Amazon.com
From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare now sweeping 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.
This enthralling and often chilling political travelogue fully deciphers the Balkans' ancient passions and intractable hatreds for outsiders. For as Kaplan travels among the vibrantly-adorned churches and soul-destroying slums of the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece, he allows us to see the region's history as a time warp in which Slobodan Milosevic becomes the reincarnation of a fourteenth-century Serbian martyr; Nicolae Ceaucescu is called "Drac," or "the Devil"; and the one-time Soviet Union turns out to be a continuation of the Ottoman Empire.
From Publishers Weekly
Journalist Kaplan's vivid, impressionistic travelogue illuminates the Balkan nations' ethnic clashes and near-anarchic politics. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Though travelogs from the world's troubled spots are now legion, seldom if ever do they possess the historical insight and literary style of 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. Focusing on the former Yugoslavia and on Rumania, Bulgaria, and Greece, Kaplan takes the reader on a marvelous tour through the peninsula, using as his own guides the writings of John Reed, C.L. Sulzberger, and Rebecca West. In each nation he encounters characters who are both fascinating and frightening and accompanies each adventure with a concise and powerful historical sketch that makes for a superior narrative. Thoroughly captivating, the sections on Serbia, Rumania, and Greece are of special interest, particularly in light of recent developments in the region. Kaplan is a master of this genre, having written extensively for several major magazines as well as producing the acclaimed Soldiers of God: With the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan ( LJ 12/89). A fine work recommended by all interested in the development of nationalism in the Balkans.- Joseph W. Constance Jr., St. Anselm Coll. Lib., Manchester, N.H.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New Yorker
Combines up-to-the-minute political reporting and literary travel writing...[Kaplan's prose] is vivid, controlled, and sensitive.
From Kirkus Reviews
Timely and vivid view of the Balkans, by Kaplan (Soldiers of God, 1989). Kaplan lived in Athens for seven years and has traveled frequently in Croatia, Bosnia, Albania, Moldavia, and Bulgaria. Although he's most familiar with Romania and Greece, he provides deep and literate insight into events throughout the region. Moreover, he's read a good deal of what historians, writers, and journalists of previous eras have written, and he uses to good effect the observations of travelers like Rebecca West, John Reed, Lawrence Durrell, and Oliver Manning. Kaplan's text--part history, part travelogue, part political analysis--conveys both his insights and theirs with a useful sense of the history of the area: of the influence of Turkey, which, West observed, had ``ruined the Balkans, with a ruin so great that it has not yet been repaired''; of the deep ethnic and religious rifts that prevail in lands like Bosnia, ``rural, isolated, and full of suspicions and hatreds to a degree that the sophisticated Croats of Zagreb could barely imagine''; of the conflicting dreams of lost imperial glory, with each nation demanding that its borders revert to where they were ``at the exact time when its own empire had reached its zenith''; and of the pattern of Romanian history, ``long periods of docility interrupted by brief but spectacular eruptions of violence.'' This violence was mirrored in Yugoslavia, which, Kaplan notes, ``did not deteriorate suddenly, but...step by step, throughout the 1980s.'' The author's descriptions of Greek politics are equally astute, as is his discussion of the implications of the exodus of ethnic Germans throughout the area back to Germany. Meanwhile, over the whole of the Balkans broods the ghost of Communism, which will ``exit the world stage revealed for what it truly was: fascism, without fascism's ability to make the trains run on time.'' A memorable portrait of an increasingly important region. (Photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Book Description
From the assassination that set off World War I to the ethnic warfare sweeping Bosnia and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the 20th century--the place where terrorism and genocide were first practiced as tools of policy. This enthralling political travelogue helps us understand that region's anguish. 16 pages of photos.
From the Publisher
"Powerfully argued...the most insightful and timely work on the Balkans to date."--The Boston Globe "A road-map through the centuries-old ethnic hatreds and anti-Semitism that continue to erupt in Eastern Europe."--Abraham H. Foxman "With remarkable clarity...Mr. Kaplan succeeds in presenting the everyday experience of different Balkan communities in a vivid and significant way. Balkan Ghosts offers the complexity, brutality, and beauty in traveling in both the past and present."--Seattle Times
From the Publisher
"Powerfully argued...the most insightful and timely work on the Balkans to date."--The Boston Globe
"A road-map through the centuries-old ethnic hatreds and anti-Semitism that continue to erupt in Eastern Europe."--Abraham H. Foxman
"With remarkable clarity...Mr. Kaplan succeeds in presenting the everyday experience of different Balkan communities in a vivid and significant way. Balkan Ghosts offers the complexity, brutality, and beauty in traveling in both the past and present."--Seattle Times
From the Inside Flap
From the assassination that set off World War I to the ethnic warfare sweeping Bosnia and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the 20th century--the place where terrorism and genocide were first practiced as tools of policy. This enthralling political travelogue helps us understand that region's anguish. 16 pages of photos.
About the Author
Robert D. Kaplan is a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and the bestselling author of eight previous books on foreign affairs and travel, including Balkan Ghosts, The Ends of the Earth, The Coming Anarchy, and Eastward to Tartary. He is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington. He lives with his wife and son in western Massachusetts.
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