Customer Reviews

Croatia Through History

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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.

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