The Balkans

October 30, 2000
The Balkan wars of the 1990sDwhich Mazower persuasively calls a civil warDreinforced the meaning of the word "Balkan": the meaning that has little to do with geography or even ideology, yet everything with a violent way of life. The main challenge of this work is to denounce this one-dimensional Western stereotype and to approach the crisis of the Balkan lands "without seeing them refracted through the prism of `the Balkans.'" Mazower, professor of history at Princeton and author of Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century, has written a concise history of Europe's troubled southeastern corner that is both sympathetic to the region's never-ending struggle for identity and freedom from invaders and critical of its inhabitants' recurring failure to reconcile the religious and cultural differences imposed on them by the powers of the West and the East. But it is always the West that has written off the violence in the Balkans as primitive, argues Mazower. He realistically concludes that it is the nature of civil war rather than the Balkan mentality that is responsible for the recent violence. While this is not an innovative argument, it is surely a compelling and a significant one as it prudently clarifies how the Balkans got to this place, and then optimistically recognizes the promise of the region's much-needed economic and cultural renaissance. Mazower's tone is that of an aloof but skilled academic who often abandons chronological order and rushes through decades and centuries of a complex history in order to get to his point. This strategy will make it difficult for the less informedDa natural audience for such an introductionDto follow the argument, but those who are at least moderately familiar with the Balkans' past will value his thought-provoking implications. Containing as much opinion as fact, this is a highly suggestive analysis of an inexhaustible subject. Maps.

November 15, 2000
The Balkans region is so well known for its ethnic conflicts that it has lent its name to generic definition of divisiveness. Mazower, a history professor, offers a primer on understanding the long and complicated conflict in the region where East meets West. Mazower traces the Asian cultural overtones that persist to this day to fourteenth century Ottoman influence. Because of its blended religions--both Christian and Muslim--and the fact that it has occupied an intermediate cultural zone between Europe and Asia, this area and its people have been viewed by the West with suspicion. But the apparent ethnic fragmentation is both complicated and deceptive, concealing unity of religious consciousness between ethnic groups. Mazower explores the forces of World War II and its aftermath that led to the temporary suppression of nationalist sentiment by creating two camps--the Communists versus the free world. But the end of cold war has reinvigorated the divisions for which the region is now famous.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

May 1, 2001
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 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 15, 2000
Mazower (history, Princeton) starts this fine, exceptionally concise history by reminding us that the term Balkans was not in common currency before the first decade of the 20th century. Even then, the region was associated with "violence, primitivism, and savagery." Because the author skillfully uses accounts of travelers and officials from outside the area, their perceptions lend a sense of coherence to a more complex reality and clarify the common consequences of Ottoman rule--the absence of a developed sense of nationality among a predominant peasant class, the persistent problem of physical security, and the "protracted and experimental" experience of nation building. This legacy would leave an unstable mix of local aspirations and external rivalry. Ottoman collapse was hastened by efforts to modernize the empire, alienating even the "traditionally loyal" Albanians. Turkish expulsion and local nationalism in turn strained the Austro-Russian entente and made the Great War so much more likely. Ultimately it was pursuit of a "modernizing" nation state rather than any blatant racism that would embitter relations; Tito's federal Yugoslavia with its overdrawn distinction among "nations" and "nationalities" was the exception proving the rule's tragic appeal. Mazower's concluding reflections on political violence complement a fine grasp of the region. Highly recommended.--Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ. Lib., Erie

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.