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Summary: About more than Bosnia
Comment: This book addresses a number of issues. It, of course, deals with the history of Bosnia and Hercegovina up to 1995, covering both the tragic conflict of the 1990s and the background to it. It does so in a way that leaves the reader certain of one thing above all: that nothing is a simple and clear cut as the propagandists on all sides would have one believe.
However, the book is also interesting in the way it touches on and illuminates other issues: the long struggle between the Ottoman and Hapsburg empires, the schism between the Catholic and Orthodox branches of Christianity and the myth of the ethnic purity of nations.
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Summary: A good general history about Bosnia but by no means perfect
Comment: 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.
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Summary: Please read before visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina
Comment: I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who comes to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, and especially to those non-Bosnians who come to work here. An essential read for anyone interested in this beautiful country.
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Summary: An excellent book
Comment: I am a Bosnian; I was 15 years old when I was forced to leave my home in Bosnia together with my family, while my father and my grandfather were brutally executed. I must admit that I did not know much about Bosnia as everything was done in (former Yugoslavia) to make us feel Yugoslavian (Serbian). Apart from the obvious I knew very little about Bosnia and Herzegovina, I knew that Bosnia is an independent country (at least on paper) and that Serbs together with politicians from England, France and other countries such us President Miteran, Lord Owen, Butros Butros Gali, Yasushi Akashi , everything was being done to biologically wipe out the whole of the Bosnian nation, history, heritage, and culture. Although this made me feel like the smallest and weakest person on this planet I was still patriotic and I secretly knew that Bosnia not only had the above mentioned elements, but had a richer culture, bigger and more valuable heritage, as well as a very long and rich history. The problem was that though I believed in all this, I had no way of proving this to me. Then Noel Malcolm's book came along. Not only did it make me more confident, it actually changed my life. All the things that I secretly knew where true about Bosnia, were confirmed in his book. All the above listed politicians, all their efforts to persuade the world that Bosnia is and never was nothing are nothing compared to his very intelligent research, arguments and proof. The book is written in such an elegant and yet attractive manner, it is a pure joy to read. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in finding out the truth about Bosnia and Bosnian people.
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Summary: Essential reading from �Books on Bosnia�
Comment: Covers the whole history of Bosnia, from the end of the Roman Empire to the Dayton Accords, in a single accessible volume; equally suited to the general reader or to the expert, it draws on a wide range of primary and secondary sources in all the relevant languages. (This short review is from "Book on Bosnia" published by The Bosnian Institute)
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