Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation [Paperback]

Laura Silber (Author), Allan Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1997

Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation draws on hundreds of interviews with politicians, soldiers, and citizens to bring readers behind the scenes of Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II. Published as the companion to the critically acclaimed BBC documentary broadcast on the Discovery Channelof photos.

Editorial Reviews

Review

. . . one of the finest volumes to come out of the war . . . -- The New York Times Book Review, Chris Hedges

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics); Rep Sub edition (February 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140262636
• ISBN-13: 978-0140262636
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > History > Europe > Yugoslavia
  • #43 in Books > History > Europe > Eastern

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, if a little one-sided, January 23, 2004

By 

Mr. A. S. Fletcher "ephemeral2" (London UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation (Paperback)

Like most of the reviewers I am a veteran Balkanist, and am impressed by the quality of both research and writing in this , I found it even easier to use than Mischa Glenny's excellent study of War & Nationalism.

My caveat is the obvious one, it takes very much the 'Guardian report from embattled Sarejevo' approach to the Bosnian conflict. The Serbs are caricatured as villains and the Muslims as heroes/victims, and the Croats relegated to an overly minor role, rather than key players. It also takes this line (a bit)with the break-up of Yugoslavia, where extremist Serb statements are extensively quoted as if representative of Yugoslavia's Serb polity, while similar stuff from Croats or Albanians is carefully put in its correct context as not speaking for the majority. The lies and misdeeds of Serb politicans are likewise accurately deconstructed, while those of the other sides tend to be taken uncritically at their own word. My own experience of living in Bosnia during 1990 was of a community for whom no sides extremists actually spoke, but were polarised against their will by war and the fear of war. The trouble is that a a historian it is easy to be caught by self-fulfilling prophecies, extremists can both talk and ignite a war which engulfs whole communities, it should not be taken as proof they were somehow articulating a whole community's desire for war all along!

Overall a useful contibution, especially in terms of chronology of who said what, and provided its bias is taken into account, well worth reading.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Actually, the only book on the subject that should be read., March 7, 2000

By 

vuk mrvic (France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation (Paperback)

Being closely affected by the entire catastrophy of the last 12 years in Yugoslavia I have read almost everything avaliable on Amazon and in the bookstores pertaining to the subject. This is the Mother Goose of all the books on the last 12 years in the region. One realizes this because all other books quote this one quite often. They are usually recycled or paraphrazed parts of Laura Silber's book. The book is cold and unemotional the way a book about such an event should be. It didnt leave anything out and the sequence of events is perfect. Everything that came after this books publishing was either forshadowed or is just an effect of things in this book. On the other hand if one wants to read books by clowns who were responsible for everything allow me to recommend Slobodan Milosevics' "Years of decisions", Holbrookes "To end a War" (sic. but only when my Q rating is really high), Zimmermanns "Origins of a catastophe"(sic. was blind but now can see). Read this book, understand what and how went on and hold your own against any expert on the subject.

67 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, but incomplete and biased, May 1, 2005

By 

pred02 (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation (Paperback)

As most other reviews stated, this book is easy to read, and it provides a detailed description of the events throughout the Croatian and Bosnian War (1990-1995) This book is supplemented by the highly popular BBC series - "Death of Yugoslavia," which is perhaps the most-known documentary on the war. The documentary follows the book quiet closely, with an inherent strength of BBC reports having interviews to most of the major players - Milosevic, Tudjman, Stambolic, Izanbegovic, and others (most of which are in jail or dead now anyways).

Nonetheless, this book has a strong anti-Serb thesis, which, I suppose, it needs in order to be conclusive. In other words, if there are no good guys and bad guys, the Laura Silber would create an incomplete work. But for someone who wants to get a good insight of the war in Balkans, it cannot be looked through the lenses of "black and white," as this book tries to convey.

It is important for readers to know that the accounts of the war are carefully selected and edited in the anti-Serb fashion. For example, the ethnic cleansing atrocities, when described in detail, are almost always pertaining to the Serbs. But when it comes to the Croats and the Muslims, the book overlooks their actions during the war. In addition, the book provides little evidence of the involvement of the bigger powers - EU and USA.

For example, early chapters go into great depth talking about the pointless shelling of Dubrovnik, talking about Montenegrins peasants getting their "revenge" to fulfill their jealousies against the prominent Croatian population of Ragusa. But when it talks about Operation Storm - the single biggest even of ethnic cleansing during the entire war, undertaken by Croatian Forces will full military, logistical, and financial support from the US, it does not go into any depth at all. It is dismissed as "Krajina Serbs" got what they deserved. The Krajina Serbs did not "occupy" that part of Croatia - they lived there for hundreds of years.

When dealing with international involvement, it goes to great length to disapprove Srebrenica, while Operation Storm is supported by the West. Perhaps US and EU had other motivations in this conflict? What about the arming of Croats and Bosnia throughout before the war in the old SFRJ (which was then illegal)

In addition to a one-sided view, it fails to address other major issues, such as economic disparities. Invoking economics, it justifies Croatia's and Slovenia's promising economic position before the disintegration, nevertheless, it mentions to compare facts. Slovenia and Croatia assumed a high level of industry due to the fact they had cheap natural resources that mostly came from Serbia and Kosovo. In addition, the economic status of Serbia is taken under consideration with Kosovo - even though Kosovo, not Serbia, is the most impoverished region in former Yugoslavia. The fact that Kosovo Albanian's have been boycotting the federal institutions since early 1980s - not paying taxes, utilities, and other duties since the death of Tito had something to do with this idea.

While I do not discourage people from reading this book, I only state that Laura Silber (et al) provides a narrow-minded, opinionated, and sensationally journalistic view of the breakup of former Yugoslavia.

If anyone is interested in truly learning about this conflict, more resources are necessary.