Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History

Rating:
Summary: Provocative, Controversial - Sobering Balkan Travels
Review: During the 1990s the Balkans again were center stage. We learned about Slobodan Milosevic, the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, Croatia's unsavory past with the Ustashe, Radovan Karadzic, besieged Sarajevo, the Dayton Accords, and a host of other bewildering events, personalities, and locations.

Why did the Balkans explode again? Balkan Ghosts, A Journey Through History (1993) offers a sensitive and sympathetic, but nonetheless chilling look at Balkan history. Despite the recent collapse of the Soviet Union, the Balkans, a geographically complex mix of religious and ethnic groups, were still largely quiet in 1993 when Kaplan published his unsettling prognosis.

Kaplan has been widely acclaimed for this portrayal of the modern Balkans and he is recognized for his influence on American foreign policy. His writing is superb, possibly giving an undue weight and significance to Kaplan's historical and political analysis.

But, others argue that Kaplan - with his inherent Western bias - cannot understand and appreciate the Balkans. Others blame the rivalry of great powers - the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Hitler's Germany, Czarist Russia, the Soviet empire, and American imperialism. Leave us alone and we will resolve our issues ourselves.

Having read Balkan Ghosts, I am not surprised by these disparate reviews. Seemingly everyone views the Balkans through flawed lenses, all distorted by a long history of religious and ethnic warfare, acts of great cruelty, shifting alliances and borders, and continual oppression. Reading Balkan Ghosts, I wondered whether the tenacious grip of history will ever be broken.

Kaplan is certainly provocative. He argues that the Balkans are only comprehensible in terms of the past. Everyone everywhere thrusts maps forward, depicting larger boundaries, reflecting past glories. For each ethnic group, history begins at the zenith of past glories, the maximum territorial extent.

He claims that modern terrorism began in the Balkans. Radical clergy has its birthplace here also. Classical Greece so prevalent in Western thought is mythology; it ceased to exist during the past 1500 years. Greece today is as much a part of the Balkans as is Bulgaria and Romania.

As we travel with Kaplan across Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece, he looks for meaningful patterns underlying the complex mosaic of historical forces. He incorporates intriguing analysis and comments of earlier travelers, notably from Dame Rebecca West's travels immediately before WWI, from Walter Starkie's travels with Gypsies through Hungary and Romania in 1929, and from commentary by various journalists spanning the last century.

I was captivated by Balkan Ghosts and it is hard imagine a more riveting introduction to the Balkans. I am compelled to read more and I hope to become familiar with writings by Balkan authors. I highly recommend Robert Kaplan's remarkable work.

Rating:
Summary: worth reading, if not the ultimate authority
Review: Geez, many of the other reviewers are awfully harsh and inaacurate. It simply isn't fair to say Kaplan presents presents the various Balkan ethnicities in a simple way; he doesn't just say the Romanians are tyrants, for example. No one could read the book fairly and say Kaplan makes such sweeping characterizations. But leave that aside. What is really striking in the reviews is how few people have anything to say about the fate of the Jews in the Balkans. Some of what was done to them was as horrendous as anything done to anyone ever. Why no comments on those events, O People of the Balkans? Your silence is not becoming.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, much-maligned, and prophetic book.
Review: I read "Balkan Ghosts" at least four or five years ago, so many of the details are vague in my mind. But the book greatly impressed me. It was not only prophetic of the Balkan wars of the 1990s, but it has more than a little applicability to the current War on Terror.

Quite a few negative reviews I see here were written by natives of the Balkans who think their homelands have been slandered. I note with amusement the American reviewer who pegs them correctly as "tribal" (especially Serbian) types utterly convinced that *they* are the "true" victims of history, profoundly bewildered how any outsider could sympathize at all with their enemies. (Of course, this attitude isn't limited to that part of the world, or even to the poorer parts of the world; Germany has recently been making noises about how it was the "real" victim of WWII.)

Then we have the usual suspects: the politically correct types who decry Kaplan's "racism" or "Eurocentrism" or whatnot, and blame the East's troubles on "colonialism," "imperialism," etc...never on Communism, or local tyrants, or the peasantries only too happy to slaughter Jews and Gypsies. Because, of course, all cultures are equal, and $DEITY forbid anybody pronounce one culture superior to any other!

Inevitably, one such reviewer trots out the old line about how "in 800 A.D., for instance, the Byzantines and Arabs and Chinese were producing great works in art, architecture, and astronomy, while the Europeans were wallowing in feudal primitivism." Well, that's nice, but it's currently 2003 C.E. What have they done lately? We've been hearing that argument about the Islamofascists ad nauseum since September 11th, 2001, and I'm tired of it. What they've done lately is cut out the clitorides of young girls, stone adulteresses, force women into identity-obliterating garments, declare fatwas on "heretics," reprint Nazi literature, blow themselves up in pizzerias full of teenagers, and fly airplanes into skyscrapers.

