Adult/High School-An accessible discussion of the causes and circumstances for the historic and prevailing ethnic unrest in southeast Europe. Because of the brevity of this work, the author necessarily makes assumptions and offers opinion with minimal substantiating evidence, but critical readers can find much here to take to the examination of other information sources, including daily newspapers. Contrast between ethnic relations in the Balkans and in the United States is lively and compelling. Paired with Joe Sacco's graphic-format report, Safe Area Gorazde (Fantagraphics, 2000), this book would provide both classes and independent researchers with sufficient information to generate discussions in the realms of politics, social history, the influence of American culture in foreign affairs, religious tolerance, and more. This is a fine addition to an exemplary series of monographs by experts in a wide range of humanities and sciences.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners business Information, Inc.

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Campo dei Miracoli; # 050 560 547; www.torre.duomo.pisa.it

Type of attraction Icon of Pisa. Admission ¿15 at ticket office; ¿17 for online bookings. Hours Daily, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., guided tours every 40 minutes. When to go This site is always mobbed. Reservations Required. Special comments Local superstition has it that seeing the Leaning Tower before an exam will guarantee a bad grade. How much time to allow 30 minutes. Author's rating

Those outsiders, Glenny suggests, have been the source of much of the Balkans' misery. In only the last two centuries, the territory has been contested by the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires, the Third Reich, and the Allies, all of whom exploited and exacerbated existing ethnic conflict. (The Nazi occupiers of Croatia, he writes, even had to rein in the fascist Ustase militia for fear that their campaign against Serbs and Muslims would only strengthen resistance to their puppet government.) And, he continues, attempts to quell the recent conflict in Bosnia have created problems of their own. He argues that war will break out anew the moment international troops are withdrawn and that the Dayton Agreement is too "full of anomalies and frictions" to stand. The intervention in Kosovo has been no better, he adds, and the Allies' misguided efforts are sure to yield only further bloodshed if the only objective is to remove Slobodan Milosevic from power. "Should the West fail to address the effects, not merely of a three-month air war in 1999, but of 120 years of miscalculation and indifference since the Congress of Berlin, then there will be little to distinguish NATO's actions from any of its great-power predecessors," Glenny concludes.

Glenny's provocative book sheds much light on recent Balkan history--and on the region's likely future. --Gregory McNamee --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Combining a thoughtful approach with an elegant style, Glenny (The Fall of Yugoslavia) has built a reputation as one of the leading journalists covering the Balkans. This latest book grew out of the author's realization that he needed to better understand Balkan history in order to make sound judgments on current events and to escape what he claims is a pervasive mythologizing of the region by Westerners. He argues that we need to bury the idea that the Balkan peoples are locked into a politics characterized by blood and revenge. Rather than look to the "ancient hatreds" so often cited by many Western journalists, Glenny frames his survey within the context of the Great Powers' mischievous and often destructive role in shaping Balkan affairs during the past two centuries. Both the time frame and the subject make for a gripping and accessible narrative, suitable for the interested general reader or student, but at the significant cost of ignoring other crucial background to the present crises. Economic history, geography, demographics--all important factors in Balkan developments--receive little attention. Premodern history, so crucial to an understanding of the modern era, is shortchanged. But, after all, the Balkans are a thankless subject for the observer--chaotic, complex, contradictory, even undefinable. Despite its shortcomings, Glenny's study offers a timely comment on Western intervention in Balkan affairs. In the wake of NATO's bombing in Serbia, he reminds us of the often disastrous effects of international intervention, and he warns that once intervention has taken place, the intervening forces must finish the job by securing peace and stability on the ground. Maps. history Book Club selection; 4-city author tour. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.