Average customer rating:
- An outstanding vision of the sad reality of this world.
- Amazingly tragic and beautifully awful
- A look at the true horrors of this world!
- Amazing!! Print Quality.
- Um relato dantesco e honesto da nossa época
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Inferno
James Nachtwey
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
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Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0714838152 |
Amazon.com
Though he is probably the world's most honored recent war photographer, James Nachtwey calls himself an "antiwar photographer," as the preeminent critic Luc Sante notes in his excellent foreword to Inferno, a landmark collection of 382 war-crime photos. Nachtwey has taken shrapnel and had his hair literally parted by a bullet, but he's never lost his compassionate outrage. The stunning images in this huge-format book--brutally abused Romanian orphans, Rwandan genocide victims, a rat-hunter family of Indian Untouchables barbecuing dinner, skeletal dehydration victims in Sudan, the miserable in Bosnia, Chechnya, Zaire, Somalia, and Kosovo--are excruciating to look at, yet impossible to tear your eyes away from. Nachtwey's art is meant to force us to face unbearable facts. Faces are the key: you can't gaze into the eyes of a Romanian toddler tied to a bed, or wired to a primitive "electromagnetic therapy" device, and not grasp the horror more fully than you would by watching a TV news item or reading a newspaper piece. (The book's text explains each photo's context.)
Inferno is also a masterpiece in strictly aesthetic terms. The power of Nachtwey's images transcends journalism. Bloody handprints on a living-room wall in Kosovo, the ghostly imprint of a Serb victim's vanished body on a floor, a Hutu with crazed eyes displaying the machete gashes he received for opposing the Tutsis' butchery, a howling orphan in a crib, one eye contracted in anger--these are compositions that depend, like Goya's, on the artist's skill as much as the subject's legitimate claim on our conscience.
Nachtwey's photographs make us capable of imagining that it could have happened to us. They are hard to forget, or forgive. --Tim Appelo
Book Description
Though he is probably the world's most honored recent war photographer, James Nachtwey calls himself an "antiwar photographer," as the preeminent critic Luc Sante notes in his excellent foreword to Inferno, a landmark collection of 382 war-crime photos. Nachtwey has taken shrapnel and had his hair literally parted by a bullet, but he's never lost his compassionate outrage. The stunning images in this huge-format book--brutally abused Romanian orphans, Rwandan genocide victims, a rat-hunter family of Indian Untouchables barbecuing dinner, skeletal dehydration victims in Sudan, the miserable in Bosnia, Chechnya, Zaire, Somalia, and Kosovo--are excruciating to look at, yet impossible to tear your eyes away from. Nachtwey's art is meant to force us to face unbearable facts. Faces are the key: you can't gaze into the eyes of a Romanian toddler tied to a bed, or wired to a primitive "electromagnetic therapy" device, and not grasp the horror more fully than you would by watching a TV news item or reading a newspaper piece. (The book's text explains each photo's context.)Inferno is also a masterpiece in strictly aesthetic terms. The power of Nachtwey's images transcends journalism. Bloody handprints on a living-room wall in Kosovo, the ghostly imprint of a Serb victim's vanished body on a floor, a Hutu with crazed eyes displaying the machete gashes he received for opposing the Tutsis' butchery, a howling orphan in a crib, one eye contracted in anger--these are compositions that depend, like Goya's, on the artist's skill as much as the subject's legitimate claim on our conscience. Nachtwey's photographs make us capable of imagining that it could have happened to us. They are hard to forget, or forgive. --Tim Appelo
Customer Reviews:
An outstanding vision of the sad reality of this world........2007-08-23
This book is not made to be placed in every hands. But everyone old enough to face the sad reality and the ugly side of the human kind should have a look at it.
Amazingly tragic and beautifully awful.......2007-08-19
I have owned this book for roughly four years now and somehow manage to revisit it at least twice a year. The images are hauntingly beautiful. Nachtwey has a real gift for photography, for capturing that perfect image, with the perfect contrast, stark, naked and vivid. I feel as if I have been not merely an onlooker of these devastatingly breathtaking images, but as though I have been there.
Inferno was the first exposure to Nachtwey I had had, and it certainly has not been the last. His work is amazing.
A look at the true horrors of this world!.......2007-08-03
Awesome, shocking, disturbing, eye opening, these just begin to describe the feelings and emotions of this book. The photographs of mans inhumanity to his fellow man go beyond those images we see on the nightly news. James Nachtwey shows us the world of war, famine and poverty. It is eye opening. For anyone who collects books of photography, this is a must, but, it is not a coffee table book. This is one that you keep in reserve for those days when you think your life if bad or tough. Take it down from the shelf, open it and realize just how hard it could be!.
Amazing!! Print Quality........2007-05-14
What can i say.
It's just wonderful print quality most of Photobook which i bouht.
and Large photo is good too.
