Sarajevo: A Biography

by Robert J. Donia

Sheds new light on Sarajevo as a cosmopolitan gem deserving of a central role in the world's cultural, social, and political history

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Cities

478 pages, Hardcover

First published May 16, 2006

Reviews

[delila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even on the second read, this is my favourite book on the city’s history. Donia writes with such deep love for the city, as its truest friend. “Diversity, rather than assimilation, has been Sarajevo’s hallmark for the past five and a half centuries. Common life was a product of reaching across ethnonational boundaries rather than erasing them. It falls to the city’s present-day leaders, residents, and friends to preserve and nourish its historical legacy in the twenty-first century.”

[James Lyon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of the few in the English language that offers an overview of the city of Sarajevo. My only complaint is that it appears to be written with a somewhat romantic slant to it that transposes 1984 Sarajevo onto pre-WWII and pre-WWI and pre-Habsburg Sarajevo. Insufficient attention is given to the city's demographic roller-coaster ride between 1879-1995.

[Basileus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good account of the history of Sarajevo. From the date of its foundation until post war era. Although the chapters regarding the Ottoman history of the city could have been a little longer. The author also takes a pro Socialist/communist stance representing the history of Bosnia during socialist Yugoslavia a little bit from one side only. But in general very good and in detail biography.