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Noel Malcolm

Bosnia : A Short History Paperback – January 1, 1994

by Andrew H. Malcolm (Author)

4.7 36 ratings

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This edition of Malcolm's book provides a comprehensive narrative history in English. It examines the different religious & ethnic inhabitants of Bosnia, a land of cultural upheaval where the empires of Rome, Charlemagne, Ottomans & Austro-Hungarians overlapped. Clarifying myths that have clouded modern understandings of its past, he brings to light the causes of its destruction. This edition includes an epilogue examining the failed Vance-Owen peace plan, the tenuous Dayton Accords & UN efforts. What went wrong in the country where Christians & Muslims mingled & tolerated each other for over five centuries? It was a land with a vibrant political & cultural history unlike others in Europe, where great powers & religions--the empires of Rome, Charlemagne, Ottomans; the faiths of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism & Islam overlapped & combined. He provides a narrative chronicle of the country from its beginnings. Clarifying the myths clouding modern understandings of its past, he brings to light the true causes of its destruction: political strategies of Serb leadership, conflicts between city & countryside, fatal inaction & miscalculations of Western politicians. Putting the war into perspective, this volume celebrates the complex history of a country whose past has been all but erased. Here's the guide for readers seeking a comprehensive & accessible account of the war in the former Yugoslavia.
Table of Contents
A Note on Names & Pronunciations
Maps
Introduction
1. Races, myths & origins: Bosnia to 1180
2. The medieval Bosnian state, 1180-1463
3. The Bosnian Church
4. War & the Ottoman system

Print length

340 pages
Language

English
Publisher

MacMillan
Publication date

January 1, 1994
ISBN-10

0333616782
ISBN-13

978-0333616789
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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5

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Kevin Leeds

Insight into otherwise baffling political situation

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2014

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I bought this simply to try to understand better what happened to cause war and genocide in an apparently modern sophisticated European country in present times. I have two sets of Serbian friends, who provided me with their viewpoint, but I was aware that this might be missing some of the story.
Such was the case.
The writing and research by Noel Malcolm was exemplary. The background provided was, I felt, very extensive.
I gave it 4/5 rather than 5/5 merely because of a sense that (and this was nothing to do with my previous Serbian perspective) that the Muslims could do no wrong throughout. Malcolm seemed to me to be a bit of an Islamophile. Not that it detracts from the story, just something I sensed and made me wonder whether I need to read another comparable work to gain a rounder perspective.

6 people found this helpful

A good general history about Bosnia but by no means perfect

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2004

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Malcolm has fairly successfully managed to cover roughly 1,000 years or so of Bosnia's history. However, as with so many Balkan historians and journalists writing books during the 1990's, the recent war is portrayed simply as being the Serbs out to destroy the Muslims as a people, whereas it was alot more complex than that. A few other problems with Malcolm's book is that he has taken the advice of Croats and Muslims always seemingly at face-value.
For example, he describes that Serbs did not start to settle in Bosnia until the 15th century (which is wrong because the Serbs had a church in Jajce dating back to the 10th century, which was unfortunately blown up in 1992) and the first Serb settlers are referred to as "Orthodox Vlachs", or Romanies from Romania. While I'm sure there probably were Orthodox Vlachs arriving with the Serbs, it is totally erroneous to describe the Serbs as Vlachs, because the two are completely separate peoples.
Apparently, in his first book published in 1993 or 1994 about Bosnia, he described Serbs as "Gypsies" and made various racist slurs about them and then his book had to be revised. Whether this is true or not, I'm not sure, but I sincerely hope that it isn't because someone with a Ph.D in History from Cambridge University should not be writing such incorrect and provocative history books. This kind of "history" is typical of those Croat and Muslim nationalists who seem to have personal grudges against Serbs and therefore cannot be accepted at face-value.
Also, Malcolm constantly conveys his gratitude towards Croats and Muslims who provided him with information about Bosnia's history. This is a good thing, no doubt; however, he does not seem to extend his acknowledgements to any Serbs and does not ask them about their own history, which indicates that he is definately biased in favour of two sides.

30 people found this helpful

Faruk Mustafa

Great service

Reviewed in Germany on February 29, 2016

Verified Purchase

I am very satisfied and will buy from them in the future as well.
All the aspects of the deal were met. I would recommend this serious seller to others!
Thank you!

Simon

Insightful background on a troubled country

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2016

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This is an interesting book on a very troubled country with a difficult past and difficult present. I bought it before a trip to Bosnia and it provided a meaningful background to this ,in my opinion, sad and war scarred country.The problems are deep and may hundreds of years in the making. This book gives you a good insight to why it is like it is.

One person found this helpful

americana

THIS IS THE ONE BOOK that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in Balkan history

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2016

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If you want to know history and causes of Balkan conflict, do not want to spend months trawling through dosens of books, THIS IS THE ONE BOOK that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in Balkan history. Immensely good, factual,objective and impartial. Must have taken a lot of time and research to produce concise and accurate history of Bosnia, especially in light that each nation on that geographical location is trying to produce their version of events/history. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Bosnia : A Short History Paperback – January 1, 1994

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Follow the Author

Bosnia : A Short History Paperback – January 1, 1994

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