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Hunting the Tiger: The Fast Life and Violent Death of the Balkans' Most Dangerous Man
A gripping investigation into the extraordinary career of Serbia’s legendary warlord. Zeljko “Arkan” Raznatovic began his life as a petty criminal, a juvenile delinquent adrift in the floundering state of Yugoslavia. He would eventually become famous throughout Western as the “smiling bank robber”; as a Houdini-like fugitive from multiple prisons; and even as a state-sponsored assassin. Stories of motorboat robberies and daylight bank heists would follow him from country to country. Yet however impressive his criminal reputation seemed at first, it was only the beginning of his path to infamy. Following Yugoslavia’s chaotic descent into madness in the 1990s, Arkan would become not only a gangster but one of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic’s most valued henchmen in the country’s civil war. He rallied Belgrade’s notoriously violent soccer hooligans, paired them with inmates from Serbia’s prisons, among other brutal street thugs, and trained them to become his ruthless foot soldiers, known as the “Tigers.” During the war, the men rampaged through Croatia and Bosnia---killing, raping, burning, and looting. As they earned a reputation as Serbia’s most feared death squad (accused of genocide by The Hague tribunal), Arkan became one of the region’s wealthiest men. A national hero, he married the country’s greatest pop star---the so-called “Madonna of the Balkans”---in a ceremony that was compared to that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. His fame and good fortune, however, could not last. In 1999, as NATO bombs fell on Belgrade, The Hague’s International War Crimes Tribunal indicted Arkan for crimes against humanity, the United States called for his arrest, the world media chased him, and mobster rivals wanted him dead. His days were numbered, and just after the Serbian New Year, he was shockingly assassinated in the crowded lobby of a high-profile Belgrade hotel. In Hunting the Tiger , journalist Christopher S. Stewart tells the spectacular, bloody, and often nebulous story of a man who was equal parts James Bond, James Dean, Billy the Kid, and Al Capone. In a region still in the throes of sectarian conflict and wracked by the aftermath of decades of violence, Stewart gives us an engaging first-person look at one man who became a symbol of an intensely combustible and illicit age, and who played both villain and hero at a profound historical moment.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2008
2 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
Christopher S. Stewart
5 books22 followersChristopher S. Stewart is an investigative reporter at the Wall Street Journal, where he won the Pulitzer Prize with several colleagues in 2015.
Stewart is the author of Hunting the Tiger, a book about Zeljko Arkan Raznatovic, the Serbian mobster and warlord at the center of the 1990s Balkan wars. Jungleland is his second book.
His work has also appeared in GQ, Harper's, the New York Times Magazine, New York, Paris Review, Wired, and other publications.
Earlier, he served as deputy editor at the New York Observer and is a former contributing editor at Conde Nast Portfolio, where, among other things, he wrote about the Unification Church’s gun business and corruption in Iraq.
He lives with his family in New York.
Stewart is the author of Hunting the Tiger, a book about Zeljko Arkan Raznatovic, the Serbian mobster and warlord at the center of the 1990s Balkan wars. Jungleland is his second book.
His work has also appeared in GQ, Harper's, the New York Times Magazine, New York, Paris Review, Wired, and other publications.
Earlier, he served as deputy editor at the New York Observer and is a former contributing editor at Conde Nast Portfolio, where, among other things, he wrote about the Unification Church’s gun business and corruption in Iraq.
He lives with his family in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 3, 2012
Author Christopher S. Stewart is the master of nonfiction biographies. Stewart's impressive investigative journalism background contributes to the intricate details of HUNTING THE TIGER. Stewart also wrote a compelling article for Conde Nast Porfolio about Russian dissident and extreme badass Mikhail Khodorkovsky, which is where I first discovered this talented journalist.
The book begins with a horrifying train ride through Serbia, with an outcome where Stewart should be thanking god, the universe, or whatever he believes in to this day. This incident spurred his obsession with Serbia, most notably, the Serbian leader Arkan, who was known as the "Hitler" of former Yugoslavia, esp. in the methods he and his militia, The Tigers, used such as torture, murder and imprisonment of victims. All in all, Arkan was a sick bastard, but Stewart goes behind the image and legend to trace the footsteps of this warlord from childhood to his death. As a child Arkan was influenced by two things: John Wayne movies and his father's disturbing and militant punishments, which as a reader, I conclude molded Arkan's sociopath brain to a level beyond human comprehension.
