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Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia
Few figures have dominated a nation's destiny as much as Marshal Tito of former Yugoslavia. For nearly thirty years he held together mutually hostile religious groups in a deeply divided country, but his death in 1980 rekindled centuries-old hatreds and by 1992 Yugoslavia ceased to exist. In this revealing biography, Richard West questions the full impact of Tito's reign of power and his implicit responsibility for the ensuing violent, bloody war in Bosnia. 'Excellent ... I recommend his book for those who already know about Yugoslavia and want food for thought about the future.' David Owen, Sunday Times 'Admirable ... Carefully researched and extremely readable.' Literary Review 'A passionate book, in which West's historical sense is interlaced with his own very intimate knowledge of Yugoslavia from the late 1940s on and of the poignancy of [subsequent] events.' Fergus Pyle, Irish Times 'Masterly'. Glasgow Herald
470 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1994
54 people are currently reading
1022 people want to read
About the author
Richard West
17 books8 followersThere is more than one author with this name
Richard West was a British journalist and author best known for his reporting of the Vietnam War and Yugoslavia.
Born in London, West attended Marlborough College before his national service spell in Trieste awakened a lifelong interest in Yugoslavia.
Starting off his journalistic career at the Manchester Guardian, West became a foreign correspondent in Yugoslavia, Africa, Central America and Indochina. Described by Neal Ascherson as the "paragon of the independent journalist for his generation", he would spend much of the next two decades in Vietnam, Africa and eastern Europe, where he was codenamned Agent Friday by Communist Poland's secret police. Among his books are The Making of the Prime Minister (with Anthony Howard),[4] An English Journey (1981) and Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia (1995). Along with Patrick Marnham and Auberon Waugh, West was one of three signatories to a letter to The Times that called for a British monument to honour those repatriated as a result of the Yalta Conference; it was eventually erected in 1986.
Richard West was a British journalist and author best known for his reporting of the Vietnam War and Yugoslavia.
Born in London, West attended Marlborough College before his national service spell in Trieste awakened a lifelong interest in Yugoslavia.
Starting off his journalistic career at the Manchester Guardian, West became a foreign correspondent in Yugoslavia, Africa, Central America and Indochina. Described by Neal Ascherson as the "paragon of the independent journalist for his generation", he would spend much of the next two decades in Vietnam, Africa and eastern Europe, where he was codenamned Agent Friday by Communist Poland's secret police. Among his books are The Making of the Prime Minister (with Anthony Howard),[4] An English Journey (1981) and Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia (1995). Along with Patrick Marnham and Auberon Waugh, West was one of three signatories to a letter to The Times that called for a British monument to honour those repatriated as a result of the Yalta Conference; it was eventually erected in 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
November 11, 2020
This is an excellent book.
So, there have been many books written about Yugoslavia, why and how and why not, but Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia (TatRaFoY) does a particularly good job of giving you a wealth of unsung details that you don't get elsewhere.
The book follows the life of Tito, the well-known leader of Communist Yugoslavia, with intricate and intimate stories about his early life, his participation in WWI, the life in Soviet Union, the return to the Yugoslav Kingdom, WWII (the bulk of the book), and then the years after the war until his death in 1980. The author then also follows the decade thereafter, and the slow - and inevitable - spiralling into the civil war of the early 90s. And unlike most other books, this one explains precisely WHY.
TatRaFoY feels balanced - it gives a neutral view to a passionate topic, providing balanced and details accounts from all sides. What I found truly mesmerizing was the WWII period in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945. Richard West doesn't just breeze through - he focuses on the absurdities and atrocities of the period, the religious and ethnic strifes. I won't go into details, because that would be spoiling really fascinating elements, which then naturally continue into what happened after WWII, including fifty years later.
This is a great book because it teaches a lot of colorful things and new aspects on the life of Tito, and there's always a human story (with which you can agree or not) behind actions and decisions, including friendships and animosities with old comrades, Tito's approach to wealth, his relations with the West, his love life, his attempt to reconcile hastily brushed-aside issues of WWII in the decades after.
I am so tempted to go into specific details, but that would be denying the pleasure of discovering yourself when you read this fine work. Most highly recommended.
Igor
So, there have been many books written about Yugoslavia, why and how and why not, but Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia (TatRaFoY) does a particularly good job of giving you a wealth of unsung details that you don't get elsewhere.