While one Balkan titled his review, "This book is no longer accurate," I think it's actually become a hell of a lot more relevant to world politics since 9/11. What's past is always prologue, as our 21st-century enemies with their seventh-century mindsets dismayingly prove.

Back in "sophisticated" Europe, the age-old hobby of antisemitic violence has been re-discovered with a passion. While this has been most in evidence in the West (for example, the thugs who seized a young Jewish woman in Paris and carved a Star of David into the flesh of her wrist), I didn't miss this comment from a Romanian reviewer: "[Kaplan's] book is biased because he is Jewish, so he portrays the Jews as great saints while the Romanians are tyrants and unworthy of anyone's attention." The implication, of course, is that Jews victimized Romanians as much as vice versa. Would someone please send me a link to a story in which Jews dragged Romanians to slaughterhouses and strong-armed them onto conveyor belts that ended in sharp blades?

Kaplan may indeed be biased, and I'm giving the book four stars on the presumption that the reviewers pointing out simple factual errors, such as those of spelling and etymology, are correct. But other writers validate much of what Kaplan writes -- such as Andrei Codrescu, of that oh-so-right-wing media outlet NPR, who is a Romanian Jew. There's also a highly engaging P.J. O'Rourke article on Albania in which the tribalism comes off even worse than it does in Kaplan's book.

Rating:
Summary: This book is not valid anylonger
Review: In the very first pages you'll find out that sadly this Kaplan man was very influenced by the serbs when he wrote this book. If this Kaplan pseudo-historian only knew how things will evolve in Balkans he would probably be more focused on truth then to the serb myths. And one of the main reasons why one should not waste time on this book is : This so-called writer Kaplan writes a book about Balkan's history without once mentioning the Illyrians
who were the first people in the Balkans. How stupid, and I bet even this serb influenced Kaplan realises that, after all what happened to the Balkan states like Croatia,Bosnia and Kosova.
My advice to future historians would be : Stick with the truth if your goal is to be a published writer because if you don't and you get published you'll remain stupid forever. I mean books survive somehow and eventually they get read by someone even after thousands of years.

Rating:
Summary: Trying to be Prophetic, Kaplan is just PATHETIC
Review: Kaplan believes the Serbs are the indigenous people of the region, this belief is evident through-out the book. He literally says they were the most cultured people in Europe since the Middle Ages, he says "when the Austrian King's were still signing their names with a thumb print, the Serb monarchy was writing poetry". Keep in mind Kaplan wrote this book about the same time the Dayton Accords were being signed, so he was trying to be clairvoyant in his writings, trying to predict what will happen next in the Balkans before it actually happened. He really shot himself in the foot, and made himself look like a real idiot here. The Serbs continued to murder newborns, rape and kill women, and children, chase people out of heir homes. All in their quest for a Greater Serbian State encompassing the Balkans as a whole. Good job calling that one Kaplan, you idiot. I remember in one paragraph he describes a village in Kosova as a Serbian enclave. What a shmuck you must be, there are no Serbian enclaves in Kosova, there never were there was only forced segregation and discrimination against the Albanian in Kosova. Didn't you notice the scared women and children in the streets? How do you explain a minority (Serbs) in Kosova controlling all the political, military, and public safety posts of the area? I cant believe how stupid you must be. Kaplan actually says in the prologue "I heard Clinton read this book before negotiating the Dayton accord." Give me a break, the book is a documentary of how a naive American perceived the Balkan situation from a hotel room, while getting drunk with nationalist maniacs, and Serb prostitutes. Kaplan, give up your clairvoyant quest, and stick to writing Travel books.

Rating:
Summary: A good flavor, but don't make it the whole meal.
Review: Ok, here's how I came across this book. I'm a student of Christian history and during some free time I became interested in learning more about the cultural and political histories of the nations which largely embraced Eastern Orthodox Christianity. So, I went to Amazon and browsed through some books and eventually I decided on this one. Well, I wasn't disappointed.
Keep in mind that Kaplan is technically a travel writer, and it shows. This book is about one man's travel experiences. Yes, it also weaves in a good bit of historical information and cultural observations, but it does not pretend to be unbiased history. I guess I personally was looking for a more scholarly work with more hard facts, systematically laid out. This isn't it, BUT it does give you a lot of good information and a broad overview of the region while keeping things light. This is a quick, enjoyable read, and a good INTRODUCTION to the topic. Don't do what I did, though, and expect to get it all here. Read this, but keep reading.

