Customer Reviews

Between Serb and Albanian: A History of Kosovo

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I recommend the third part of this book the most. While the first two parts examine the Turk occupation, and later the progressive Albanianisation of Kosovo under socialist Yugoslavia, the third provides a detailed description of how the Albanians shifted from a peaceful resistance movement to a more violent approach. This is particularly relevant when current news feature the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK) while such body started operating only after the Dayton accords, when the international powers implicity agreed on the creation of a state (the Republika Srpska in Bosnia) by means of force. Therefore the Albanians gained the impression that their peaceful movement had achieved virtually nothing and no serious international attention.

Let me begin by saying that I don't believe this book deserves the five star rating I have given it. Ms. Vickers is not a top tier writer and she definately has sympathies towards the Kosovars. What she is successful at though is painting a picture of moderm Kosovo. She slashes and burns her way through history but as she describes the modern happenings her book blooms. You won't find many books detailing the rise of Albanian resistance in the early 80's or the shadow government of the early 90's. For that she deserves credit. She explains why this passive resistance was needed and why, eventually, it failed and was replaced by a more militant creed. For those of you out there who come across this page do not pay attention to the 1 star ratings. It does not deserve them. It doesn't deserve my 5 star rating either, but raising it's average a bit might draw some new readers. I would give it between 3-4 stars depending on why you are reading it. If you are interested in a much better novel of Kosovo read Noel Malcolm's "Kosovo: A Short History."

Miranda Vickers does an excellent job of distilling the available primary and secondary historical and geographical material on the former Yugoslavia into a lucid and compelling book. Unlike some writers, she footnotes her sources so the reader can form his or her own opinions based on further reading.

Ms. Vickers does not provide in-depth detail because the objective of this book is to provide a synopsis. Her work supports the contention that rivalries of the various ethnic groups have waxed and waned but long been a source of bloodshed. The worst scenarios in this book involved the spilling of blood as the Serbs attempted to overthrow assorted conquerers including the Ottoman Turks, Austrians, Hungarians, Nazis and others.

Vickers says the Albanian question is extremely thorny and very old. On the one hand, the Albaninans in Kosovo seemed not to have much interest in being part of Albania proper (probably owing to the radically different and worse standards of living in Albania). On the other hand the Albanians seem not to want to be part of Serbia either, though many of them moved to Serbia.

In 1918, during the Great War, when the Albanians had sided with the enemy "Hun" and the Serbs were allies, the U.S. recognized the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo (a battle fought and lost to the Ottoman Turk invaders hundreds of years before). This recognition followed the deaths of 100,000 Serbs as they retreated before the Austro-Hungarian army through Kosovo. "The majority lay unburied, covered by either snow or mud, until only their bones were found the following spring."

By the late 1990's many U.S. leaders--for whatever reason--failed to fully appreciate the ancient hatreds. One has to wonder how history might have been different if the diplomatic approach used in the Middle East with the Palestinians and Jews had been attempted in the Balkans.

The book is historically informative but clearly biased. Among other things, it suffers from two flaws. First, it does hardly mention the other minorities that used to live, more or less peacefully, in Kosovo (before NATO decided to install the KLA as its puppet regime, that is). Second and in relation to the first flaw, it occasionally falls for the propaganda-claim that in the 1990s Kosovo's inhabitants were 90% Albanian, a claim that Vickers herself flatly contradicts by saying that an estimated 400.000 Albanians (most of them from Kosovo) had left Yugoslavia already by 1993. But the numbers game is rather fishy business in any case, since its function has been the support of the exclusive Albanian claims on the province.

I've been following and working on the Kosovo situation for over two years. I have read many books and articles on the Balkans and especially Kosovo. I first read Ms. Vickers book in the Fall of 1998. Her writing is clear and concise. She does not confuse the writer with useless terminology that only academics dabble in to demonstrate how "intellectual" they are. Ms. Vickers book is, for the most part, impartial and represents discrepancies on both sides. All sides in Kosovo have myths about their past, this is something not uncommon to nations and people throughout the world. Ms. Vickers demonstrates how these myths have led to Serbian Nationalism and to Albanian reactionarism and the effects these beliefs have had on Kosovo. So, in closing, if you want to gain an understanding into how the events in Kosovo developed, then read Ms. Vickers book.

