Yugoslavia's last American ambassador offers his personal, behind-the-scenes account of what happed to this doomed country and why. "The most concise and comprehensive answer to the central question, 'Why did this happen?'"--George Soros. of photos.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Warren Zimmermann was the American ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1992, the period when the breakup of the Soviet empire caused the Balkans to slide into war. In this candid insider's account he recounts the failures of American and European diplomacy to prevent a catastrophe that was, according to Zimmerman, not only foreseeable but entirely preventable. The most chilling pages in this book depict Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, who looked the ambassador in the eye, puffed on his Italian cigarillos, and stated that "Serbia has nothing to do with Bosnia." Now, as U.S. troops prepare to pull out of Bosnia by the end of 1996, Zimmermann's memoir paints a bleak future for this war-torn corner of Eastern Europe.
From Publishers Weekly
Zimmerman, U.S. ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1992, here offers an authoritative diplomatic history and firsthand report of events leading up to the conflagration that destroyed that east European state; literate and engrossing, it jibes pretty much with the record as we know it. Making short shrift of such arguments as that the country was a tragedy waiting to happen and that it was impossible for its diverse ethnic groups to live together, the ambassador lays the blame for the "catastrophe" squarely on the various republican leaders whose selfish interests overrode the goal of maintaining national unity. He leaves no doubt that the architect of the genocidal war that followed upon the breakup of the state was Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic. One of the most intriguing parts of the book is the author's reports of his meetings with Yugoslav politicians who played roles in their nation's demise, including Croatian President Franjo Tudjman and Ante Markovic, the last prime minister of Yugoslavia. From the vantage of hindsight, Zimmerman expresses regret that he didn't recommend the use of force by the U.S. and its allies to stop Serbian aggression as early as 1991. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Insight into socipathic leaders,
By Mark B. Hazelbaker (Madison, WI United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Origins of a Catastrophe: Yugoslavia and Its Destroyers- -America's Last Ambassador Tells What Happened an d Why (Paperback)
Ambassador Zimmerman does a good job of candidly assessing the missteps of American foeign policy managers in dealing with the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia. He convincingly argues that Yugoslavia's disintegration was not inevitable, and that the socioeconomic factors of that nation were no more inclined to cause the catastrophe than are conditions in many other nations. He attributes the collpase to the rise of vicious leaders like Milosevic and Tudjman who used nationalism and ethnic hatred to propel themselves to dictatorial power. Ambassador Zimmerman's book is an important contribution to realizing the devastating impact that socipoathic personalities have when they work themselves into positions of power. The Ambassador's book is also a powerful argument for the value of the United States' professional foreign service officers (FSOs). Mr. Zimmerman exemplifies the best in our tradition of professional FSO's, a tradition lately undermined by neglecting to appoint FSOs to high positions in the State Department and embassies. If we had more people like Mr. Zimmerman working in the field, we would have better intelligence about the world.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Diplomatic, but not afraid to point fingers,
By
This review is from: Origins of a Catastrophe:: Yugoslavia and Its Destroyers- -America's Last Ambassador Tells What Happened an d Why (Hardcover)
A memoir by the man who was US Ambassador to Yugoslavia during 1989-1992. Zimmerman, declaring that "Yugoslavia was destroyed from the top down," focuses especially upon how the political leaders there tore their country apart. He also blames the Serbian Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church in Croatia for their "disgraceful role by exacerbating racial tensions." Zimmerman criticizes Western Europe (and especially the British and French governments) for their early lack of concern as Yugoslav unity became imperiled.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good introduction to the Fall of Jugoslavija,
By Erich Dieter Groebe (Springfield, Missouri United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Origins of a Catastrophe:: Yugoslavia and Its Destroyers- -America's Last Ambassador Tells What Happened an d Why (Hardcover)
Despite the obvious biases and shortfalls to be expected in a book written by a former US Ambassador to Yugoslavia, the book is informative and useful in piecing together the complicated chain of events taking place simultaneously in the seperate Republics as the Federation crumbled.The book does tend to minimize the role of the US and NATO forces and focus more on the domestic events driven by local power figures but all in all I would say that the author does an admirable job of writing a relatively short, concise book about a very complex story without losing too many of the vital facts. This may not be the "definitive" book on the collapse of Jugoslavija but for the average reader it is certainly a good foundation from which to delve deeper.
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