Stewart investigated this book meticulously, as he accounts for every police report to Arkan's days as a bank robber in Europe to how he acquired his army. As for the details of Arkan and his tigers' atrocities, the reader should have a strong stomach, but it is vital to know what really happened and who this man really was.
On a separate note, Stewart captures the underbelly of Eastern Europe to a tee. I lived there for two years, and some parts of Eastern European are downright scary. Stewart also captures the history of the region, explaining to the layman the complex history that started with the violence of the Turks and Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century to Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholics being forced to live with one another. Then in WWII, the Nazi Croats imprisoned Serbs, Jews and gypsies. And somehow, with all of this disturbing history, the people were expected to live together peacefully. What a joke. It's no wonder the powder keg exploded in the early nineties, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, and the Yugoslavs all went after each other. From Stewart's book, I learned every religious and ethnic group was at fault; they all did horrible things to each other and then paid the price. It's a sad and horrific story, yet compelling and intoxicating too, one that Stewart tells remarkably well.
The book begins with a horrifying train ride through Serbia, with an outcome where Stewart should be thanking god, the universe, or whatever he believes in to this day. This incident spurred his obsession with Serbia, most notably, the Serbian leader Arkan, who was known as the "Hitler" of former Yugoslavia, esp. in the methods he and his militia, The Tigers, used such as torture, murder and imprisonment of victims. All in all, Arkan was a sick bastard, but Stewart goes behind the image and legend to trace the footsteps of this warlord from childhood to his death. As a child Arkan was influenced by two things: John Wayne movies and his father's disturbing and militant punishments, which as a reader, I conclude molded Arkan's sociopath brain to a level beyond human comprehension.
Stewart investigated this book meticulously, as he accounts for every police report to Arkan's days as a bank robber in Europe to how he acquired his army. As for the details of Arkan and his tigers' atrocities, the reader should have a strong stomach, but it is vital to know what really happened and who this man really was.
On a separate note, Stewart captures the underbelly of Eastern Europe to a tee. I lived there for two years, and some parts of Eastern European are downright scary. Stewart also captures the history of the region, explaining to the layman the complex history that started with the violence of the Turks and Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century to Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Catholics being forced to live with one another. Then in WWII, the Nazi Croats imprisoned Serbs, Jews and gypsies. And somehow, with all of this disturbing history, the people were expected to live together peacefully. What a joke. It's no wonder the powder keg exploded in the early nineties, after the collapse of the Iron Curtain, and the Yugoslavs all went after each other. From Stewart's book, I learned every religious and ethnic group was at fault; they all did horrible things to each other and then paid the price. It's a sad and horrific story, yet compelling and intoxicating too, one that Stewart tells remarkably well.
August 9, 2023
Rated 4.2
This book is the story of Arkan the Serbian warlord, mobster and criminal. He was responsible for ethnic cleansing and atrocities in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. It is fascinating to learn of the history of the Balkan wars in the 1990’s and what motivated men like Arkan to live the way they did.
This book is the story of Arkan the Serbian warlord, mobster and criminal. He was responsible for ethnic cleansing and atrocities in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. It is fascinating to learn of the history of the Balkan wars in the 1990’s and what motivated men like Arkan to live the way they did.
December 12, 2021
Some men are bred for war, skilled, proficient in violence from even a young age.
Arkan, was crude in education, but beyond ingenious in personality
and proficient in the acumen of war.
He was just a kid that watched John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies, with those heroes influence, he decided he would be bigger than all of them. He would be above the law, above the sniffling bureaucracy and management state.
Above his common man.
Only those with aspiration will become something of value.
Of legend, of immortality.
The eternal glory is sought by all men of strong character.
Warriors, Kings, Warlords, all possess a piece of the masculine vigor, the vitality against the world itself. They understand the underlying realities of this world and how to operate towards an end.
Whether working to build order with an empire or a crime syndicate, the cattle and sheep will bleat and cower.
And moralize.
But you see, through creation, but also in experience itself, one must leave the safety of the long bed.
“Life for him was an adventure, perilous indeed, but men are not made for safe havens. The fullness of life is in the hazards of life.”
He lived on the edge, he lived a long 47 years, a dozen lives worth of fun and glory and tragedy.
Yet, he will live on.
Early on, he understood,
In this world, people are soft, timid, weak.