Um relato dantesco e honesto da nossa época.......2007-05-11
Uma obra obrigatória para quem acompanha o melhor do fotojornalismo nos últimos 50 anos. Um relato duro, profundo e honesto dos horrores criados pelo homem: Romênia, Somália, Índia, Sudão, Bósnia, Ruanda, Zaire, Chechênia e Kosovo.
Ressalte-se a força extrema das composições de James Nachtwey, valorizadas pela encadernação primorosa em capa dura e pelas grandes ampliações em PB.
Um livro forte, mas profundamente necessário para quem quer reconhecer o lado menos poético do nosso tempo.
Book Description
When ZlataÂ's Diary was first published at the height of the Bosnian conflict, it became an international bestseller and was compared to The Diary of Anne Frank, both for the freshness of its voice and the grimness of the world it describes. It begins as the day-today record of the life of a typical eleven-year-old girl, preoccupied by piano lessons and birthday parties. But as war engulfs Sarajevo, Zlata Filipovi´c becomes a witness to food shortages and the deaths of friends and learns to wait out bombardments in a neighborÂ's cellar. Yet throughout she remains courageous and observant. The result is a book that has the power to move and instruct readers a world away.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book .......2007-05-25
Sheesh...this is the product of a child, not the work of a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. It is an excellent diary, an excellent primary source and an excellent text for a better understanding of the Yugoslav wars. Yes...it does only tell one point of view - hers - it is her diary! Some readers are offended because of the comparison to Anne Frank; a comparison that Filipovic and others make in the book. The comparison is totally fair. Both are intelligent children caught up in situations they have no control over during wars of ethnic cleansing and extermination. It is a testament to Zlata that she can make the connection to Anne Frank...obviously the rest of the world couldn't. They (We) abandoned the Jews sixty years ago and abandoned hundreds of thousands of Croats/Bosniaks/Serbs to genocide forty years later. Zlata remembered Anne Frank's words...the world didn't.
Good read.......2007-05-07
I remember reading this book as a child and picked it up again as an adult. It was a quick read, but really showed how a child deals with war. It made me think of how children in Iraq are feeling right now. Very interesting.
It's a diary, not a book........2007-05-04
To the reader who wrote comment "we all had our delusional moments when we were teenagers"...you should be ashamed of yourself. This "delusional moment" was war and struggle for survival in besieged city of Sarajevo.
Why don't you try and write a book, and/or diary, sitting in a basement without food, water and electricity for four years. All that while granates and bombs are raining on your city. In the meantime, one by one, all of your neighbors and friends are gone six feet under...
How about that for delusional moment...
Zlata's Diary.......2007-04-20
Zlata's Diary is about a young girl's diary named Mimi during the war in her town of Sarajeavo. She writes of the hardships of being a war child. She tells of the changes of her world during the war such as her parents may have grown older one year but looked ten years older. She is constantly hearing of people being shot and wounded. And how might I know this? She was asked if she had a diary. And guess what she did and it was sent to be published. I think this book was over all pretty well written. I would recomend this book to you if you liked the book The Diary Of Anne Frank. So to find out what happens pick up Zlata's Diary.
-Christine Lanier
Zlata's Review.......2007-04-18
Taylor (Lanier Middle School)
Zlata's Dairy is the real life issue of how an eleven year old girl struggles to stay alive during a civil war in Sarajevo, (1991-93) but more importantly trying to cope with the pain friends and family leaving to escape the war. During the whole process she decides to keep a diary which then later becomes published in the years 1992 and 1993.
This book tells a story of family, friendship, and most of all courage. Though a war might be going on, Zlata Filipovic still manages to go to school. Zlata lives in an average sized apartment with her mother and father.
The life lesson in this book is that no matter how hard things get you will always have your family there with you. And that thing's in life will get though, but eventually they will get better. Also never dwell on the bad things, but the good.
I personally do not like this book. The fact that this is a diary is one of the reasons I don't like this book, it skips around and does not tell you everything that happens.It also repeats everything, so all you are reading is what you read before.I would recamend this book to all, even though I did not like it, does'n mean you don't.
Amazon.com
Journalist David Rohde was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1996 for his reporting on the Bosnian city of Srebrenica. After the United Nations' "safe haven" fell, Rohde investigated reports of massacres, and was arrested by Bosnian Serbs while investigating mass graves near the town.
In End Game, Rohde tells the entire story of the fall of Srebrenica, in which 7,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed, making it the worst massacre in Europe since World War II. Rohde's reporting is prodigious, and as the narrative progresses the book picks up power as a series of events, presented in a matter-of-fact manner, come together and the reader sees how a village was obliterated, with many of its inhabitants killed and hidden in mass graves.
The book is disturbing, particularly because Rohde calmly shows how the horrors of Srebrenica could have been avoided. The conflict in Bosnia has perhaps been a puzzle to many, and this book will do much to give the horrors a human face.
Customer Reviews:
Anatony of a Massacre.......2005-09-20
This is an extraordinary book that describes the now forensically-proven slaughter in chilling detail and pulls no punches: indeed, while Rohde rightly places the blame for this massacre squarely on the shoulders of the Bosnian Serb leadership and their patrons in Serbia proper, the UN, US, and Europeans are also taken to task for their incompetence and negligence, as is the Bosnian Government.
