Reviews for The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War

The average rating for The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-09-20 00:00:00 Rob Ouimet This book on the breakup of yugoslavia and the subsequent mass violence all across the balkans was neither illuminating nor educating. The author frequently insults the intelligence of those he interacts with, particular insulting attention given to serbs. He also uses repetitive hyperbole in the phrase "one of the most..." or "probably the most..." - is it or isn't it? The conflict was horrible and traumatizing for many people, and this author is saying how the worst tragedies of the conflict occured in actually quite small interactions before the war even started. His hyperbole detracts from the needed realistic and balanced perspective a good journalist requires. According to him, almost everyone he meets is subhuman and an example of yugoslavian insanity. According to him, each and every event of threat (whether anyone died or not), is an example of the worst events to ever happen during the fall. His exaggerations and insults are an insult to journalistic and historic integrity he claims to represent. Also frustrating was how frequently he repetitiously described police border checks. I get it, he had guns aimed at him and his car was searched, and then through luck and lying, he survived. He goes through this pattern about a dozen times. There's more to this conflict then security-wannabes with guns stopping cars and killing or threatening to, the people who are in these cars. I had hoped this book would be highly illuminating on an very complex concept riddled with confusion caused by the imperial and hyper-nationalist powers deceiving the public. Instead, I get an arrogant journal by a man with a lot of repetition and little unique thought and analysis, a man who insults those around him rather than relating to the material conditions of the time, and one who would while stating and understanding west-european expansionism, ignores the imperial inciting of ethnic-violence by the various super- and regional-powers. The author fixates on pointing out the body-types, physical traits, eye colour, of the people he interacts with, rather than giving us meaningful information. The author seems apart from the conflict. Which is surprising considering the best journalists tend to be directly involved in the conflict they're writing about. But, he is not even a good journalist. By the end, I was considering how I might find a book with good coverage on this topic, when I remembered Chomsky wrote a far more illuminating analysis of jugoslavia than this author, and in a fraction of the words and pages. I may reread it again sometime, but I'd prefer to find another author who covers even more of the history and socio-economic politics which led up to the violence in former yugoslavia. The only good thing he said in this story is a description of violence and irresponsibility which I finally have the words to describe: "The tendency to justify atrocities by pointing to those committed by the opposing side will merely ensure that the pattern of reciprocal massacre remains unbroken."

Review # 2 was written on 2020-07-05 00:00:00 Holger Viehmann This is an okay book - 3.5 stars. I've read several works by Misha, including the The Balkans and The Battle for Rio, both later and more complete works. I was quite impressed by what he wrote, so I decided to give this one a look, too. In a way, The Fall of Yugoslavia is a precursor to The Balkans, which was written a good decade later, and provides a wider and less confused look at the region and its recent wars. The Fall is a sort of memoir, written primarily during 1991-1993, with some extras added in 1995 and 1996. Thus, it doesn't cover the entire conflict, and isn't a comprehensive view of the story. Misha also seems to have developed his understanding of the Balkan Boogaloo while writing, so it's mostly work in progress, and feels rough at times. Now, that said, this is still a good book. What makes up for gaps in the political and historical narrative, and the fact there's no closure, is more than made up for by excellent writing style, tons of anecdotes, and rather unforgiving descriptions of the different Balkan politicians and military figures. Ample derogatives are used liberally, and Misha doesn't shy away from a direct, and rather quite emotional condemnation of persons, which is atypical for history works. But then, for someone who had lived in the region, his is a personal, emotional book. Misha tries to give some sense to the utter confusion that led to the war, the reasons and not-reasons, and the great mishaps of the international community. I think he sheds light on some rather intriguing phenomena, and some of his stories offer a unique insight I've not read elsewhere. On the other hand, some of the leap-to-conclusions feel a little far fetched, but this could just be that lack of closure and 20,000-feet view after the conflict. Anyway, despite its flaws, The Fall of Yugoslavia is still a very good book. It's a bit short, and, as I wrote, incomplete, but the "gonzo" style is quite compelling. Entertaining, sad, tragic, absurb, and revealing. It also sheds light on Macedonia and Albania, which are often overlooked as side players. It talks about politicians who didn't make the headlines but whose work and influence still shaped the region and its wars regardless. Recommended, but you may be left with an itchy sense once done reading - which is why you ought to grab Misha's full history work on the region next, as that one really does cover the wider story and gives a better overall picture of the Balkans in the late 20th century. However, you should read this one too, because it has such silly intimate stories that are not included in the more somber and aloof 200-year thesis. There. Igor