If you wish to obtain something, you must strike with incredible force and seize the powers presented. Seize the wealth and opportunities, you must operate with a ruthless amorality if you wish to live.
The rules, the constant empty words, are meaningless.
Arkan fully explores this during the war, where his Tigers operate with incredible violence and efficiency in Bosnia and Croatia for glory, loot, and love of his people.
He did what he wanted, when he wanted, however he wanted.
And for the most part got away from it.
The UN, The Italian Mob, the Federals, the Croats, the Bosnians, nobody could touch him. He was that dangerous, not just in person but through dread reputation and the power of charisma and influence he possessed on this world.
“That man saved us. He is crazy. He is Tsar. He is God. He is Popeye.”
Arkan will be casted out eternally in the West as "Bassiccullly HittLER!" or "A PSYCHOPATH"
But he is neither.
At heart, he is his own man. A master of himself, witty, charismatic, ruthless.
A true man at heart that did not submit into the poverty and slavery that was expected of him.
Now to the book review.
It goes over most of his life, and does a good job at collecting the many pieces of the man's life that are shrouded in mystery.
I do applaud him for risking his life to put together this story.
The author is a bit biased against him because of "Muh Humen Rihhts" and "WAR CRIMES"
But for the most part it is tolerable because he does an excellent job exploring Arkan's life and giving much insight into the type of man he was.
The author, has left it unwritten, but I can tell deep underneath in his soul, the masculine spirit is interested, calling out in fascination of this man of a different crop, that is relatively unseen nowadays.
\
Arkan through his actions, his words, and his effects on the world, he is definitely a rebel against the modern world and a hero to the underground.
Will retouch later, this is just a quick review.
Arkan, was crude in education, but beyond ingenious in personality
and proficient in the acumen of war.
He was just a kid that watched John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies, with those heroes influence, he decided he would be bigger than all of them. He would be above the law, above the sniffling bureaucracy and management state.
Above his common man.
Only those with aspiration will become something of value.
Of legend, of immortality.
The eternal glory is sought by all men of strong character.
Warriors, Kings, Warlords, all possess a piece of the masculine vigor, the vitality against the world itself. They understand the underlying realities of this world and how to operate towards an end.
Whether working to build order with an empire or a crime syndicate, the cattle and sheep will bleat and cower.
And moralize.
But you see, through creation, but also in experience itself, one must leave the safety of the long bed.
“Life for him was an adventure, perilous indeed, but men are not made for safe havens. The fullness of life is in the hazards of life.”
He lived on the edge, he lived a long 47 years, a dozen lives worth of fun and glory and tragedy.
Yet, he will live on.
Early on, he understood,
In this world, people are soft, timid, weak.
If you wish to obtain something, you must strike with incredible force and seize the powers presented. Seize the wealth and opportunities, you must operate with a ruthless amorality if you wish to live.
The rules, the constant empty words, are meaningless.
Arkan fully explores this during the war, where his Tigers operate with incredible violence and efficiency in Bosnia and Croatia for glory, loot, and love of his people.
He did what he wanted, when he wanted, however he wanted.
And for the most part got away from it.
The UN, The Italian Mob, the Federals, the Croats, the Bosnians, nobody could touch him. He was that dangerous, not just in person but through dread reputation and the power of charisma and influence he possessed on this world.
“That man saved us. He is crazy. He is Tsar. He is God. He is Popeye.”
Arkan will be casted out eternally in the West as "Bassiccullly HittLER!" or "A PSYCHOPATH"
But he is neither.
At heart, he is his own man. A master of himself, witty, charismatic, ruthless.
A true man at heart that did not submit into the poverty and slavery that was expected of him.
Now to the book review.
It goes over most of his life, and does a good job at collecting the many pieces of the man's life that are shrouded in mystery.
I do applaud him for risking his life to put together this story.
The author is a bit biased against him because of "Muh Humen Rihhts" and "WAR CRIMES"
But for the most part it is tolerable because he does an excellent job exploring Arkan's life and giving much insight into the type of man he was.
The author, has left it unwritten, but I can tell deep underneath in his soul, the masculine spirit is interested, calling out in fascination of this man of a different crop, that is relatively unseen nowadays.
\
Arkan through his actions, his words, and his effects on the world, he is definitely a rebel against the modern world and a hero to the underground.
Will retouch later, this is just a quick review.
