Rating: 
Summary: I only wish Pres Clinton had read this book.
Review: This is perhaps one of the most amazing and persuassive exercise of the power of empathy, of how a person can absorb and relay not only the facts, but the nuances which West observed such that the reader has empathy for all "tribes" in the Balkans. I do wish our President had read this book.This book is crucial reading now, much more than just art, for those whose actions will impact millionsin the weeks ahead. For those people, not to read this book would be just short of a criminal, as history, especially in the Balkans, repeats itself over and over and over and over.
Rating: 
Summary: Unfashionably blunt
Review: Today's reviewers skewer West because she had a Serbian guide, because she was a tourist, ad nauseum. The real reason they hate her is because West says things that grate on the average multiculturalist. West's unpleasant-yet-true observations include:
The Germans hate the Slavs.
The Turks ruined the Balkans.
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was a parasite whose death is reason enough to celebrate what Princep did.
West's observations throw light on the current hateful sham of the Ramboullet ultimatum that insured that American bombs would fall on the Balkans. It also explains why a bunch of thugs like the KLA would get such deep support from Germany. I thank Ms. West for her blunt words. The current fad of pretending that real ethnic differences do not exist will pass. And the carping about the shortcomings of "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon" will pass as well.
Rating:
Summary: Proustian length, unparalleled depth
Review: West probes well the issues of "the Balkans". Her reader is treated to an engaging and intriguing look at ethnic strife, at conflicting cultural histories, at myths elevated to the status of religious significance. Her prose is something to be savoured, to be enjoyed. While it did take me in excess of a month to plow through her immense work (in excess of 1100 pages) and to feel as though I was coming remotely close to doing it justice, it was time well-worth it. The issues that she ultimately addresses are not confined to history---they linger with us today; nor are they simply questions to aid us in understanding polito-cultural behaviour in the Balkans...they are universal, timeless issues. I have no qualms in believing Rebecca West to be one of the giants of 20th century literature...this is an exquisite work, well worth the time and energy to consume.
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