A good read, although could be more complete.......2005-01-26
This is a well written book and with its hour by hour simultaneous documentary approach is rather like another book I have called "The Day Guernica Died" by different authors published 30 years ago. This one looks at the actions, or inactions, of those involved on the ground, and at the wider political picture including that of the pontification of UN and NATO leaders, who you feel after reading this may as well not been there at all. After reading it you get a good feel for what happened, except in a few places where the author admits he can't decide betweenn conflicting accounts, but are still left wondering about why it happened - what was the basis of the underlying ehtnic tensions that lead to the Muslims, Serbs and Croats having the attitudes to each other that they did? The whole war in former Yugoslavia seemed quite unbelievable to those of us who were well removed from the events, and probably even to those in some neighbouring countries. After all, it was (and still is) a lovely countryside full of historic pretty towns and villages and the people seemed unified under Tito who, although communist, wasn't under the Soviet yoke. In fact the people had a reputation for humor and fun - within a short space of time it all changed. We are told that in WWII the Croats generally aligned themselves with the Nazis while the Serbs generally fought against them, but not a whole lot more. (The author doesn't mention that the Muslims generally aligned themselves with the Nazis too and in fact formed an SS division: 13.Waffen-Gebirgs-Division der SS "Handschar") This background information is something you will need to look for elsewhere. A few photos in the book would have helped also.
One more thing.......2004-12-20
there is an interesting rebuttal of this propaganda piece which prompted the author of this book to personally respond. I found it particularly interesting as Mr Rohde reverted to personal attacks when his lies and manipulations were challenged. It's written by Jared Israel and it's located here http://www.tenc.net/articles/jared/fulltext.htm
One of my favorite books of all time. The untold story........2003-12-28
I watch TV news religiously, both network and cable, and I was unaware of the magnitude of war crimes taking place in the Serbo-Croation war, and of the U.N.'s dismal efforts to sustain peace and help those in danger of ethnic cleansing (read execution into pre-dug mass graves) and the ramifications of the U.S. under Clinton not fighting to save lives as Slobodan Milosevic and others carried on these atrocities.This book inspired me to sponsor a Muslim Bosnian woman through a support organization. You've heard of the Holocaust. Now you need to hear this story, too.
Excellent account of a terrible tragedy.......2003-08-21
Rhodes has put together a thorough examination of all sides involved in what can confidently be called one of the worst tragedies to befall the European continent since WWII. Rhodes provides remarkable insight from the Dutch, Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Muslim perspective.
The reader has to carefully weigh the accounts from each side, mainly based on the image each faction wants to portray, to include the Dutch peacekeepers and senior UN Military leadership at UNPROFOR headquarters.
Of note for military officers, this book offers a valuable case study for a very precarious leadership predicament--i.e. that of the Dutch peacekeepers and the senior military leadership in Sarajevo.
A depressing story, but well written
Average customer rating:
- The most inspirational book you will ever read!
- I Love This Book!
- I am glad the author has found his way back to the Lord, but the outright distortions and deceptions are troubling.
- Fantastic book for everyone
- Remarkable
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Medjugorje: The Message
Wayne Weible
Manufacturer: Paraclete Press (MA)
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Medjugorje: The Mission
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ASIN: 155725009X |
Book Description
The bestseller account of the miraculous events of medjugorje in Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Customer Reviews:
The most inspirational book you will ever read!.......2006-11-21
Before reading Medjugorje the Message, I had been told of Medjugorje before and even saw one of the visionaries at a local church. Medjugorje did not touch me until reading this book! I was looking for something inspirational before having to start my second round of chemotherapy and this book seemed to just pop up out of no where. My second round of chemo happen to be the 24th anniversay of the apparitions, 06/24/05. I don't think any of this was a coincidence. This book definitely changed my life for the better! I have passed it on to family and friends and they feel the same way! Praise God!
I Love This Book!.......2006-11-10
I really wish that everyone in the entire world will read this book, because it is everything y'all need to know!
I am glad the author has found his way back to the Lord, but the outright distortions and deceptions are troubling........2006-08-05
I would advise those who are interested in Medjugorje to read the books by Michael Jones and Donal Foley for a more complete and accurate picture of Medjugorje. Please note the Roman Catholic Church has in NO WAY authorized these alleged "apparitions" in Medjugorje as approved for personal belief. In fact, the Bishop of the diocese in which Medjugorje resides has written at least two opinions that the Blessed Mother is NOT appearing there.
If you can get your hands on The Medjugorje Deception by Michael Jones I believe you will get a more balanced view of Medjugorje. I truly would hate for someone to go to Medjugorje and lose their faith instead of increasing it.
Fantastic book for everyone.......2006-07-28
This book is a must read for everyone of all faiths. It was done in a format that allowed you to journey with the author through his deepening of his faith while also learning about Medjugorje. I also highly recommend his other books, Medjugorje: The Mission and also Final Harvest.
