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Title: The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia by Tim Judah, Timothy Judah ISBN: 0-300-08507-9 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: September, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.19 (27 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Wow!
Comment: Who are the Serbs? Following the highly destructive warfare that obliterated the complex, multiethnic country of Yugoslavia beginning in 1991, they are now a pariah, no matter how much policy makers deny this fact. The human tendency for utter destructiveness - vastly documented in the history of the Second World War - was shown in this decade-long episode of recent history, almost as if history itself was being repeated. Tim Judah, in this superb and phenomenal book, has documented history, current events, biography and brilliant writing to paint a picture of the Serbs, who are human beings like us all.
The book draws upon the existing vast historiography and Judah's own experiences and interviews that he recorded and collected during his time throughout the former Yugoslavia. He reported for several leading Western newspapers, such as the London Times, The Economist, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, and most notably the New York Review of Books, where he covered the war in Kosovo. He continues to appear on panel discussions, interviews and his opinion is consulted whenever something significant takes place in the current rump Yugoslavia of Serbia and Montenegro. Judah speaks Serbo-Croat and Albanian, among other languages, which gives him a tremendous advantage; several books cited in the Bibliography are in the original language. Additionally, he has cited Italian and French works on the history of the Balkan region. The current book was first published in 1997 following the war in Bosnia. It was completely revised in 2000 with an additional chapter to cover the events of the Kosovo war (1998-).
The book is divided into seventeen chapters, the first eight of which are historical; the remaining seven plunge into current events and details of the Balkan wars, most especially the political scene in Belgrade, background to key personalities behind the bloodshed, the conditions on the fronts, and the experiences of ordinary civilians on all sides. To prove the extent to which Serb nationalist leaders were able to draw upon a tumultuous history of the Serbs in order to win favor over the masses, Judah condenses the history of the Serbs, from medieval times to the fall of Josip Broz "Tito," the Yugoslav leader that ruled the country for over three decades following the Second World War. Judah examines the highlights of Serb history (which would later be rekindled by nationalists in the late 20th century), particularly the details surrounding the Battle of Kosovo, in June 1389, when Serb forces under Tsar Lazar were defeated by Muslim Turk forces, thus ensuring nearly four hundred years of domination by the Ottoman Empire (pp. 29-47).
Tim Judah's thesis is that politics and politicians instigated the destruction of Yugoslavia, but that nationalist politicians could not have come to power to instigate their harm had there not been a tumultuous history to which they could have turned and manipulated, thereby grossly misleading the Serbs while embarking on a horrific war path. By discussing the history of the Serbs, particularly those episodes drawn on by these nationalists and propagandists, Judah puts the conflicts into context, showing how easy it was to fall into war with rampant emotions and a nationalist fervor.
Judah is a phenomenal writer; his is the work of the professional journalist, reporting events as they happen. The transition from history to current events however, which takes place between Chapters 8 and 9, is fast and abrupt. The reader for one moment is reading about Titoist Yugoslavia, when in the next moment they find themselves reading of the early years of Slobodan Milosevic and his rise to power in 1987. Although Judah commendably knows his history and the personalities of his subjects, he occasionally writes far too much in a sentence, something of which could be slightly overwhelming for the average reader. All the same, he does a terrific job in synthesizing the massive and complex history of the Serbs into little more than one hundred pages, a history in which volumes upon volumes and thousands of pages could have been written. Most certainly, this book is essential for those that wish to gain a perspective on the situation in the former and current Yugoslavia; it beats sole press reports!
Looking at some reviews posted on online bookshops, one finds that Judah is often accused of being highly critical of the Serbs, that his judgments are extreme, and that he does not examine in sufficient detail the roles of other non-Serb nationalists who played an active and important role in the destruction of Yugoslavia. Judah himself noted in his Introduction that the Serbs were under the (common) false accusation that they are the "chief villains" in the conflicts. There is a difference between cliché and truth, but clichés are always born of some sort of truth. The Serbs are by no means any different from other people, and they are not the sole "villains" in the wars, but their politicians were most certainly the aggressors. If Milosevic had not assumed power, the history of Yugoslavia would have taken a much different turn; sadly, he epitomized the worst extreme and did the most to destroy the country, and it was his people that, in euphoria, rallied behind him. In addition, Judah's book is about the Serbs. Perhaps if it were about all the ethnic groups in the former Yugoslavia, then perhaps these accusations of not pointing fingers at enough criminals would be non-existent. Judah's account is very objective, though his contempt for the highly cynical leaders and attitudes taken in the wars is evident. He has described these to be "stupid."
This book is essential reading, as is Judah's most recent book on the Kosovo conflict, now a companion volume to this current book. Quite simply, these two books are the most important that I have ever read.
Rating: 5
Summary: COMPLETE AND COMPREHENSIVE
Comment: Judah has captured the pathos of Serbia without all the cliche reference to genocide and wanton murder which so many people who call themselves historians like to use to simplify their subjects for Western readers. This is an insightful work, and the author has done his homework. He does not come down with his own personal agenda, but simply relates with powerful clarity the history of Serbia/Yugoslavia from 1389 to the present. I have not encountered a more thorough, accurate, well-written, and sensitive account of the history of this region. He has found the courage to thoroughly explain the painful past in a manner which serves to give the Serbs human faces and hearts. Absolutely a must read for anyone who is unfamiliar with the region, or who is tired of hearing the black and white rhetoric on CNN.
Rating: 4
Summary: An elaborate analysis of Serbian nationalism
Comment: That Slobodan Milosevic constituted a far greater threat to international security than Saddam Hussein is irrefutable and yet many people in the West remain completely oblivious to the unfathomable war crimes perpetrated by Milosevic. Judah offers a riveting and exhaustive account of Serbian nationalism and explains how it came to play a pivotal role in the subsequent wars in the region. Driven by ardent nationalism and the ancient hatred for the Turks, Serbs wanted to create a "Greater Serbia", a state which ideally would consist of Serbs only. As is well known, the Serbian attempts to invade Slovenia and Croatia failed. However, Serbs did not stop there. Aided by Serbia, Bosnian Serbs began annihilating Bosnian Muslims who, due to the imposition of the arms embargo, were poorly armed and rather defenseless. Facing a much more powerful adversary, Bosnian Muslims did not stand a chance. Bosnian Serbs conducted ethnic cleansing throughout Bosnia, killing and expelling Muslims from Foca, Visegrad, Gorazde, Srebrenica, Doboj, Banja Luka, Bijeljina etc. In 1995, Bosnian Serbs committed one of the worst massacres in Europe after the World War II in Srebrenica. Approximately 10,000 Muslims were massacred by the Serbian forces led by Ratko Mladic. Judah also provides a chilling account of the notorious camps Keraterm and Omarska, in which Muslims were subjected to gruesome torture and maltreatment. If you want to learn about the odious war crimes committed by Milosevic, Radovan Karadzic, Arkan and Seselj, then read this book. Also, if you want to understand the root causes of the Bosnian war, I strongly recommend this book.
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Title: The Balkans: Nationalism, War & the Great Powers, 1804-1999 by Misha Glenny ISBN: 0140233776 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation by Laura Silber, Allan Little ISBN: 0140262636 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: February, 1997 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Kosovo: War and Revenge by Tim Judah ISBN: 0300097255 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Bosnia: A Short History by Noel Malcolm ISBN: 0814755615 Publisher: New York University Press Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $21.00 |
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Title: Kosovo : A Short History by Noel Malcolm, University Pres New York ISBN: 0060977752 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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