Customer Reviews

Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo

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The destruction of Yugoslavia is not the easiest of subjects to fully comprehend. Cohen's informative and excellently written narrative is the best place to start. Cohen does more than just describe the events, he attempts to get beneath the surface to understand the psychology behind the unspeakable atrocities committed during the various wars. The trajedy of Yugoslavia cannot be understood without a recounting of the atrocities committed there during World War II, atrocities that largely went unpunished. All of this and more are recounted by Cohen in his very readable account. It is must reading for anyone interested in recent European history.

A big, passionate book by the New York Times correspondent, who has tried to pack everything into it: the Bosnian experience of the war (told through several family histories), the Western response and UN policy, and the historical background. Cohen argues well against the `ethnic hatreds' doctrine, but tends to substitute World War II hatreds instead. However, his analysis of UN failure, including evidence drawn from minutes of a high-level meeting held before the fall of Srebrenica, will be of lasting importance

It is said that history repeats itself, but never so quickly and with such dismal sameness as in the former Yugoslavia. I purchased this book in hopes of gaining a greater understanding of the conflict there, and managed to start reading it just in time for the current round of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and NATO's (and the US's) disorganized response to it. The book is extremely well-written and structured in an interesting way, beginning with the story of one young man's decades-long search for his father, a Bosnian Muslim who faded from his family's knowledge in the chaos of World War II.The gut-wrenching conclusion to that first part of the book, so full of pathos that you can hardly believe it really happened (but know that it did) leads into the Bosnian war of the early 1990's, centering on the long and ugly death of the city of Sarajevo and the toll it took on several other families. Cohen pulls no punches in letting the reader know exactly how he feels about the UN's response to that conflict. I would certainly like to hear his take on the current situation there, which he all but predicted at the end of this book. I would recommend "Hearts Grown Brutal" to anyone who would like to sort out in their own minds what really happened in Bosnia and Sarajevo such a short few years ago. In light of today's headlines, the book certainly provides food for thought as to America's response and responsibilities in this area of the world.

I couldn't put this book down. Every page, every line tells the truth behind the Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian conflict. All wars are complex and difficult to comprehend but Mr. Cohen helps us understand what happened just a few years ago. An accurate and eye-opening account. Some of the atrocities committed are so heinous, so vile as to bring us right back to images of the Third Reich. This is a very important work by a man who knows what he is talking about.

After a few hundred pages, when your ability to read about another Balkans family and their plight begins to wane, Cohen presents some new detail in an individual life that forces you to refocus on how the war crushed people so much like Americans and so very European that the "ancient hatreds" argument becomes sickening. To read about a 16-year-old girl's Tom Cruise poster and her death by shelling is to realize how much the West failed. Compelling, brutal, depressing, and vital reading.

I called Roger Cohen in Germany late one night after reading most of his book, and probably scared him that out in Kansas, someone knows about Bosnia. I had to tell him that he had written the book I wish I could have done. I've been to Sarajevo (in 1997 for a month staying with families of students I had hosted) and have been host to 15 Sarajevo students from 1993-1997, with two living with me at a time. (Every combination of religion was represented, by the way.) Mr. Cohen tells the truth. With Kosovo (what a surprise) starting up again, it is important that a writer of Cohen's abilities lead us back to the reality of the war in Bosna and Hercegovina. Along with Roy Gutman's books, and a Short History of Bosnia, this is a must read. I hope someone on Clinton's staff has it. George Laughead Jr.

this is the book to read. Its absolutely fantastic. Roger Cohen has a very sharp pen. For me its not just enough to read the book myself, I want to buy other copies and give to friends.

I have read every book I could get my hands on concerning this topic, and this is undoubtedly the best. It should be required reading in Serbian schools as we try to deprogram their youth from the Serbian-TV, pro-Milosevic propoganda that serves as the foundation of Serbian hate.

Born and bread in American - from Albanian decent. This book completed my knowledge and history of my ancestry. The book informs like a history textbook, but reads like a family album. Bravo to Mr. Cohen - who I only wished would write a book on the truth behind KOSOVO - READ THIS BOOK IS ALL I CAN SAY

The author seems more interested in sharing his political judgments than he is in explaining what happened in the Balkans in the 1990s. What a waste.