Remarkable.......2006-05-07
I was given a copy of this book as a gift by a friend who has made seven pilgrimages to Medjugorje, and whose own life has been transformed by the experience.
I was initially rather skeptical, but after reading this extraordinary account, I have now bought copies for other people as well.
Almost exactly 25 years ago, six children reported that the Virgin Mary had appeared to them on a hillside in Bosnia-Herzegovina. She has allegedly been returning every day since then, making comments about the world, and advising us on actions that we need to take.
The story is inspirational, and was recently given more credence by a scientific report indicating that there really is something going on here which appears inexplicable according to the currently accepted scientific model.
The Vatican has not yet elevated Medjugorje to the level of a "miracle," but the fact is that the events in this village have transformed the lives of people all over the world.
I highly recommend this book to all spiritual seekers.
Average customer rating:
- A True Awakening
- the book of The Blessed Mother at Medjugorje
- A must read !!
- Excellent
- A beautiful collection of inspirational research and interviews
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The Visions of the Children: The Apparitions of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje
Janice T. Connell
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 031218204X |
Book Description
The classic account of the appearances of the Blessed Mother at Medjugorje--now updated for the milleniumLike Lourdes and Fatima before it, Medjugorje has become a holy site for worshippers around the world, a place that will be remembered long after the twentieth century recedes into history.In this edition, Janice Connell presents a new intruduction that places Medjugorje in the context of the millennium and suggests that the Blessed Mother's final appearance on Earth may indeed be at this small mountain village. The author tells what has happened to the six apparitioners since the book was first published, and the Blessed Mother's monthly messages have been updated through 1997. There is also a new list of Marian Centers across the nation.The Visions of the Children features exclusive conversations with the six apparitioners who have been receiving, for more than fifteen years, visions and messages of the Virgin Mary, including extraordinary secrets about the final chapter in the history of the world. This book not only tells of the need for love and spiritual awakening, but casts a powerful perspective on the wholescale devastation in Bosnia during the last few years.
Customer Reviews:
A True Awakening.......2007-10-11
If this doesn't wake you up out of your lull in faith, nothing will. After reading you will realize how short a time we truly have on earth to make a difference to those in need. Very inspirational.
the book of The Blessed Mother at Medjugorje.......2007-09-07
I am not finish with the book yet, but I am very interested in what the auther and the children have to say about the appearing of the Blessed Mother Mary.
A must read !!.......2007-03-26
This is by far the best book I have read about the vision in Medjugorje. I took my time reading and re-reading it. The interviews with the visionaries, pilgrims and townspeople were simple but well done. The supporting scripture truly made a complete picture as to why these apparitions are so important and cannot be ignored. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to deepen their faith and renew their relationship with God. We are truly blessed to have these messages, we should receive them with an open heart.
Excellent.......2007-01-11
It is a good story, with a divine message from heaven. Apostasy is taking its toll in this world and we all need to wake up and hear heavens call to come back to Christ Jesus fold, before it is to late. This book will help those that truely believe, pray and pray more for all that are in true need of pray.
A beautiful collection of inspirational research and interviews .......2007-01-03
The interviews are facinating and simple. The messages are timeless and make so much perfect sense, it just blows your mind to be made aware of all this! Read this...you will not be unchanged, and you will enjoy every minute of the transformation.
This book can be read in awsome little daily bites, or as a sweeping consumption of hope and wonder!
I have learned so much thru the authors' well researched and sensitive approach to educating the reader as to the details of the appirations still continuing in Medjugorje. I picked up a few copies for Christmas gifts, they were received with anticipation and lots of appreciation...they don't have any idea how much yet!
Book Description
The Bridge on the Drina is a vivid depiction of the suffering history has imposed upon the people of Bosnia from the late 16th century to the beginning of World War I. As we seek to make sense of the current nightmare in this region, this remarkable, timely book serves as a reliable guide to its people and history.
"No better introduction to the study of Balkan and Ottoman history exists, nor do I know of any work of fiction that more persuasively introduces the reader to a civilization other than our own. It is an intellectual and emotional adventure to encounter the Ottoman world through Andric's pages in its grandiose beginning and at its tottering finale. It is, in short, a marvelous work, a masterpiece, and very much sui generis. . . . Andric's sensitive portrait of social change in distant Bosnia has revelatory force."--William H. McNeill, from the introduction
"The dreadful events occurring in Sarajevo over the past several months turn my mind to a remarkable historical novel from the land we used to call Yugoslavia, Ivo Andric's The Bridge on the Drina."--John M. Mohan, Des Moines Sunday Register
Born in Bosnia, Ivo Andric (1892-1975) was a distinguished diplomat and novelist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1961. His books include The Damned Yard: And Other Stories, and The Days of the Consuls.
