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Bosnia: A Short History Paperback – October 1, 1996
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The most comprehensive narrative history of Bosnia available in English
This updated edition of Noel Malcolm's highly-acclaimed Bosnia: A Short History provides the reader with the most comprehensive narrative history of Bosnia in the English language. Malcolm examines the different religious and ethnic inhabitants of Bosnia, a land of vast cultural upheaval where the empires of Rome, Charlemagne, the Ottomans, and the Austro-Hungarians overlapped. Clarifying the various myths that have clouded the modern understanding of Bosnia's past, Malcolm brings to light the true causes of the country's destruction. This expanded edition of Bosnia includes a new epilogue by the author examining the failed Vance-Owen peace plan, the tenuous resolution of the Dayton Accords, and the efforts of the United Nations to keep the uneasy peace.
What went wrong in the country where Christians and Muslims mingled and tolerated each other for over five centuries? It was a land with a vibrant political and cultural history, unlike any other in Europe, where great powers and religions-the empires of Rome, Charlemagne, the Ottomans; the faiths of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, and Islam overlapped and combined. In this first English-language history of Bosnia, Noel Malcolm provides a narrative chronicle of the country from its beginnings to its tragic end. Clarifying the various myths that have clouded the modern understanding of Bosnia's past, Malcolm brings to light the true causes of the country's destruction: the political strategy of the Serbian leadership, the conflict between the city and the countryside, the fatal inaction and miscalculations of Western politicians.
Putting the Bosnia war into perspective, this volume celebrates the complex history of a country whose past, as well as its future, has been all but erased. At last, here is the guide for the general reader seeking a comprehensive and accessible account of the war in the former Yugoslavia.
- Print length374 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherNYU Press
- Publication dateOctober 1, 1996
- Dimensions5.25 x 1 x 8.75 inches
- ISBN-100814755615
- ISBN-13978-0814755617
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- Publisher : NYU Press; Updated edition (October 1, 1996)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 374 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0814755615
- ISBN-13 : 978-0814755617
- Item Weight : 14.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 1 x 8.75 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #137,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,123 in European History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customers find the writing style magnificent and the history compelling and surprisingly detailed. They also appreciate the compelling and detailed history of Bosnia up to that point.
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Customers find the writing style magnificent, easy to read, and excellent. They also say the synopsis is excellent and should be mandatory reading for anyone interested in the region.
"...The way Malcolm wrote the book was magnificent...." Read more
"...blunder of a chapter, the overwhelming majority of Malcolm’s synopsis is excellent and should be mandatory reading for any Westerner wishing to..." Read more
"Great buy. Easy read for anybody who wants to understand more about this region" Read more
"Wonderfully written and researched." Read more
Customers find the history compelling, detailed, and full of valuable information.
"...recommend it to anyone interested in the history of Bosnia full of valuable information" Read more
"Wonderfully written and researched." Read more
"...But do read it for its compelling, surprisingly detailed history of Bosnia up to that point." Read more
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Malcolm’s surveying deserves credit for taking care to have a level examination of Bosnia that covers all the important spheres including economics, politics, culture, immigration, and so on. For example, Malcolm is keen to detail both the economic nuances of Bosnian serfs being forced to surrender a portion of what they produce to the Ottoman occupation and also the unique practice of centuries old Catholic tattooing. Malcolm deserves even more credit for his myth-busting approach in many chapters, whether it’s the medieval myth of Bogomils being in Bosnia or the modern Western one of “ancient hatreds” where different ethnic groups or religions in Bosnia have been in a state of perpetual war and hate. Malcolm also frequently cites statistics whenever possible to provide empirical support for all the most important claims he makes about Bosnia. Lastly, he covers the most sensational and complicated period of the country, the war of the 1990s, with great analytical care.
It’s surprising then for much of this great writing to be thrown out the window when Malcolm surveys the socialist and Titoist period of Yugoslavia. It’s mostly the omission of important facts rather than the claims he does make which is the problem. The Tito-Stalin Split, one of the most important events of the period, is too briefly mentioned and when it is Malcolm does not spend even a breath explaining why it occurred. There is no mention of workers' self-management with the exception of a passing critical quip, nor is there comprehensive enough mention of the highly unique detail that Yugoslavia and Bosnia under it did not feature a command economy like other communist countries but operated under open markets with access to Western goods. There is no mention of the development of universal healthcare, tuition-free college, accessible public housing and this resulting in the highest standard of living in all of Bosnian history. When Malcolm does rarely mention something on the topic he becomes critical in an unscholarly manner, making a silly reference to an eyewitness that the newly built post-WW2 roads were poor due to the bourgeoisie that were forced to work them and not because Yugoslavia’s industrialization and technology was behind Western countries. This leads the reader to believe that Malcolm may be a right-winger or anti-communist.
Despite this blunder of a chapter, the overwhelming majority of Malcolm’s synopsis is excellent and should be mandatory reading for any Westerner wishing to become more educated about arguably the most fascinating and historically complex country in Europe. Malcolm ends his book with a very persuasive conclusion that attaches even a moral importance to reading Bosnian history, which is that failing to be educated about the country’s history contributes to Bosnia’s uncertain future as it has before like with misguided Western policies during the most recent war.
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The service was also great and book offered at an unbeliveable price.