The book follows the life of Tito, the well-known leader of Communist Yugoslavia, with intricate and intimate stories about his early life, his participation in WWI, the life in Soviet Union, the return to the Yugoslav Kingdom, WWII (the bulk of the book), and then the years after the war until his death in 1980. The author then also follows the decade thereafter, and the slow - and inevitable - spiralling into the civil war of the early 90s. And unlike most other books, this one explains precisely WHY.
TatRaFoY feels balanced - it gives a neutral view to a passionate topic, providing balanced and details accounts from all sides. What I found truly mesmerizing was the WWII period in Yugoslavia, 1941-1945. Richard West doesn't just breeze through - he focuses on the absurdities and atrocities of the period, the religious and ethnic strifes. I won't go into details, because that would be spoiling really fascinating elements, which then naturally continue into what happened after WWII, including fifty years later.
This is a great book because it teaches a lot of colorful things and new aspects on the life of Tito, and there's always a human story (with which you can agree or not) behind actions and decisions, including friendships and animosities with old comrades, Tito's approach to wealth, his relations with the West, his love life, his attempt to reconcile hastily brushed-aside issues of WWII in the decades after.
I am so tempted to go into specific details, but that would be denying the pleasure of discovering yourself when you read this fine work. Most highly recommended.
Igor
February 27, 2017
It was a communist who made this country into a haven and religious extremists who destroyed it and brought it down hell.
Awesome book, an easy read and very informative and enlightening.
Awesome book, an easy read and very informative and enlightening.
May 16, 2021
Since I have moved to Slovenia, I wanted to read more about its history. But given that its history is almost just as old as me, its history lies beyond itself in the now extinct state of Yugoslavia. And the fact my partner's mother often talks about it in a very positive light, even though communist states were largely failures throughout the 20th century, made me even more curious to read about it.
Knowing what to read was tricky. There is a lot of nostalgia towards Yogoslavia. To this day, many people are fond of it and have a lot of nostalgia for it. Not as much in the younger population, but significant nevertheless. In part by simply being in the past (most people are nostalgic about the past almost no matter how it was like), in part fueled by the semi cult figure of Tito (its leader), and also in part simply because many people had a good life during it.
I didn't want to read a source that was biased towards that nostalgia and wanted to paint Yogoslavia in an overly positive light, consciously or not. But on the other hand, I didn't want a biased account of it simply because it was a communist state. After some research, this book seemed relatively neutral in these regards. Not that the book doesn't have biases, all books do, but I do believe it avoids the two extremes I wanted to dodge.
Yugoslavia was born after WW1 in 1918 and disintegrated in 1992 into what now is Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. I was more interested in the state itself rather than Tito. However, the two are really inseparable. While its creation was a bit forced from WW1, "modern" Yugoslavia starts with Tito's take-over in 1943. And its ending was inevitable after Tito's death. Nevertheless, there are some portions of the book which do not concern Tito directly but were still important for the development of Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia was not always a communist state. While it had 12% of votes in the 1920s, it soon lost favour after terrorist acts. What allowed Tito to rise through power as in the state that Yugoslavia was in. By the time of WW2, it was occupied by the Axis Power and split up. Resistance forces appeared, and one of them that was led by Tito. Through guerrilla warfare, they managed to gain more and more control. But the war is not only towards the Axis, but also towards another resistance faction, the Chetniks, and that ended up being most of the battle later on.
What greatly contributed towards Tito's rise to power was the promise of a united Yugoslavia, an idea long in people's minds even before WW1, as the area has a similar culture and they are ethnically the same people. But unification was difficult and conflict between the countries had lead to great violence, extending as far back as the battle in Kosovo 600 years ago.
Part of the split up Yugoslavia included Croatia which was being used by Germany. A puppet Nazi State was established and lead by ultra-nationalists that wanted an independent Croatia called NHD - Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, meaning the Independent State of Croatia. And this was obviously against the unification dream of Yugoslavia.
The NDH was extremely violent, to the point where it even shocked the soldiers from both Mussolini's and Hitler's Reich. They cooperated with Nazi Germany in the Holocaust and did a genocide of their own against the Serbs living in Croatia. In the beginning, Serbs had to wear blue armbands with the letter P (for Pravoslav, meaning Orthodox).
They later enacted a policy of 'convert a third, expel a third, and kill a third' towards Orthodox Serbs. They wanted to restore a "pure" Croatia that was largely Christian, and the Serbs did not belong. Although somewhat confusingly, Muslims were tolerated. They were considered pure-blood Croats that simply converted to Islam, while Orthodox Serbs were a different race entirely that invaded the country and considered heretics. It is estimated that over 300.000 Serbs were killed.