Customer Reviews:
A Novel That Sees the Future in the Past.......2007-07-20
This novel, a series of stories covering 400 years of history of a town in Bosnia, ends in 1914 but has great relevance to recent times in the former Yugoslavia and in other countries where ethnic and tribal divisions are important. It is humane and understanding about the ability and inability of people with different religious and cultural backgrounds to live together. It was written in 1950 but is prescient about what has happened in such societies since then, and for this reason makes its selection for the Nobel prize a good one.
If only objects could share their story with us, what would they tell?.......2007-06-30
Ivo Andric describes the history of ex-Yugoslavian region through the building and a life of a bridge. Let this not fool you. The book is not devoid but infused with emotions, feelings, and will leave the reader in cold sweet. The brutality of the life in the historical perspective of the region is given much detail. Those who have weak stomach should be careful about reading the first few chapters. You will, when you finish reading this book, understand the region and the people a bit better. And maybe by understanding the region and the people, you will get a glimpse at the volatile soil of ex-Yugoslavia, grasping the centuries of fighting, all in hopes for freedom. Some questions of recent conflicts might be answered. And you will definitely pose many more questions.
Andric received his Nobel Prize for this book, and the fact that it is one of few books written by an Yugoslavian author, which has been translated into many languages, shows its value in the international community of readers. It will hold you and it will fascinate you. You will want to throw up and it will make you cry. But, you will leave knowing that there is always a bridge leading you into realms unknown...is it heaven or hell? that is yours to decide.
An outstanding peice of European literature.......2007-05-09
The author of this book is almsot a perfect example of the Balkans. A Croat from Bosnia who is now fought over by all sides of the ethnic divide its almost as if what he actually wrote is forgotten.
This is a remarkable book. It is not simply a historical novel the personal lives of the people under Ottoman rule, the building of the bridge, originally a gift to the people there along with a hostel for travellers. How the Muslim population at first welcomed its construction only to have second thoughts when they realised just how much effort and burdon it would put on the population to construct. The Serb rebals who try to demolish the bridge and the terrible punishment that their leader suffered when caught. How over the centuries the bridge became a focal point in the city and how the lives of the people changed due to outside events out of their control (The collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the rise of the great powers of Europe) There is one beautiful passage in this book when the Muslim population of the town wake up to find the borders of the Ottoman Empire had suddenly been redrawn hundreds of miles away and how they looked over the new map of the Balkans trying to make sense of it all.
My only complaint (and it is a small one) is why on earth did the translator refer to the Muslims as 'Turks' when (and if you read the book closely its even more obvious) they were so clearly not!
Praise for the book, doubt about the translation.......2007-02-04
I have the book in the original. Edwards' translation is terrible. He has not only a dubious aesthetic sense, but his grasp of the Serbian language is wanting. In places the translation is literal; in places it is wrong. There is scarcely a line of dialogue translated flawlessly. I recommend keeping all this in mind when reading.
On the other hand, Andric's chronicle is all it aspires to be. It is a careful description of the famous Bosnian town where he spent his childhood, the town that hugs the bridge that Mehmed-pasha Sokolovichi built. Naturally, the portion of it which intersects his life, and which consists of the twenty-two years that pass from 1892 to 1914, will be found more interesting than the rest, in my opinion; but Andric knows his weakness, and the bulk of the book lies just in that portion.
Amazing book.......2007-01-04
Parts of this book are difficult to get through, but if you want to understand what's happening with the world's religions today this book offers incredible insights. Well worth the read.
Customer Reviews:
The definitive work on Bosnia.......2000-06-14
Burg and Shoup's book will stand for some years as the definitive work on the Bosnian war and the missteps of international intervention there. It is a must read by anyone interested in what happened in that mountainous Balkan country.
This book is rather detailed and is not meant to be a 'quick read' for the casual reader. Instead, it uses a vast array of sources from the region as well as the Western press and interviews to make its case about the goals of the three sides as well as the desire of the 'West' to stay out of the conflict. Furthermore, it provides a much-needed and accessible overview of the various peace plans and maps which aimed at stopping the carnage in Bosnia.
It is an excellent book which sets a new standard for research on ethnic conflicts and international policy.
Book Description
This memoir from the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, now revised and updated, offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at how war is fought today.
In Waging Modern War, General Wesley K. Clark recounts his experience leading NATO's forces to a hard-fought and ultimately successful victory in Kosovo in 1999. As the American military machine has swung into action in the months following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it has become clear that the lessons of Kosovo are directly applicable to the war against terrorism and the nations that sponsor it.
The problems posed, and overcome, in the war in Kosovo--how to fight an air war against unconventional forces in rough terrain and how to coordinate U.S. objectives with those of other nations--are the problems that America increasingly faces in the today's world. As the Los Angeles Times noted in late September of 2001, this book's "lessons are highly relevant now.... We need to think about exactly what steps will lessen, rather than increase, the terrorist threat. And we also need innovative commanders willing to improvise to meet a new kind of threat, more determined political leadership, a more flexible outlook in the Pentagon.... Gen. Clark has performed another service by highlighting these problems at a crucial moment in American history. "
Waging Modern War is history, memoir, guidebook, and forecast, essential reading for those who want to know how modern war is fought, and won.
