After the Fall: Srebrenica Survivors in St. Louis

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding photodocumentary
Review: After The Fall: Srebrenica Survivors In St. Louis is an outstanding photodocumentary that combines the informative text of Patrick McCarthy with the impressive documentary photography of Tom Maday to present the genocidal tragedy of the Bosnia-Herzegovina city of Srebrenica and its effects on the lives of one extended family in St. Louis, Missouri. In July 1995, more than 7,500 Bosnians from the city of Srebrenica were massacred by troops of the Bosnian Serb Army. Another 30,000 women and children were forcibly removed from their homes in this United Nations-declared "safe area". The siege of Srebrenica represented the greatest atrocity witnessed in Europe since the days of the Nazi holocaust, yet it was only one episode in a larger war of extermination against the citizens of Bosnia-Herzegovina during the 1990s. Some 20,000 Bosnian refugees (approximately 500 of them survivors of Srebrenica) came to settle in St. Louis. After The Fall is a superbly presented, highly recommended memorial, testament, and account of this horrific tragedy that these St. Louis based refugees must come to grips with as represented in the lives, statements, and images of one such extended family.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: By way of introduction, I would like to say that this is an extraordinarily well-written book that divulges the gruesome atrocities that took place in my hometown. Srebrenica, a so called UN "SAFE AREA", was under the constant attack of the Serbian army, during the Bosnian war. UN's primary task was to protect civilians from Serbian soldiers but they failed. Innocent Bosnian civilians were betrayed by the International community and left for dead. UN officials and others in charge appeared to be indifferent to the immense suffering of the Bosnian people. As is well-known, one of the worst massacres after the World War 2 took place in Srebrenica. In my view, the international community must be held accountable for these heinous deeds. UN's indifference and passivity cost at least 10.000 innocent lives! This is extremely unjust and it makes me enraged and bewildered! This is truly a splendid book that I highly recommend to all people who want to gain an insight into horrendous plights of Bosnian people!

Rating:
Summary: An Incomplete Picture
Review: By way of introduction, I would like to say that this is an extraordinarily well-written book that divulges the gruesome atrocities that took place in my hometown. Srebrenica, a so called UN "SAFE AREA", was under the constant attack of the Serbian army, during the Bosnian war. UN's primary task was to protect civilians from Serbian soldiers but they failed. Innocent Bosnian civilians were betrayed by the International community and left for dead. UN officials and others in charge appeared to be indifferent to the immense suffering of the Bosnian people. As is well-known, one of the worst massacres after the World War 2 took place in Srebrenica. In my view, the international community must be held accountable for these heinous deeds. UN's indifference and passivity cost at least 10.000 innocent lives! This is extremely unjust and it makes me enraged and bewildered! This is truly a splendid book that I highly recommend to all people who want to gain an insight into horrendous plights of Bosnian people!

Rating:
Summary: Interesting fact.
Review: I agree with the other reviewers that this is powerful and important book. I recently had a chance to hear Patrick McCarthy speak and found out that all of the proceeds from this book will go to the Oric family. A worthwhile purchase.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting fact.
Review: I agree with the other reviewers that this is powerful and important book. I recently had a chance to hear Patrick McCarthy speak and found out that all of the proceeds from this book will go to the Oric family. A worthwhile purchase.

Rating:
Summary: An Incomplete Picture
Review: This is a powerful and moving portrait of the brutality of war and of the victimization of the Bosnian Muslims who were far less nationalistic than either the Bosnian Croats or the Bosnian Serbs. What is missing is an homest account of the exploits of Nasir Oric who was the leader of the Muslim forces in Srebrenica when it was a "safe area" before August 1995. In a two year period before the Serbs committed their horrible atrocity, Muslim forces under U.N. cover launched many attacks against Serbian civilians in the villages surrounding Srebrenica. Oric and his forces, and with help from Mujahedeen volunteers and the early version of Al Queda, sometimes killed their hapless Serbian victims in ritual Islamic beheadings. Oric often videotaped these events and showed them in Srebrenica bars as entertainment. The crimes of the Serbs can never be relativized but a more complete picture of events is needed if the cycle of violence is to end. Nasir Oric is now at the Hague and only since his arrest have the Serbs started to come to terms and admit their criminal acts in Srebrenica. Despite its powerful message, this book unfortunately glosses over the role of Oric and his followers in their killing of over 2,000 Bosnian Serbs. But still, if anyone should read this book it should be Serbians who still might cling to the blind notion that Srebrenica was a creation of Muslim propaganda. The testimony of the survivors is a wake up call to those who think that the politics of obsessive ethnic identification can be pursued without dire consequences.

Rating:
Summary: Reminder of Bosnian Holocaust
Review: `After the Fall', becomes a reminder for the rest of the world of the Srebrenica massacre and ethnic cleansing. The Bosnian Holocaust, one of the most barbarous examples of genocide in Europe since the end of World War II, will never be forgotten. This is an extraordinary documentary work that will keep its significance for years to come. Nothing more to say but THANK YOU PATRICK MCCARTHY for the wonderful book.