Rating:
Summary: A look on our history through the eyes of a third party
Review: On an opening text for the greek version , Kaplan notices that Greece has changed a lot since the 80's and for that reason , this book should be read as a study on the country's past not present . The greek reader instantly starts to feel a little bit ichy ... " What horrible things could this man have written about us ? " he wonders . No need to worry really . Kaplan's look on greek recent history is sharp and interesting . He does not hesitate to point out the huge influence the extreme political persona of Andreas Papadreou had on a big part of the greek people . Even today , his party never dares to judge honestly his choices and possible mistakes and keeps referring to him as some kind of Messiah of the greek political history .

Besides Greece though , Balkan Ghosts focuses on almost all Balkan nations except Slovenia and Turkey . Kaplan examines the region's recent past and presents a potrait of the psychology and the way of thinking of the people living here . You'll probably find his conclusions and notices annoying if you are greek , bulgarian , croatian , romanian and oh my God , especially if you are turkish . Indeed , he does tell you his opinion right to your face ... His writing style is rich and gripping . Despite his virtues as a writter though , his offering is uneven . Some parts of the book , especially the chapters on Romania , although sporadically witty , are simply too confusing to follow . Maybe it's the area's history which is so complicated ... or maybe Kaplan just didn't manage to control his huge amount of information .

Furthermore , what will a reader who has nothing to do with the Balkans receive ? Will he understand the region's unhealed wounds or will he consider the people of the Balkans merciless maniacs who just don't know how to forget and move forward ?

If you are a citizen of a Balkan country , reading Balkan Ghosts is like looking yourself in the mirrow and trying to face your past actions and mistakes . In a way , it's like experiencing a teenager's eternal insecurity too ... " what is true ? What i think i'm like or what the others think i am like ? " . Kaplan has lived and travelled all over the Balkans for many years . He has no reason not to be objective and nowone claims that he isn't . The question is does he have what it takes to deeply understand the Balkans ? Does he have what it takes judge them ?

Rating:
Summary: worth reading, if not the ultimate authority
Review: Since Balkan Ghosts appeared in 1993, a tremendous body of literature about the Balkans and particularly the Balkan wars of the 90s has appeared. Robert Kaplan's jaunt through the deep, dark Balkans seems sorely old and plain bleak.

Supposedly this was the book Bill Clinton read that convinced him the problems of the Balkans were beyond control since it was all about ancient hatred, etc, etc. a popular conception during the media-heavy Bosnian war.

Balkan Ghosts is...depressing. There are some truly depressing chapters, in particular the parts about Romania and the legacy of Ceaucescu's madness, as well as the bits on Kosovo and its Alabanians. I'm not sure what the purpose is through all of it. The essence that Kaplan seems to have about the Balkans is that its dark in every way, it's a world we can only watch but never learn. It's a bit offensive, is what the book is. There is a detached arrogance to the observations, but it's tinged with distain.

There are plenty of serious books on the history of the Balkans that focus on more than the rusted effects of Communism or the same old ancient hatred and distrust lores that continue to spin and spin as excuses.

Rating:
Summary: A simplistic and thus dangerous description of the Balkans
Review: There's a reason they say Kaplan's books rest on the bedside tables of Presidents...Kaplan, besides being a shrewd and intelligent analyst of human behavior, and having an immaculate eye for detail, is a skilled writer...It is in his books that you can read about history and politics and conflict as though it were an epic story, his words painting beautiful pictures in your head. But more importantly, Kaplan is able to convey a depth to the history and events that make up nations and cultures...reading Kaplan means you get to see beyond the facts and figures, dates and names, to the people, the emotions, and the actual factors that brought about the past and present, and will eventually bring about the future.

Rating:
Summary: Or, What I know of the Balkans from Hotel Lobbies
Review: This book, purporting to understand the Balkans as a "journey through history", is full of generalizations and misinformation. I think it's a lovely book if you're looking for that species of "current affairs" or "travelogue" that focuses more on the thrilling story at the expense of fact.

What one does with the following hyperbole, I leave to others who are more susceptible: "Nazism, for instance, can claim Balkan origins. Among the flophouses of Vienna, a breeding ground of ethnic resentments close to the southern Slavic world, Hitler learned how to hate so infectiously" (p.xxvii).

The book is an homage of some sort to (Dame) Rebecca West's, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon. This alone should indicate the tone of this highly stylized portrait cast in broad, impressionistic strokes of a region that, ultimately, does more to occlude understanding than shine any meaningful light.

If you're looking for an easily digestible book on the Balkans, look to Mark Mazower's, The Balkans: A Short History. Or at least read it as a corrective to Kaplan's thriller.

The back of my copy of Kaplan's book (Vintage Departures) describes the book as "History/Travel". Delete "History" and maybe I'd give it another star.