Customer Reviews:
Insider account of the Balkans crisis.......2007-01-13
This book is formally an autobiography, but pays scant attention to the first 50 years or so of the author's life. Instead, Clark has written a strong account of his involvement in the two Yugoslav wars that took place in the 90s; first the Bosnia war, where he worked as a military adviser to Richard Holbrooke, and then his role as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in the Kosovo war a few years later.
These two roles gave Clark insight into the interactions of the objecives, often quite distinct, of military and political leaders. This was particularly true of his work as SACEUR (NATO commander), where he was the focal point of that tension, reporting to the defense ministers and heads of state of the various nations while leading the various armed forces. He also has a good deal to say about the practical issues in integrating units from different countries in a single operation, along with the longstanding problems of integrating the capabilities of the traditionally rival American services. This was, for me, the most informative part of the book, and would certainly make it essential reading for any officer or diplomat interested in this topic.
Clark also has a good deal to say about the institutional problems he had in Washington and the Pentagon. The Pentagon leadership, in particular, hostile to the idea of fighting an enemy that wasn't in the Middle East or East Asia and even more hostile to the current President, undermined Clark repeatedly and then, when the war was successfully completed anyway, arranged for his reward to be getting fired.
The book was clearly actually written by Clark without use of a ghost. This isn't always an advantage - Clark lack's the professional writer's eye for the telling detail so instead sometimes gives us too many details that add up to too little information. But in the end, a book written by the actual actor in these events tells us more than a book written with a smoother style by a ghost.
Something to upset everyone.......2005-12-09
General (ret) Wesley Clark's recollections of events leading up to the 1999 bombing campaign against Serbia truly has something to upset or annoy everyone.
Before we go into the details of all the various fashions in which GEN Clark can make everyone unhappy, let us consider the context of the publication of this book. The book was published in 2001, shortly after he was fired for his performance as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), both the military commander of NATO and the senior U.S. military officer in Europe. At that point, it seems likely that he was already considering his attempt to run for the Presidency. And limiting what he could say would be (hopefully) a desire to continue to protect classified information that he was in possession of as a general in the U.S. military. So we see indications that this work could be a self-aggrandizing apologia with a gag-order.
The first thing that can upset folks. GEN Clark personally pressured, directly and indirectly, the U.S. to rush into a European war in the Balkans. A constant theme through the text is that both military and civil leaders (including President Clinton) were very reluctant to get the U.S. more deeply involved in the troubles in the Balkans, and very, very reluctant to enter another war. GEN Clark repeatedly appealed to them to use military power to force Serbia under Milosovic to change his internal policies. He also went to directly to the media with his message and through public opinion forced elected leaders and their appointed representatives to comply to his (GEN Clark's) intent. The other interpretation of this is that GEN Clark was the only American leader that *really* cared about the Kosovars and their plight at the hands of the Serbs.
The second thing that should upset people. GEN Clark never mentions any attempt to find out why the Serbs were conducting operations in Kosovo. If, at the very first allegation of violence in Kosovo, GEN Clark and the NATO leadership had made a concerted effort to find out why the Serbs were doing what they were doing, they would have found out that the Kosovo Liberation Army were terrorists and heroin smugglers. This suggests many approaches to resolving the conflict without resorting to a bombing campaign. The Serbs were demonized from the first moment that events bagan to unfold in Kosovo, and never offered a solution other than "stop that or we shoot".
The third thing to upset everyone: GEN Clark put European interests ahead of U.S. interests. GEN Clark relates that Javier Solana, Sec. Gen. of NATO, expressed that failure to act in Kosovo would jepordize the existence of NATO, and that this could not be allowed. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, NATO has been floundering in search of relevance, and has evolved into more of an economic club than a true military defensive alliance. Ultimately, NATO is of much greater benefit to it's European members than the U.S. By supporting Solana's objectives, GEN Clark put NATO and European interests ahead of U.S. national security. The counter argument is that Europe's security is America's security, but with the competing interests and lack of agreement inside Europe, this argument is a sweeping generality, a great sound bite, but devoid of substance.
The fourth thing that should upset absolutely anyone: The bombing campaign was in its second month before NATO sat down and tryed to hash out what the objective, the goal, the desired outcome was. If an Army colonel were to begin a lower level operation (say with 2000-3000 soldiers) without a clear endstate, a concise discription of his/her desired outcome, that colonel would be relieved on the spot. If a four-star general begins an operation without a clear objective, a stated goal, well... GEN Clark seemed to take it for granted that this was OK.
On the other side of the ledger, the book is engaging and well written. The events are laid out chronologically and with enough detail to make it flow well. Despite the constant name dropping, the material was engaging and comprehensive. It also is an education into the inner workings of NATO, and the relationship between SACEUR, the Pentagon, and the President. It doesn't quite give a day by day description of the attack on Serbia, but would be an excellent resource for filling in the blanks behind a dry, academic history of the conflict. This will be an essential work for future historians of the post-Yugoslavia Balkans.
