time in Yugoslavia with the Serbs, he shows a complete misunderstanding of their collective psyche. He makes little mention of the atrocities committed against Serbs of Krajina or of the secret protocols of Rambouillet which would have left Serbia a vassal of NATO. He lists war criminals who are all Serbs without mentioning that their were criminals on all sides. There is little about the legal justifications of NATO's undeclared war or on the civilian casualties caused by Nato bombing. Worst of all, he still uses the lie that the bombing was justified to stop ethnic cleansing when it is clear that the cleansing came after the bombing began. There is very little truth here. Just revisionist history by an ignorant diplomatic bungler.
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