Synopses & Reviews
Rebecca West travelled through Yugoslavia in the 1930s and produced this extraordinary book as a record of her journeys. Far more than a travel book, it provides a background history of the Balkans and a snapshot of the contemporary politics of the region. It is also notable for the vivid portraits of the people and places visited by the author. Many decades after its first publication, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon remains one of the finest introductions to the area. According to Time magazine (12/08/1947), this book made her "indisputably the world's No. 1 woman writer."
Review
"In almost two incredibly full-packed volumes one of the most gifted and searching of modern English novelists and critics has produced has produced not only the magnification and intensification of the travel book form, but, one may say, its apotheosis. Rebecca West's Journey Through Yugoslavia is carried out with tireless precipience, nourished from almost bewildering erudition, chronicled with a thoughtfulness itself fervent and poetic; and it explores the many faceted being of Yugoslavia its cities and villages, its history and ancient custom, its people and its soul, its meaning in our world." Katherine Woods, Books of the Century; New York Times review, October 1941
Synopsis
Widely recognized as West's most distinguished nonfiction work, this book describes the author's travels to Yugoslavia with her husband in 1937--a journey overshadowed by the growing inevitability of the Second World War.
Synopsis
Written on the brink of World War II, Rebecca West's classic examination of the history, people, and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is still a focus of international concern. A magnificent blend of travel journal, cultural commentary, and historical insight, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon probes the troubled history of the Balkans and the uneasy relationships among its ethnic groups. The landscape and the people of Yugoslavia are brilliantly observed as West untangles the tensions that rule the country's history as well as its daily life.