If you have to read this book, buy it used and save some $.......2005-05-22
This is not a book, but a rambling memoir filled with too many personal comments of little substance. Do not expect an objective analysis as to the causes or the events surrounding the Kosovo conflict. Nor expect a CLEAR or INSIGHTFUL book on how military decisions are made and executed.
Any value this book may have had in describing the decision making process between the US military and its political leadership was buried in the almost constant self complementary remarks.
The lessons of Kosovo.......2005-01-25
"Waging Modern War," by Wesley K. Clark, is an account of the 1999 NATO military action in Kosovo from the perspective of the author, an American army general who oversaw the operation. Clark notes that this book is "a personal memoir" and is not intended to be "a complete record of the war." Included as supplemental features are a "Cast of Characters," with descriptions of over 60 individuals from the international group of people involved in the story; a list of the abbreviations used; a map; and an index.
This is a gripping text that, at times, I found very difficult to put down. It's a fascinating look at war from the perspective of a general near the very top of the chain of command. Among the many issues Clark touches on are the following: the complexity of dealing with an international military alliance; humanitarian concerns; relations between military and civilian officials; and the role of the media. He touches in particular on the complexity of his "double-hatted" role in both the NATO and U.S. military structures. He also discusses some of his life before the Kosovo crisis.
Particulary interesting are his memories of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, whom Clark describes early in the book as "a supremely manipulative liar and bully." Milosevic emerges as a wily, fascinating true-life villain. Equally noteworthy is Clark's account of his working relationship with NATO Secretary General Javier Solana, a former Spanish government minister. Clark shows how personalities, as well as terrain, tactics, and weaponry, impact a war.
This is a lengthy (479 plus XLV pages) and dense text; Clark hits you with a blizzard of facts, names, and acronyms. The book may be daunting to general readers, but I believe that those who take the time to read it carefully will be rewarded. "Waging" is not just a memoir, but also a theoretical work on modern war using the Kosovo campaign as a textbook example. As the Iraq war continues and people speculate on what future wars could embroil us, I believe that civilian and military leaders could benefit from the knowledge and insights in this important book.
I don't sell many of my books..........2004-12-14
but this one I had no trouble parting with. I purchased this book shortly after it was released, long before General Clark made his bid for the Democratic nomination. I've tried to complete it twice, but cannot bear to finish it. It's just too much celebration of General Clark and not enough discussion of events in his life or the the context of those events. It's a dissapointment , because General Clark is obviously intelligent, and has the resume to provide an interesting read.
Book Description
This one-of-a-kind comprehensive guide to Bosnia and Herzegovina covers the natural wonders of the area, history and culture, Sarajevo festivals and nightlife, and practical information for travelers.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Buy !!!.......2007-05-13
This is an excellent book. Very well written and inspiring and funny. Bought a copy for myself adn loced it so i had to purchase another copy to give to a friend as a gift. Would highly recomend it. !
Extremely useful.......2007-02-12
I made two trips to Bosnia and both times referred frequently to this book. Mr. Clancy provides a great mix of history, geography, tourist and cultural information. His love for this country and its people illuminate every chapter. I recommend this book to everyone who wants to learn more about Bosnia and Herzegovina
Great help.........2006-11-03
This book help me a lot to find a right and perfect spots to visit. Thank you.
Well You Do Not Have Much of a Choice.......2006-09-08
This is the only updated guide on the area so there it might be pointless to comment on it. I'd definitely buy it because the region is quite poor on information anyway. But a lot of time the book is limited and the maps are usually quite useless.
I tried doing to walking tour in Mostar and also looked for some locations mentioned in Sarajevo in vain. Sometimes the author mentions streetnames which are not usually marked, some locations he talks about are impossible to find without asking people.
On the positive side, the author is not some dude with a backpack visiting the country. He lives in BiH and has a lot of first hand information. I wish he would share more of it with us.
The best for now.......2006-08-13
This book was recommended to me by someone living in Bosnia. It seems to be the best guide book for that area at this time. I have since found a web site that is nearly as good a starting place but has BETTER maps on the site. I would say that subsequent editions will only improve the information content.
Amazon.com
Peter Maass from the center of the nightmare in Bosnia, a war correspondent's montage of images - eerie, grotesque, ironic, angry, absurd. A Serb and Muslim, friends before the war, exchanging gossip via shortwave radio hours before they will try to kill each other. The Serbian president coolly denying reports of atrocities that have been witnessed by hundreds. A battlefield doctor performing miracles of surgery without anesthetic. Drivers without headlights gambling their lives in the darkness of no-man's-land while schoolchildren scamper across Sniper Alley. The author takes us with him into the minefields of modern war with a fierce, vivid, and personal book.