November 20, 2010
Really poorly written biography of an interesting mass murderer. Most interesting was how the Yugoslav secret service hired criminals to be their secret agents who would go abroad to commit murder for the state. The thinking being that people more disposed to criminal activities would have less scruples about killing another person.
What’s interesting about Arkan is what’s interesting about Hitler (okay, Hitler's way better). How did someone convince so many people to commit such horrible atrocities? Arkan was clearly ambitious/crazy from the beginning and seemingly was in the right place at the right time… like Hitler. It was during this time of incredible national distress that Arkan’s way of life became palatable, then attractive, and finally unstoppable.
What’s interesting about Arkan is what’s interesting about Hitler (okay, Hitler's way better). How did someone convince so many people to commit such horrible atrocities? Arkan was clearly ambitious/crazy from the beginning and seemingly was in the right place at the right time… like Hitler. It was during this time of incredible national distress that Arkan’s way of life became palatable, then attractive, and finally unstoppable.
September 29, 2012
This reads like a breathless hagiographic caricature of Arkan, a Balkan warlord, war criminal, mass murderer, drug trafficker, professional assassin, bank robber, murdered, and a key player in the Serbian secret police. The author is clearly fascinated by him, yet seems to lack an understanding of the atmosphere of the time and the setting in which Arkan was moving. Even though it relies on some interviews with some of the players, the author lacks the depth of knowledge or sophistication to pull of such a tricky autobiography. It reads like a fictionalized biography of a great historical figure that one would find in grade school. Such a person cannot be treated as a hero.
November 2, 2012
Sum people's lives i tell ya!! def a good read
August 21, 2018
Halfway decent biography of a notorious Serbian warlord and career criminal. What this account of Arkan lacks is an inside look into the psychology and motives behind the horrible actions of the man. It also fails to include his voice directly, which I feel strips a lot of context from Arkan's biographical equation.
March 7, 2021
Wow. The book wasn't perfect by any means, but with a subject so fascinating it hardly had to be - plus, I feel like I have at least somewhat of an understanding of the horrifying confusion that was the '90s Balkan War(s) now.
May 4, 2021
Horrifically interesting, gripping, terrifying, and yet you just could not put it down.
May 30, 2008
If John Wayne and Adolf Hitler had a son and raised him in Serbia, he would have turned out just like Arkan. Arkan was the leader of one of the nastiest Serbian militias in the Balkan wars (which is saying something). But Arkan was much more than a warlord, he was a prolific bank robber, asassin and owned an ice cream shop.
In "Hunting the Tiger" the author seeks out the truth behind Arkan's story and finds it very hard to seperate truth from fiction. Did Arkan single-handedly rob a casino boat with 500 passengers? No one can say for sure. Did he step away from a cafe in Rome for a few minutes to rob a bank? No one knows.
But what is known about Arkan and his role as an architect of genocide in the former Yugloslavia is pretty chilling. Especially scary is how he organized soccer hooligans into a private army and basically started the war at a Serb v Croat soccer game. (I watched the video on YouTube and it is scary.)
All told, a very readable journey through a pretty scary Serbian underworld.
In "Hunting the Tiger" the author seeks out the truth behind Arkan's story and finds it very hard to seperate truth from fiction. Did Arkan single-handedly rob a casino boat with 500 passengers? No one can say for sure. Did he step away from a cafe in Rome for a few minutes to rob a bank? No one knows.
But what is known about Arkan and his role as an architect of genocide in the former Yugloslavia is pretty chilling. Especially scary is how he organized soccer hooligans into a private army and basically started the war at a Serb v Croat soccer game. (I watched the video on YouTube and it is scary.)
All told, a very readable journey through a pretty scary Serbian underworld.
August 31, 2008
This is a disturbing book about the violent life of a bank robber turned war lord. Zeljko Raznatovic, or Arkan the Tiger, as he is referred to, started robbing banks all over Europe then moved onto leading a group of Serb paramilitary fighters that fought battles during the Balkan war in the 1990s. Hard to keep reading this book due to the detail from some of the atrocities committed.
September 9, 2013
Not only gives an insightful and interesting look at Arkan and his cronies, but also provides a summary of the multiple wars in the Balkans during the 1990s. Stewart provides a balanced perspective and an easy read.
July 4, 2012
Structurally, the book feels kind of hacked together. A lot of the information is conjecture, speculation, and supposition.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews