Untangling Bosnia and Hercegovina: A Search for Understanding

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended, insightful, informative reading.
Review: Based upon Gale Kirking's extensive travels and conversations with Serbs, Croats, and Muslims, Untangling Bosnia And Hercegovina: A Search For Understanding is an up-to-date, "reader friendly" survey of the civil war between the Serbians and the Moslems in Bosnia that lead to United Nations, NATO, and American interventions. This 400 page historical and political compendium is enhanced with maps, a bibliography, glossary, and index. Untangling Bosnia And Hercegovina provides both the historical background and contemporary context to achieve an accurate and insightful understanding of the root causes and consequences of this bloody European conflict marked by ancient hatreds and modern politics, ethnic cleansing and religious warfare, shattered economies and blighted landscapes. Untangling Bosnia And Hercegovina is highly recommended reading for students of international studies, political science, 20th century European history, those with friends or family affected by this modern tragedy, and anyone seeking a proper understanding of the conflict and what to expect next.

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Travel Book
Review: I recently visited Bosnia and I couldn't find any travel books, so I bought this instead. Even though it's not intended as such, it served quite well, at least in terms of giving a history of the situation, and describing the various places.

It's now a few years old, and it could use some updating as the situation has now changed. But in general, a very good read.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling and highly readable
Review: I recommend this book to anyone seeking to understand this very complex and beautiful region of the world.

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Summary: An amazing snapshot!
Review: This is a very special book. It offers a unique snapshot of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of the nineties, at the end of the most difficult decade and at the same time at the beginning of a very long (as Gale Kirking says, maybe even not yet found) road to democracy.

The book is not written for an average reader. In fact, I believe that an average reader would not even finnish it. But it brings a great value to everyone interested in the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the whole region or in the events at the end of the last century. The book is very descriptive and documentary. It has a great historical value. Never more will Bosnia look the same again as pictured in this book. Things are moving very fast in that part of Europe. But if anyone wants to know, what it looked like in 1998 and 1999, it is in Gale's book.

I had the pleasure to work with Gale for several years and I always admired his writting skills. And again, in Untangling Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gale's ability to picture places, people and events is amazing.

Rating:
Summary: a great read
Review: Untangling... is a great read--incredibly succint and informative first section putting Balkan geographics, politics, historical,religious, and ethnonational concepts into perpective for an average american guy like me, larger main portion a real fascinating page turner by a great American writer with a hell of a lot of guts for a solo, freelance journalist traveling all around Bosnia and Hercegovina during these tumultuous times! chilling. talk about timely expose' ! this guy was still over there just as the bombs were about to fly in the Serbian/kosovo conflagration. highly recommended.