Balkan Ghosts
Books | Travel / Essays & Travelogues
4
Robert D. Kaplan
A new edition of the classic travelogue exploring the Balkan Peninsula’s political, social, religious, and economic past.From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the twentieth century, the place where terrorism and genocide first became tools of policy. Chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, and greeted with critical acclaim as “the most insightful and timely work on the Balkans to date” (Boston Globe), Kaplan’s prescient, enthralling, and often chilling political travelogue is already a modern classic.This new edition of Balkan Ghosts includes six opinion pieces written by Robert Kaplan about the Balkans between 1996 and 2000, beginning just after the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords and ending after the conclusion of the Kosovo war, with the removal of Slobodan Milosevic from power.Praise for Balkan Ghosts“The product of over a decade of travel and research, this is one of precious few works that allows a Western reader a look into the tortured soul of the Balkan peoples. . . . A superior narrative. . . . Kaplan is a master of this genre.” —Library Journal“A memorable portrait of an increasingly important region.” —Kirkus Review
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More Details:
Author
Robert D. Kaplan
Pages
432
Publisher
Macmillan + ORM
Published Date
2014-04-01
ISBN
1466868309 9781466868304
Community ReviewsSee all
"Kaplin takes you along to each place he visits. This book put him on the map … and gave him some regrets, not about his writing, rather about the unexpected impact of this work."
John Jeffrey Lundell
"This book was disappointing. Given from my aunt to my grandparents, I was excited to learn more about family history from Yugoslavia. The best aspect of this book was its historical content — I did learn some history. However, the book depicts a helpless, doom and gloom region.<br/><br/>I do not believe the author depicts the truth, in whole or part, about the Balkans. The over the top cynicism and rampant anti-communism are two reasons as to why. The author admits to having the "cynical thought-mode of a journalist" on page 186. The book's main theme is really anti-communism: "Anticommunism knows 'communism' only to destroy it. [Therefore,] down with communism = up with capitalism" and with it freedom and democracy (encyclopedia of American Leftism). There was no real way to view socialist countries in an intellectual, nuanced, and human way. I was confused as to why the author wrote the way he did until he defended Reagan (pp. 199-200). <br/><br/>In all, this book helps give a simple overview of the major historical figures in Balkan states but it is lacking in general."
Justin Hoehing