Customer Reviews

Blue Helmets and Black Markets: The Business of Survival in the Siege of Sarajevo

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Peter Andreas makes several interesting claims in this book. First, the fact that profiteering from black market smuggling across the siege border perpetuated the siege, making the siege of Sarajevo the longest in modern history. Also, he comments how the UN control of the Sarajevo Airport and the subsequent airlift lead to a "legitimization" of the Bosnian Serbs' siege in the eyes of the international community. Along with that idea he talks of how the Sarajevo siege was able to grab international attention as opposed to other conflicts given that Sarajevo offered easy access for journalists and foreign dignitaries.

The reason for the low rating of this book is that Peter Andreas spends the whole first chapter outlining how great his book is compared to all other accounts of the siege. He treats his readers as if they are idiots and can't tell that there might have been forces acting behind the scenes during the siege besides what was written about in official reports. The reader leaves this book with a sense of the siege of Sarajevo and of Andreas' huge ego at being able to write about the "untold story" of Sarajevo.

Ultimately, this book is good for a reader looking for a textbook-like account of the siege of Sarajevo if they don't mind trudging through all of Peter Andreas' self-admiration.