I can only assume that some of the readers below who say this book is very "anti-Serbian," etc. have simply not read the book or superficially skimmed through it. As a number of academic reviewers have noted, this book in fact gives more credence to Serbian historical claims about Kosovo than the Albanian ones. For example, Vickers tends to accept the Serbian view that most Albanians in Kosovo today are descended from Serbs who were forced to convert to Islam in the distant past. In fact, I think Vickers should be commended for really making an effort to be impartial between the conflicting claims of Albanian and Serbian nationalists. However, this effort is marred by her superficial approach: she tends to rely too much on secondary sources, and cites, often at length, excerpts from other books without critically analyzing these sources (i.e. at several points she very uncritically cites Serbian nationalist "historian" Dusan Batakovic). Although the overview of events in the last two decades is quite comprehensive and informative, there are many places where Vickers cites questionable figures or incidents of interethnic violence in Kosovo (sometimes nothing more than rumors) without backing this up with evidence. Again, it seems as though she depended too much on secondary sources and even propaganda materials published by either of the two sides. This is important, because this book, with its emphasis on recent events, could have been a very informative source for readers who want to learn more about Kosovo and why it has become a major crisis region.

I have nothing to do with the conflict, and must say that the book is quite fair to both sides. A good place to learn about the emergence of the violent KLA and its challenge to the pacifist movement that was brutally repressed for more than a decade. The book would otherwise deserve a 3 or 4 -- the 5 is my contribution against brain-dead nationalism.

It is obvious that the opinion about this issue is split and that one side will feel one way, and the other side another way, however to say that this is a bad book just because it does not support one's point of view, that is not valid. I was born and raised in Albania, and I know the strong feeling of nationalism people are raised with in that part of the world. I realize that myths are not history, and I know the claims of the Serbs on Kosovo. Vickers looks at facts as they are, she may express some of her own preference in the book, but that does not make it not valid.
Anyone who wants to learn more about this issue should read it, realizing the mindset of the Balkan people and how important one's nation is.

BETWEEN SERB AND ALBANIAN offers a much more intelligent and balanced treatment of Kosovo than the superficial and biased KOSOVO, A SHORT HISTORY by Noel Malcom. Vickers concentrates on the events of this century, and recognizes the complexity of the present situation. The suppression of Albanians by the Serbian government is documented, but also documented is the terrorism against the Serbs of Kosovo by the Albanian extremists. The Albanians' inability to do much with the autonomy they once held, and the deep divisions within the Albanian political factions which led to the emergence of the terrorist Kosovo Liberation Army lead the reader to the conclusion that independence would be a disaster, and the only hope for an end to the misery of the region is some sort of compromise with Kosovo remaining as a province of Serbia. Vickers finds this improbable as long as Miloševic remains in power, leaving the reader rather hopeless. Nevertheless, this work provides information, balance, and insight. Kosovo is treated in context of the broader regional and world events which influence, and are influenced by events there. I recommend this book to anyone seeking an impartial look at Kosovo.

As all educated historians know even though the Albanians have direct ties to Kosova, we must look at what is happening there presently. The Albanians there have been persecuted and repressed for centuries and finally have take up arms against the "TERRORIST" state of Serbia to defend themseleves. Now that the KLA has erupted into a well organized people's army including hundreds of women, Kosova will undoughtingly be liberated from its ocuppiers. Milosevic is the only problem, which has come to be known throughout the entire international community. Little does he know, he has started a war the freedom fighters of the KLA will finish. Finally I recommed this book as a historical standpoint to an introduction of the Kosova conflict. -- Thank You -- LAVDI Dashmoreve!