Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Slobodan Milosevic was born on 20 August 1941 in the central Serbian town of Pozarevac, about seventy-five miles south of Belgrade, where his family had..." (more)
Key Phrases: seventeenth plenum, collective federal presidency, yogurt revolution, United States, Bosnian Serbs, Contact Group (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, which began in February, makes this political biography especially timely. Sell is a retired Foreign Service officer who spent two tours of duty (a total of eight years) in Yugoslavia, first in the final years of the Tito presidency and again in the late 1980s, just before the country began to fragment. Here he concentrates on the 14-year period (1987-2001) when Milosevic held high office in Yugoslavia, ending with his arrest and transfer to The Hague. Milosevic is depicted as rising to power without bothering about those he harmed on the way up and, once in power, as gradually losing his grip on reality and spiraling down into a world of delusion. Without dwelling on the horror of the war crimes, the author holds his subject responsible for much of the destruction of his country. Although some of these details have already been covered in Lenard J. Cohen's Serpent in the Bosom and Slavoljub Djuklic and Alex Dubinsky's Milosevic and Markovic, this book is valuable for its background on the current trial and coverage of recent history of a troubled region. Recommended for most libraries. Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New York
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Sell has produced a book which will be valued by students of Yugoslavia and will be an excellent introduction to those not yet familiar with that country's tragic destruction." Richard Crampton, Times Literary Supplement "[T]he most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the war so far published in English. [Sell] is fair-minded and keeps his diplomatic cool until the end, when with justice he calls Mr. Milosevic 'an ugly killer' who even now denies the fact of horrendous crimes, and his own responsibility for them." The Economist "More than a biography, this book provides a compact, coherent review of the sad drama that occupied so much of the West's attention in the 1990s." Foreign Affairs "[C]ompelling... Sell's account, based on both the public record and interviews with many of the principals as well as his personal experiences, offers an impressive yield of telling insights and revealing anecdotes." Andrew Nagorski, Washington Post Book World "Louis Sell brings to his fascinating study of the Serbian tyrant a deep experience in the Balkans, an authority based on his own participation in some of the events he describes, and a keen analytical eye. This is a first-rate book."--Warren Zimmermann, United States Ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1989-1992 "A welcome biography of the 'Butcher of the Balkans' [and] ... an important contribution to the literature surrounding the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the ethnic wars that followed."--Kirkus Reviews "Sell is authoritative on Milosevic's fall from power... [He] clearly knows the territory."--Mary H. Meier, Boston Globe "More than a biography, this book provides a compact, coherent review of the sad drama that occupied so much of the West's attention in the 1990s."--Foreign Affairs "The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic ... makes this political biography especially timely... [V]aluable for its background on the current trial and coverage of recent history of a troubled region. Recommended for most libraries."--Library Journal "Sell ... offer[s] a shrewd assessment of the former dictator."--Dusko Doder, The Nation "[C]ompelling... Sell's account, based on both the public record and interviews with many of the principals as well as his personal experiences, offers an impressive yield of telling insights and revealing anecdotes."--Andrew Nagorski, Washington Post Book World "[T]horough."--Tim Judah, The New York Review of Books "Sell's book is certainly the most comprehensive and up-to-date on both Milosevic and, as his subtitle suggests, the destruction of Yugoslavia. It is detailed and well sourced ... Sell's hefty tome will be a major work of reference for many years to come."--Tim Judah, Survival "Sell, a former U.S. foreign service officer with many years of service in the Balkans, maintains the detached, objective style that has become appropriate for the anatomization of a criminal... [Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia] is the better for being written by someone with an educated sympathy for both the Serbs and, as they were once known, the Yugoslavs... A strikingly useful aspect of this book is the detail it gives, often at first hand, about the shameful vacillations--to put it no higher--of the Western mediators."--Christopher Hitchens, Wilson Quarterly "Louis Sell's study is a ... substantial book... His is the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the war so far published in English. He is fair-minded and keeps his diplomatic cool until the end, when with justice he calls Mr. Milosevic 'an ugly killer' who even now denies the fact of horrendous crimes, and his own responsibility for them."--The Economist "[A] detailed account of events ..."--Woodford McClellan, The Washington Times "The very readable text does a good job of piecing together memoirs and other accounts published in Serbo-Croatian, which are interspersed with colorful and, occasionally, valuable anecdotes from Sell's own diplomatic activities... [A] book well worth reading."--C. Ingrao, Choice "[R]iveting..."--Ian Traynor, The Guardian "The great strength of Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia is that it is written with internal as well as external knowledge. Sell's service as a diplomat makes him familiar with the external factors, and has given him contact with sources of information denied to the routine enquirer... Sell adds his extensive internal knowledge of Yugoslavia, a knowledge gained in the service of NGOs as well as the US State Department. This and his fluency in Serbo-Croat, gave him, as his footnotes show, access to publications and personalities not always available to those imposing policy from without. It is this combination which enables Sell to tell us a good deal not only about the murderer and his wife, but also about their victim, Yugoslavia... Sell has produced a book which will be valued by students of Yugoslavia and will be an excellent introduction to those not yet familiar with that country's tragic destruction."--Richard Crampton, Times Literary Supplement "The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic, which began in February, makes this political biography especially timely."--Foreign Policy Association "[A] timely book and an important contribution to the literature on the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the subsequent disastrous ethnic wars that preoccupied the West during the 1990s."--Foreign Service Journal "[A] useful and also highly readable addition to our ever-growing shelf of scholarly studies... [An] excellent book."--Dennison Rusinow, Slavic Review "More than a biography, SlobobanMilosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia offers a readable account of both the domestic Yugoslav side of the country's collapse and the history and consequences of international interventions in the wars in Slovenia and Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo... [W]ell written..."--Julie Mertus, Political Science Quarterly "[E]xcellent... [A]nalytical... [S]ell gives the reader more information about the deeper causes of Yugoslavia's demise within the broader context of the end of the Cold War."--Christopher Cviic, The Tablet "Louis Sell ... does an excellent job of melding the firsthand experience of diplomats with background research to create a compelling picture of Milosevic and the horrors that he eventually wrought (although far from single-handedly)." --Cal Clark, Perspectives on Political Science "Sell's book, by using a tone that does not pretend definitively to 'explain' either the character of Milosevic or the sensitive and rapidly transforming political landscape of the former Yugoslavia, offers his readers the opportunity to reflect again on a period and a person we are not likely to grasp fully for a long time to come."--Holly Case, Slovene Studies "[T]his is a good book written by a knowledgeable observer... Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia should be of more than passing interest, valuable to anyone seeking further insights into a complex, crucial and wholly fascinating topic."--Dennis Reinhartz, Holocaust and Genocide Studies "[T]his book provides interesting reading and serves very well as an insider's observation and a political portrayal of Milosevic."--Kari M. Osland, Journal of Peace Research "Sell provides an excellent and readable summary of Milosevic's failed attempt to become a new Tito as head of all Yugoslavia... The book is well written, and Sell provides interesting details about the actions of US diplomats, in particular, throughout the Yugoslav crises and wars."-- Robert M. Hayden, The International History Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Duke University Press; Revised edition (September 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082233223X
• ISBN-13: 978-0822332237
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #976,272 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars My comment from old Europe, February 7, 2003

