Milosevic: Portrait of a Tyrant

by Louise Branson, Dusko Doder (Draft Writer)

The Kosovo war in the spring of 1999 introduced many to the man newspapers have called "the butcher of the Balkans," but few understand the crucial role he has played & continues to play in the most troubled part of Europe. Directly or indirectly, he's waged war & instigated brutal ethnic cleansing in Croatia, Bosnia & Kosovo, & he was indicted for war crimes in 5/99. His rise to power, from lowly Serbian apparatchik to president of Yugoslavia, is a tale of intrigue, cynical manipulation & deceit whose full dimensions have never been presented to the public.
In this 1st full-length biography of the Yugoslav leader, veteran foreign correspondents Doder & Branson paint a disturbing portrait of a cunning politician who hasn't shied from fomenting wars & double-crossing enemies & allies alike in his ruthless pursuit of power. Whereas most dictators encourage a cult of personality around themselves, Milosevic has been content to operate in the shadows, shunning publicity & allowing others to grab the limelight--& then to take the heat when things go badly. His secretive style emerged in response to a family history of depression (his parents were suicides) & has served him well as he begins his 2nd decade in power.
Doder & Branson introduce us to key figures behind Milosevic's rise: his wife, Mirjana Markovic, often justifiably described as a Serbian Lady Macbeth, & the Balkan & US politicians who learned, too late, about the costs of underestimating him. They also reveal how the USA refused to take the necessary action in 1992 to remove him from power without bloodshed--not realizing that he uses such moments of weakness as opportunities to lull his opponents into traps, thereby paving the way for a new consolidation of power. Now, in the wake of the victory in Kosovo, it remains to be seen whether America will learn this lesson or whether we will allow this deeply troubled man to continue to pose a threat to European peace & security.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 12, 1999

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this biography of Slobodan Milošević to supplement that of LeBor and to obtain a different perspective. Certainly, he can't be that bad! Well, according to these authors, he is--maybe worse.

As so often happens, I read the books out of order, LeBor's being a bit more current. Here Milošević, although indicted, is still clinging to power just after the NATO bombing campaign. Yet, some of his creatures continue to influence contemporary Serbian politics and some of the indicted continue to be protected by the Serbian government.

My sympathies in all of the mess that has followed the breakup of Yugoslavia are substantially Bosnian because I know so many of them. This I recognize to be a prejudice, as is my idealization of the former, multi-ethnic federal republic of Yugoslavia, and my detestation of Franjo Tuđman, the former head of state of Croatia who engaged in a kind of Stalin-Hitler Pact with Slobodan Milošević over the Bosnian Poland. Hasn't anyone written a book, a good, well-researched, book about the breakup of Yugoslavia which doesn't demonize these two characters, the neo-Fascist Croatian and the pseudo-Socialist Serb?

[Peter · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment due to the sensationalist and exaggerated language used by the authors. The cover gives a hint of what's to come with a photo of Milošević in a pose resembling a Nazi salute. In their introduction the authors reveal their biases and assumptions in the the first few sentences. Perhaps they were writing for an over-stimulated American audience which demands stark delineation between good and evil, and justification that, yes, we did Good to bomb the hell out of Serbia. I am no fan of Slobo, far from it, but I expect to be given the opportunity to make up my own mind. This is not that kind of book. Instead, typical of journalistic styles, the authors seek to shove their view of the subject down the reader's throat. I'm left struggling to untangle the consequent inconsistencies and separate factual content from the authors' naked opinions. I find this style of writing insulting, hence I'm moved to write this review.

[Ana-Maria Bujor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for such a book for a long time as I only knew snippets about the topic. So here it is - a book that presents everything chronologically, showing how the dictator reached power and then maneuvered everyone around him to stay there, while also bringing destruction everywhere. It's sad that although I live next door, in Romania, there's very little information about what happened, and here I talk about translated books.
This one does a very good job, presenting everything like a story, with enough emotion so as not to become just a series of numbers and war statistics. Too bad the translator really did not seem to care and there were a lot of typos and mistakes (the Romanian edition with the same cover). Still happy I found it.