Customer Reviews

Through the Embers of Chaos: Balkan Journeys

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Dervla Murphy's description of several visits to Yugoslavia and the republics that gained worldwide headlines throughout the 1990s is hard to put down. Through her interactions with the people on the ground affected by the actions of Milosevic and the international community, she conveys the viewpoints of all sides as well as the day-to-day reality of living in the region and trying to rebuild after the hell that so many endured.

Having been to Croatia and Slovenia a couple years ago, I wanted to learn more about life for the people on the street as well as what led to the policies of ethnic cleansing. I couldn't put this book down and am looking forward to reading more travel writing by this author. Wonderful!!!

I am working my way through all of Dervla Murphy's books, and of the ones that I have read so far, this one chaotically tackles the most chaotic subject, but to be fair to Ms Murphy, the situation in the Balkans is nothing short of massively confusing and she gets a medal for trying.

She starts out with historical background on the region's political strife, but the book can't help but quickly dissolve into mayhem. Although I don't always agree with her blistering critiques of NATO and the United States, I respect her for trying to make sense of a senseless situation and for putting her life on the line at times to sort things out. As with her other trips, this one includes many tales of the hair-raising positions she finds (or puts?) herself in and won't disappoint in that respect. In spite of the chaos of the subject, I did actually learn a vast amount about the Balkans that no news article or textbook could ever have taught me; Ms Murphy has keen insight and a love of the common person that makes her often acerbic reflections easier to digest, and she does her homework thoroughly.