Customer Reviews

Sarajevo: A War Journal

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read this book in December 1995 while in Sarajevo on a humanitarian mission. One of the most dramatic experiences of my life was reading this book by evening, and then by day, walking the destroyed streets that Zlatko Dizdarevic wrote about. It is a brutal, tragic, beautifully-written firsthand account of what the people of Sarajevo and other parts of the former Yugoslavia have been through since 1991, while the world sits idly by. I recommend the book, and I recommend reading it in Sarajevo.

The man who wrote this book wrote from his heart, not merely his head. He gave insights that only a true 'survivor' of modern-day war could give. Beautifully written and powerfully emotional, this book is life-changing.

Written in the first years of the siege by an editor at Oslobodjenje, these poignant war stories, compelling descriptions, and perceptive reflections from a city under fire constitute one of the most authoritative testimonies of the entire Bosnian war. A powerful and often scathing articulation of Sarajevo's disillusionment with Western inaction and betrayal of international norms and values. (This short review is from "Book on Bosnia" published by The Bosnian Institute)

Dizdarevic does a good job of showing the terror of everyday life in Sarajevo. What struck me about this book is how the population slowly accomodated itself to random shootings and starvation. As the population adjusted itself, you can feel the anger welling up inside the author against the world leaders and the UN. UN troops sat around and did nothing. These troops were Canadians and French who watched Serb troops shoot down innocent civilians. When the Bosnians tried to defend themselves, these same UN troops issued veiled threats against these defenses. It just goes to show the spineless foreign policy of the UN and those who provide troops for these peace keeping missions.
The reader can feel the anger of the author for the war criminals who terrorized the civilians of Sarajevo. These criminals (Ratko Mladic, Zivota Panic, Vojislav Seselj, Radovan Karadzic). The U.S. needs to bring these criminals to justice.

The reason why I rated this only a four star is because of the introduction by New York Times writer Robert Jay Lifton. Lifton provides us with an introduction where he equates the nuclear weapons policy of the U.S. with genocide. This is typical liberal drivel. This book would have been better without Lifton's crap in it. That said, the book was a good read about man's inhumanity to man.

The author was an editor of Oslobodjenje, Sarajevo's independent newspaper that continued to publish daily throughout the 1992-1995 period that the city was besieged by Serb nationalist forces. The journal entries take in just the first 16 months of that siege. It is chilling to realize that the siege would continue for more than two years beyond the period covered by the journal-and that populations in some other cities and villages suffered even more than did Sarajevo's.

The stories of Sarajevo and Bosnia are breath taking. Mr. Dizdarevic brings to light the day to day struggle that so many residents of Sarajevo went through. Not only physically, but mentally as well. Sarajevo is a very beautiful city and is getting more beautiful as it gets rebuilt. I can not imagine what it would have been like to live these stories that Mr. Dizdarevic writes about. This is a must read book!