By	T NAVARRO SERRANO (Palma de Mallorca, Baleares Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia (Hardcover)

Although the facts and the personality of Milosevic are properly described, the book is, in my opinion, too partial. I don't think it is lack of knowledge but the will to believe it that way.
This eternal dichotomy of "good boys and bad boys" that in America is so much extended, appears very strongly in this book, specially when the role of the USA is concerned.Too simple,I must say.
Let's say that it is a good book to be red in America...

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sobering, Thoughtful Look at Milosevic's Political Career, December 7, 2002

By	John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of Yugoslavia (Hardcover)

How does a political hack working for the Yugoslavian Communist party evolve into a skilled manipulator of people, and Europe's worst Fascist politician since Adolf Hitler? In the case of Slobodan Milosevic there are no easy answers, yet former diplomat Louis Sell offers a riveting account of Milosevic's life that depicts the latter's transformation from Communist bureaucrat to a dangerous political demagogue. Along the way Sell provides an in-depth look at the rise and fall of modern Yugoslavia, beginning with the closing phases of World War Two, as Tito's Communist partisans battled both the Nazis and other forces belonging collectively to the Yugoslavian "underground", most notably the Serbian Chetniks. Sell suggests that Milosevic hasn't become a rabid nationalist, but instead, has used the cause of Serbian nationalism to further his own political agenda, granting him virtual control over the rump state of Yugoslavia until his sudden downfall in free elections held after the NATO bombing of Serbia in response to the Serb-Albanian conflict in Kosovo. Sell introduces us to a fascinating group of characters, beginning with Croatian president Tudjman, and ending with the likes of American diplomats and soldiers such as Richard Holbrooke and General Wesley Clark. Unquestionably this may be the best book published yet on what transpired in Yugoslavia during the 1990's.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well written, poorly sourced, and self-serving, September 21, 2007

By	Richard Murray (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This book is worth checking out from the library, but I wouldn't buy it.

The book is well written and easy to read. I have to give Mr. Sell credit. He is a very talented writer, which is why I gave the book two stars rather than one.

Unfortunately, the book is poorly documented (there are a conspicuous lack of end notes for this sort of a book) and the author frequently writes as though he had privlaged access to Slobodan Milosevic's thoughts and feelings. Mr. Sell may have been an "insider" with the State Dept., but I don't think he was clairvoyant.

It is important to keep the author's position in mind when reading this book. He was a U.S. foreign Service officer serving in Yugoslavia. He was there to advance U.S. Government policy in the region. The real point of the book seems to be to justify the policies of the United States with regard to Yugoslavia.

This book may be valuable as an insight into the thinking that prevailed within the State Department, but it is not an impartial or even accurate assessment of the events that led to the destruction of Yugoslavia.