Customer Reviews

Kosovo: A Short History

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I was not sure whether to give Malcolm's book a 3 or 4 stars but because it is such a well-researched book, I decided to give it 4, although I would probably agree with the overall rating for his book so far- 3 and a half.
As there is so much to say about his book, this will be a thorough review.

First of all, Malcolm has clearly gone out of his way to write the most extensive book on Kosovo's history of any Western historian. I disagree with the notion that he simply wrote this book to earn some money because the time, help and resources he would have required travelling around Europe to various national libraries, looking through archives from hundreds of years back, asking people for their opinions etc must have been at great financial, as well psychological, cost to himself.
Saying that however, one can see that he visited the Zagreb national library and the library in Tirana but did not visit any libraries in Belgrade, probably the largest city in south-eastern Europe and in this case for Malcolm's research, a vital institution of knowledge.

I reject the excuse that he did not have the time or that the sources in Belgrade's library would have been highly biased in regards to his research because the same could be argued about the sources in Zagreb and Tirana.
Another criticism that I would make is that all of the people that he acknowledges at the beginning of his book are non-Serbs, either Croats, Albanians, Bosnians or Westerners which raises questions about his objectivity.

Now, to the book. I think that the earlier chapters on Kosovo's history are relatively well-balanced but do get the impression that he reserves a disproportionately larger share of the book to talking about the history of the Albanians, rather than the history of Kosovo's Serbs (from the 16th century onwards)
I think that the area of Kosovo that he calls "Eastern Kosovo" is also quite neglected historically, whereas he reserves alot of paper for Western Kosovo, possibly because that area had a much larger population.

From the period 1912-1941, however, Malcolm is blatantly partisan in favour of the Albanians, although certainly the Albanians did suffer terribly at the hands of the Belgrade and local Serbian administrators,leaders and armed forces. While commenting on the atrocities carried out by the Chetniks, Serbian and Montenegrin armies, such as forced conversions in the Pec area, massacres at Urosevac etc he doesn't reserve any space for atrocities committed against Serb civilians in Kosovo, which I find astounding. With Kosovo during WW2 he takes a far more balanced approach and states that Albanians and Serbs were committing atrocities against each other, although the Serbs were clearly receiving the worst of the treatment. However, he then quotes one Croat and one Serb historian and one claims that 3,000 Albanians were killed altogether and the other states that 14,000 were killed. There is a huge discrepancy of 11,000 which is not explained by Malcolm. Also, both generally agree that between 3 and 4,000 Serbs died; how is that so, if he stated previously that they bore the brunt of the atrocities? His own view about the Italian and German occupation of Kosovo seems to be relatively benign as well, and there is no criticism of the highly nationalist Balli Kombetar movement in Kosovo during this period.

Finally, his last two chapters from 1945-1997 are generally fair although I would raise one point. He claims that only about 0.4% of Serbs that emigrated from the period 1966-1980's said they left because of harrassment and violence by Albanians. I personally find this very hard to believe, because there has been plenty of documented evidence to support the theory that many Serbs were leaving because of coercion and violence. Its true that the Albanians have the highest birth rate in Europe and that the economic conditions were poor but to say that 99.6% of Serbs left for these two reasons alone is erroneous.

So, to sum up. Malcolm has clearly done some excellent research on Kosovo and I think that it is completely unfair and incorrect to say that his book is biased all the way through and therefore not worthy to be called a history book. Also, some reviewers criticise Malcolm for using alot more Albanian sources than Serbian ones. I suppose this is understandable, considering that at the time of writing 90% of Kosovo's population was Albanian.
Its also misleading to say that whenever he does quote a Serb, it is simply to attack or negate Serbian beliefs and ideologies.

Malcolm has used a wide variety of Serbian sources and has also disregarded and corrected certain Albanian myths as being false or exaggerations. For example, the notion that Albanians were always a majority in Kosovo and how some Albanian writers refer to the Presevo valley in southern Serbia as "Eastern Kosovo", the claim that 40,000 Albanians died in Kosovo during WW2, etc.
A highly enjoyable book which is slightly spoiled in some chapters due to partisan views.

Perhaps a better title for this would be: "Kosovo: an Interminable History". I found this book to be very difficult reading, and I was unable to finish it. I have a degree in history, and have read many academic works (as opposed to popular books), but the mark of a truly great historian is the ability to write lucidly and bring the story to life. Malcolm's work is very earnest and brimming with minutiae, but the focus here is on the analysis of documents, and the narrative gets bogged down in a torrent of detail. Given the controversies he is trying to examine, this is perhaps unavoidable; but these issues could have been made more understandable by a more gifted writer.

As to the charges of bias that have been levelled against this book, I did not see any signs of this(admittedly, I only read about half). It certainly lacks the kind of inflammatory and slanted language that are the hallmarks of truly biased writing.

If you're looking for the kind of vivid historical narrative found in such books as Robert Kaplan's "Balkan Ghosts", this work will probably disappoint you.

