Synopses & Reviews
This unique and lively history of Balkan geopolitics since the early nineteenth century gives readers the essential historical background to recent events in this war-torn area. No other book covers the entire region, or offers such profound insights into the roots of Balkan violence, or explains so vividly the origins of modern Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Albania. Misha Glenny presents a lucid and fair-minded account of each national group in the Balkans and its struggle for statehood. The narrative is studded with sharply observed portraits of kings, guerrillas, bandits, generals, and politicians. Glenny also explores the often-catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the Great Powers, raising some disturbing questions about Western intervention.
Review
"The first comprehensive history of the relationship in the modern era between the great powers and the various Balkan peoples."
San Francisco Chronicle "A very considerable achievement...both heartrending and beautifully judged." Los Angeles Times
About the Author
The longtime central European correspondent for the BBC World Service based in Vienna, Misha Glenny has lived in and worked all over the Balkans. His books include The Rebirth of History and The Fall of Yugoslavia, winner of the 1992 Overseas Press Club Award for Best Book on Foreign Affairs.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements Maps
Introduction
1 A confederacy of peasants
Rebellion and revolution, 1804–66
2 The realm of ruins
Reform and decay, 1839–78
3 A maze of conspiracy
The southern Balkans, 1878–1914
4 The empire of illusions
The northern Balkans, 1878–1914
5 A house of wars
War and peace, 1914–24
6 The palaces of deceit
The royal dictatorships, 1923–41
7 City of the dead
Occupation, genocide, liberation, civil war, 1941–49
8 Prisons of history
Communism and militarism, 1949–89
Epilogue: The Balkan Vortex
Nationalism, war and NATO, 1989–99
Glossary
Notes
Bibliography
Index