Book Description
Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Peter Maass went to the Balkans as a reporter at the height of the nightmarish war there, but this book is not traditional war reportage. Maass examines how an ordinary Serb could wake up one morning and shoot his neighbor, once a friend--then rape that neighbor's wife. He conveys the desperation that makes a Muslim beg the United States to bomb his own city in order to end the misery. And Maass does not falter at the spectacle of U.N. soldiers shining searchlights on fleeing refugees--who are promptly gunned down by snipers waiting in the darkness.
Love Thy Neighbor gives us an unflinching vision of a late-20th-century hell that is also a scathing inquiry into the worst extremes of human nature. Like Michael Herr's
Dispatches (also available in Vintage paperback), it is an utterly gripping book that will move and instruct readers for years to come.
Customer Reviews:
Incomplete by all measures!.......2007-09-12
"Love they neighbor" caught my eye as it was supposed to cover a topic of which I have great interest. I have devoured about 20 books on the most recent Balkan's war and I have actually traveled to the region on two occasions since fighting started/ended. I found this book to be a failure both artistically and in the realm of journalistic confirmation..
It is not the author's biases which I have issue with; it is much more the child like way that issues are presented. The author makes the history of the region seem to be irrelevant and then makes snap judgment. As we know from WWI, WWII, the Cold War etc...the history of the Balkans makes it a unique geographic area. To ignore the expansion of the Ottomans, the 1st and 2nd Balkans War as well as WWII....well it just shows the "Ugly American" side of this Author." I would go into more detail, however I would say that besides the grandiose vocabulary used in the book....I would rate this piece at the 9th grade level....at best. There are far more interesting and intriguing pieces written on this era.. I found this book far too simple and bereft of history which makes the writings irrelevant. If you want to read a far better book I recommend. " My War is gone and I miss it so...." Or any book written by Misha Glenny more worthy of a read.
I have a confession to make..........2006-07-28
I have a confession to make - I am guilty of ignorance.
While in 1992 I was taking my first trip to Europe, falling in love for the first time, getting my introduction to Pentecostalism and learning to live, people were being exterminated only several hundred miles away from me.
While I was going into my fourth year of high school education in Bulgaria, boys and girls my age were being raped and tortured and murdered and it took me 15 years to find that out. How is it that I knew nothing about that war? How is it I never paid attention to the news, never took interest in what was happing in Bosnia? How? How come I turned a blind eye to the grizzly events occurring in a land where people spoke Slavic language similar to my own, had features similar to mine, shared history similar to the one of my county? How can I have been so ignorant of the genocide in Bosnia?
Then, in the winter of 1992 I came to the United States and looking back now I find I wasn't the only one guilty of ignorance. For three years (1992-1995) United Nations, countries like Britain, France, Russia and of course, the USA, looked to resolved the conflict by ignoring the direct problem in the region. Peaceful solution is what everyone was talking about and looking for, and all the while men, women, and children died by torture, by fire, by knives to their throats. Over 200,000 people. 200,000 died in this conflict and having read Peter Maass' book I feel disgusted with myself, with humanity in general.
I suspect there were hundreds of other conflicts that occurred and I missed. I know there were many more that history sheltered away from humanity and perhaps I'll never learn about their victims, but having read this book and having learned of the dangerous games politicians and people with power played, I'm left with a nauseating feeling of shame. Shame for being a human and for possessing the realization that evil is something people grow inside, something they cultivate and feed of. For all of our 100,000 years of civilization we have nothing to show except death, destruction and deceit. Is this what we should be proud of? Is this the meaning of life?
I recommend this book to everyone. It's hard to find stories out there that are so open, so raw, so real in their context that make readers seriously wonder what society, civilization, morality and ethics really mean. Mr. Maass, thank you for being so honest.
-by Simon Cleveland
A little editing would do wonders.......2004-12-16
This is a fascinating book. Unfortunately the author has a habit of referencing other books (most notably Black Lamb Grey Falcon and Catch-22) far too often, usually just when you've lost youself in the book. His insight and explanations of what he experienced are great but they often stray back and forth in time. This sometimes gets a little hard to follow. All of these could be cured with just a little editing. Other than that the only problem I had with the book is that I wanted to know more of his experiences.
An astounding read..........2004-07-25
This astonishing book tells the story of a journalist who was sent to Bosnia to cover the Serb invasion of that country in the early 1990's. The story the author has to tell is amazing, sad, and troublesome. It is absolutely incredible that this could happen in 'civilized' Europe in the 1990's, and no one intervened to stop it. The author tells the stories that you did not read in the newspapers, and gives the perspective of someone who suffered with the Bosnians. A highly engrossing, highly recommended read!
Gripping, shocking, and simply terrifying!.......2003-09-20
This book showed how terrible the War in Bosnia really was. The media failed to show us the bloodbath that it became. I am sorry that we as a nation did not do more to help the Muslims in Bosnia. Whether we are Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Atheist we have a moral responsibility to help defend a small country from genocide. The shocking truth in this book opened my eyes but it also deeply depressed me. One is tempted to give up hope in the face of such monstrous reality. We live in a very unpredictable, hostile, and politically unstable world and Peter Maass shows just how evil it can get.
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