Noel Malcolm's reputation as an authority on the Balkans has been established by his previous (and equally illuminating) studies of the region. In Kosovo: A Short History, Malcolm traces the origins of the myths that are relavant in regional conflicts today. But his book is more than just an explanation of historical fact: his prose and research are exemplary! Contrary to some other criticisms, his sections on ethnicity and linguistics are fascinating! The allegations of bias are valid but only in the intellectual sense that all history is subjective and therefore biased. I am Serbian, and I must admit that I approached this book with the same scepticism I approach all material relating to Serbia. Most of the content published today trivialises Serbian feelings towards Kosovo, and the Albanian's struggle for equality as well. This work is interesting and informative - a must for any student of history and anyone who wishes to understand the Balkans of today.

Remarkable for its thoroughness in its research. Malcolm has dug up many documented sources that seem not to have seen the light of day for some time. According to Malcolm, "there is not a single library, in Western Europe or even in the Balkans, that offers all the relevant materials under one roof." That is a tragedy. But it goes along way to explaining the distortions of the region's history. The citation list for this book is a virtual tour of libraries and holdings in the cities and towns of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires and those of the Great Powers of the 19th century. Again this isn't surprising as a great deal of the historical mythology was created during the last half of the 19th century.

"Kosovo: a short history" is remarkable in its clear, readable prose. This is not a dull text. And the region and its history should have been better known to the West. Right through the book, well-known historical figures make cameo appearances. My favourite was a fellow who in 1912 or 1913 was " shocked by the evidence he encountered of atrocities by Serbian and Bulgarian forces." The fellow would later become better known as Leon Trotsky. But the book is full of these oddities. It isn't surpising. Look at a map and Kosovo was an overland route to the Middle East - and a bulwark of the Ottoman Empire against Western and Central Europe: Christian Europe. I should have known all this much earlier, but - like most western educated historians - I didn't pay enough attention.

As a student of history, I have found most of the recent works on Kosovo to be far too one-sided (almost ALL demonize the Serbs and glorify the Albanians). This work attempts to walk the middle ground and, does so very well. Making few judgement calls, the reader is left to make their own decisions on right and wrong, good and bad. While I abhor the recent actions of some Serbians, I equally abhor the actions being taken by the Kosovar Albanians. A reading of this book puts into perspective however what is now occuring and, gives a glimpse of what to expect in the future. I only wish our government officials had been required to read this book before putting one foot into that icky mess we have now labeled KFOR. At least they would have had a better idea of what to expect once the NATO bombing had stopped.

Frankly I'm amazed at those reviewers who accuse the author of anti Serb bias - this can only mean that anyone who doesn't go along with the full panoply of Serbian nationalist mythology and sense of victimhood is anti-Serb! This book is genuinely illuminating and helpful and even-handedly takes swipes at both Albanian and Serbian overstatements. For example, contrary to what some Serbians say, Kosovo simply is not the cultural 'cradle" or 'heartland' of Serbia - if anywhere that is Rascia (Raska) further north, well within Serbia proper. On the other hand, despite what some Albanian historians claim, medieval Kosovo was definitely predominantly Serb. And so on. Also the author says - and I strongly agree - that a more positive interpretation needs to be taken of the Ottoman empire - compared to many European states the Ottoman empire was a model of tolerance and good government - at least to start with (it degenerated later into incompetence and corruption). An excellent book and well worth reading - it will probably annoy Serbs and Albanians equally. One criticism I do have is that the author spends a lot of time discussing details of documentary and linguistic controversies which interrupt the narrative, are not always easy to follow, and which ought perhaps to have been banished to the footnotes.

Noel Malcolm tries to cover the history of Kosovo in a relatively small book. To a large extent he succeeds in this task for at least the casual reader. Some of the history is quite fascinating and Malcolm is a good storyteller. There is evidence of considerable research and deep knowledge of the area. If it weren't for his irritating tendency to either destroy Serbian historical "myths" or to at least create doubt about their veracity, this would be a classic book that I could recommend to everybody. Unfortunately, like so many revisionist historians, Malcolm has a big axe to grind. He seems to think that peace in Kosovo can be achieved by "telling the truth". However, like the hammer that sees nothing but nails, Malcolm sees Serbian historical mythology and bad politicians standing in the way of lasting peace. I would have preferred more scholarly detachment on a subject of such importance to the great powers of today.

The history of Kosovo is very complex. Other writers on Kosovo are quite biased which often makes their work less valuable. Noel Malcolm, however, writes un-biased and entertaining about a difficult subject - his book can be read right through and is also working quite well as a manual about Kosovo. This was the book I took to bed in Pristina in the summer of -99- and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a simple (if not so short) history of Kosovo. However, if you are looking for an analysis of the strategic role of Kosovo in the Balkans on the border between East and West, you will have to go elsewhere. Malcolms task is the history of Kosovo itself - a task he solves to perfection.

This is the most informative of all books written on the history of Kosovo and very useful in light of recent/ongoing events. Unfortunately the information presented is strongly biased in favor of the Albanian version of the (until recently)ethnically mixed history of Kosovo.

My advice: read this book, but keep an open mind

A well-researched book, definitely the most extensive book on Kosovo's history. It covers Kosovo's history since the time immemorial with little attention to the conflict 1998-1999, while Tim Judah's Kosovo: War and Revenge is more focused on this conflict. The only shortcoming of this book is pro-Albanian bias to some extent, yet the book is far from being utterly one-sided and he also debunks some Albanian historical myths.