Croatia Through History [Hardcover]

Branka Magas (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0863567754 | ISBN-13: 978-0863567759 | Publication Date: January 1, 2008

This comprehensive volume recounts Croatia’s development from the early Middle Ages to the present day. Branka Magaš observes that the ties that bound Croatia to other states for centuries have contributed to the state’s vitality, with a complex web of Slav, Croat, Dalmatian, Slavonian, Serb, Jewish, Italian, Yugoslav, and other identities emerging as apart of an ongoing social and political dialogue, which at times has included open strife.

Branka Magaš is a historian, journalist, and commentator on the former Yugoslavia. She co-founded the Croatian Peace Forum in 1991 and the Alliance to Defend Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Branka Magas's book is an authoritative attempt to shed light on the development of Croatia from the early Middle Ages to the end of the 20th century...Magas provides a detailed and highly complex account of the birth, expansion and conflicts of the national ideologies in the Habsburg empire...Magas has written by far the most comprehensive history of Croatia currently available in English. It is an erudite scholarly and extremely detailed account that covers quite well all the important facets of this highly complex and for the most part troubled history...Magas has written a highly valuable book...a clear and useful guide to the origins of present day Croatia."The Irish Times.

About the Author

Branka Maga is a historian, journalist and commentator on the former Yugoslavia. She co-founded the Croatian Peace Forum in 1991 and the Alliance to Defend Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1993.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 743 pages
• Publisher: Saqi Books (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0863567754
• ISBN-13: 978-0863567759
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,245,453 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > History > Europe > Croatia

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An even-handed history that pays close attention to the many plural ethnic, cultural, and national influences upon the region, March 2, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Croatia Through History (Hardcover)

Consultant and scholar Branka Magas presents the culmination of her intense research in Croatia Through History: The Making of a European State, an in-depth scrutiny of Croatia's history and development from its origin in the early Middle Ages to the modern day. The evolution of Croatia's institutions, ideology, social customs, and political strategies are all examined in turn. Croatia's rich and complex past includes eras when it was territorially and/or administratively divided between various states, and even times when the threat of extinction loomed. Croatia's long struggle for survival has produced a spectrum of national ideologies, some advocating independent statehood while others reach for the benefits of becoming part of an Austrian, Yugoslav or European federation. An even-handed history that pays close attention to the many plural ethnic, cultural, and national influences upon the region, illustrated with a handful of black-and-white and color images. Highly recommended especially for public or college library history shelves.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Independence over the centuries?, April 20, 2008

By 

Robert C. Ross (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Croatia Through History (Hardcover)

Branka Magas wrote The Destruction of Yugoslavia: Tracking the Break-Up 1980-92, a collection of her writings published between 1981 and the end of 1991. She prefaced her book with a summary: "Yugoslavia did not die a natural death ... [it was] destroyed for the cause of Greater Serbia". She blamed Nationalists seeking a racially homogeneous Serbian state and ex-Communists wanting to stay in power, led by Milosevic and supported by the primarily Serbian Yugoslav National Army. Non-Serbs defended themselves with greater vigor than expected, and at a great cost. Ms Magas had predicted the course of events, and her book received outstanding reviews.

Ms Magas is a Croat and a left-wing thinker who could be expected to read history as a "class-firster"; she argued in "The Destruction" that in this region at least nation matters more than class. She makes the same point in "Croatia Through History", describing in great detail Croatia's history from the early Middle Ages to the present.

For this general reader the book appeared even handed and fair. She was particularly good, I thought, in describing the conflicts and debates between Croats who advocated an independent country and those that argued at various times for becoming a part of Austria, Yugoslavia or a larger European federation.

Robert C. Ross 2008