Balkan Odyssey a personal account of the international peace efforts following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia [Hardcover]

David Owen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1996

The chief European Community negotiator provides a close-up look at events in the Balkans since the breakup of the former Yugoslavia, examining failed international peace efforts, condemning U.S. Balkan policies, and offering a personal chronicle of efforts to end the civil war. 50,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Owen served as co-chairman of the steering committee of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia in 1992-1995. From a negotiator's vantage point, he describes the search for a just settlement that would roll back Serb advances and allow the surviving "ethnically cleansed" to return to their homes. He reviews the Vance-Owen peace plan, which, he points out, featured strong internationally monitored human rights provisions, and describes how it came under ill-informed attack and was then ditched by the Clinton administration in May 1993. Owen remains convinced that if George Bush had won reelection in 1992, there would have been a settlement in Bosnia-Herzegovina based on the plan, probably without U.S. troops but with a firm commitment to logistical air support. Owen's account is useful for its insight into the relationship among the UN, NATO and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in the current Balkan crisis. The author served as British foreign secretary from 1977 to 1979. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Harcourt isn't known for doing instant books, but here is one book on which it's moving very, very fast. Signed in September for a February 1 release, this work by the chief European Community negotiator in the Balkans promises a real insider's report on the war raging there.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 389 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt; 1st US Edition edition (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151002215
• ISBN-13: 978-0151002214
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,858,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Long, dry apology mirrors western approach to Bosnian peace, November 16, 2001

By 

Aubrey Verboven (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Balkan Odyssey (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

Lord Owen's recounting of his efforts to help resolve the Bosnian war is really little more than a list of meetings and conferences. To this dry unending litany he adds a few cursory and, in some cases, inaccurate descriptions of players associated with the conflict. If you are hoping to get insight from a seemingly well placed person who spent hours and days locked in discussion with some of the 20th Century's most reviled figures you will not find it here. His descriptions are little more than ambiguous diplomatic niceties. During the course of this confusing peace process, Owen only occasionally pens restrained displeasure about the continued obstructionism of American administrations and the blatant deception of Balkan leaders. Just as the international community feared backlash against any form of decisive action, it seems Lord Owen had similar reservations about libel - neither approach is conducive to establishing lasting peace nor fruitful discourse. Owen's isolation in conference rooms and hotels quickly becomes apparent as his detached, incomplete descriptions of realities on the ground appear more like secondhand gossip than any useful form of analysis.

In this book, Lord Owen missed a glorious opportunity to expose the countess agendas and duplicities he faced from all sides. He could have spoken his mind but instead chose to remain a politician. In the end, this book is really just another apology for the shameful failure of Western collective security.

4.0 out of 5 stars Personal and highly interesting account, August 4, 2008

By 

Rjm Theunens (Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Balkan Odyssey (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

David Owen gives a very personal account of his experiences as a mediator, including his frustrations with the attitude of the international community (in particular the US). His views are very useful to understand the mechanisms of international diplomacy in a highly mediatised conflict. It is rather simplistic, in my view, to depict Owen as someone who tried to favorise one one the parties in the conflict.

1.0 out of 5 stars Poor Leadership by Mr. Owen, September 18, 2007

By 

Harris "Harris" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Balkan Odyssey (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

This is by far one of the worst books about war in Bosnia.

It's a complete waste of time.