Guerrilla Radio: Rock 'N' Roll Radio and Serbia's Underground Resistance (Nation Books) [Paperback]

Matthew Collin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1560254041 | ISBN-13: 978-1560254041 | Publication Date: April 9, 2002

This is a book about a group of Belgrade’s young idealists and their pirate radio station B92, who began with the naive desire to simply play music, but ended up facing two wars, economic sanctions, violent police and government crackdowns, the attentions of armed gangsters and neo-Nazi politicians, and ultimately became the leaders of an opposition movement forced into exile. Before Milosevic was finally ousted in October 2000, B92 would be shut down and resume broadcasting four times as, through an inspired combination of courage, imagination, and black humor—and a playlist, from The Clash’s “White Riot” to Public Enemy’s rap manifesto, “Fight the Power,” which in sound and spirit, echoed the street fighting in which they sometimes took part—it somehow persisted in disseminating the truth. Matthew Collin knows the founders of the station well and has had extraordinary access to the key personalities and their archives. He first reported on the station as part of a feature on Belgrade’s mass street protest in 1996. The book is based on in-depth, first person interviews and exhaustive background research. “Matthew Collin captures the conviction of a generation whose culture and identity were under siege....”—Independent on Sunday

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A welcome reminder that pop music really can be the soundtrack to revolution." -- Douglas Wolk, Blender, July 2002

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Nation Books (April 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560254041
• ISBN-13: 978-1560254041
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,049,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > History > Europe > Serbia

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outspoken voice against the genocidal Serbian dictator, October 8, 2002

By 

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

This review is from: Guerrilla Radio: Rock 'N' Roll Radio and Serbia's Underground Resistance (Nation Books) (Paperback)

Guerrilla Radio by Matthew Collin (London Editor of "The Big Issue") is the incredible but true story of the Serbian pirate radio station B92. This was an unlicensed radio broadcast station which began in the late 1980's for the simple purpose of playing music, but it quickly evolved into become an outspoken voice against the genocidal Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic. A powerful story of people's refusal to be silenced, culminating with the eventual end of Milosevic's regime in October 2000, Guerilla Radio is a strongly recommended and revealing example of the determination of human will and spirit against all efforts to shut it down, disrupt its broadcasts, and otherwise silence an underground resistance to an horrific tyranny.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not quite as advertised..., October 9, 2005

By 

Z. Stiegler "stiegler_z" (Iowa City, IA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guerrilla Radio: Rock 'N' Roll Radio and Serbia's Underground Resistance (Nation Books) (Paperback)

If I could give half stars, this would get 3.5/5.

I expected this book to be a chronicling of the B92 station in Serbia. However, it is more accurately an account of Serbia's political landscape in the 1990s, loosely threaded with a narrative of B92 and Serbian independent media. There is much less radio content than expected, and much more historical-political context.

That said, the book is a pretty good read. It's a nice account of a turbulent decade in Serbian history, presented in a highly readable text. I believe Collin is a writer for Rolling Stone, which makes for a very digestable book.

I was disappointed at how little radio content was included, but the history is quite interesting.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Other" Resistance, July 3, 2005

By 

Amy S (MI, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guerrilla Radio: Rock 'N' Roll Radio and Serbia's Underground Resistance (Nation Books) (Paperback)

Even though this book is now out of print, I still feel the need to write this review in addition to the other excellent one posted here. Guerrilla Radio is the inspiring story of B92 radio station and their decade long quest to end the regime in Serbia while at the same time offering the public hope. As a student of international relations, it also offers a fascinating look at what really happens to the resistance fighters without weapons when temporary "interventions" by foreign powers end up making situations much worse than they already were. If you can get your hands on a copy of this book, BUY IT IMMEDIATELY.