The genocide from the NDH is described in detail, and it's very hard to read. It's violent beyond comprehension and perhaps the best depictions of evil I have encountered. People being buried alive, thousands of women and children thrown on cliffs, endless torture, and many other things that I will spare you the pain of reading.
I felt somewhat disgusted with myself that I knew so little about this event. It feels somewhat disrespectful towards the victims that at least as far as I always concerned, the event was forgotten by history, overshadowed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
While this is happening, Tito isn't even mentioned. However, it's certainly relevant for Tito's story. His Partisan resistance was seen as an alternative, or a saviour, to this madness. Tito's Partisans slowly gained popularity and was Tito was increasingly seen as a hero. Especially after The Battle of Sutjeska, where 20,000 partisans were surrounded by 120,000 German, Italian, Bulgarian and Croatian troops. Yet the Partisans managed to survive, and Tito was injured in the process which likely contributed to the legend that this battle later became, recorded in songs and stories. They gained more and more territory, and in 1945 they managed to expel the Axis powers and 'modern' Yugoslavia was born with Tito as its leader.
Many times the story is told from Tito's perspective and what he went through. Some of it is both gripping and impressive, especially guerrilla warfare. I honestly felt like I was reading a war novel. You also get a good sense of Tito's personality. Part of what seemed to make Yoguslavia such a great country, at least in comparison to the other communist states that were hell on earth was precisely the character of Tito and his great leadership. It is in some sense luck that such a person happened to be leading the country (instead of someone like Stalin), but also luck isn't a fair characterization since his persona is what drove him to power in the first place.
He wasn't without faults, however. He had countless affairs and had a lavish lifestyle. While he didn't have such an inflated ego as many other dictators and didn't seem to want a following for its own sake, he did like his personal luxuries. He enjoyed expensive suits, cars, and houses. But as a whole, he certainly didn't fit with the stereotypical communist dictators. He also seemed not to hold personal grudges and was not vengeful. I was also impressed by several cases where he seemed to grasp nuance well and not so easily frame complex situations into an oversimplified Marxist lens, as many of his contemporaries did.
His personality aside, there was still a lot of human rights violations that often aren't talked about, especially of people anti-Yugoslavia or even pro-Yoguslavia but against Tito's more liberal revisions of communism. While Tito boasted that during the revolution they didn't perform the typical mass murder as other revolutions did, a large amount of torture was performed. Furthermore, there was an island slave camp in Croatia where political opponents were sent for imprisonment and forced labour. Over 12,00 people from 1948 to 1950 were sent there. The prisoners certainly weren't well treated, and it seemed to have been an equal match to Stalin's Gulags, and likely worse than some of them.
This was made worse by the political environment of the time. In the beginning, Tito was an ally with Stalin, but they eventually broke off, which was hard for Yugoslavia and resulted in harsh collectivisation which caused a great deal of suffering, especially towards the poorest.
While the southern Slavs have a great deal in common, they nevertheless seem destined to be apart. And as the common enemy faded into history, the national rivalries increased. Yugoslavia tried to be more democratic and liberal and opened their borders, it greatly benefited business, but not equally. Since Slovenia and Croatia were closer to the West, they got much richer from it compared to the others who were more East and South, which certainly did not make them happy. It also tended to reward more entrepreneur type people, who were more condensed in the West and North. The poorest and more conservative parts suffered the most.
In 1967 there was a movement towards the recognition of Croatian as a distinctive language, with some decent support from intellectuals. This was quickly stopped by the government, but it was a sign of the nationalism problem popping up again. Tito fought for his dream of a unified south Yugoslav nation and even achieved it for some time, but he couldn't hold it together. To make it worse, Tito was getting older, and his personality and his cult-like fame were largely keeping the country together. As much as he achieved, religious and racial intolerance seemed impossible to overcome. Serbs still wanted the Turks out of their land, and Croats still wanted to drive out the Serbs.
In Yugoslavia later years, the economy was again problematic. While there seemed to be prosperity in the country, a lot of it was from foreign loans that now needed to be paid. There was rising unemployment and horrible inflation. The author describes that when he was in Belgrade in 1953, the most valuable note was 100 dinars. Just three decades later, one coffee was one million dinars.
After Tito's death, his cult of personality was intensified to try to bring the country together. However, as communism collapsed in Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia eventually dissolved as well. All the old problems came back and a civil war started. This book was written in 1993, meaning that it captures the breakdown of Yugoslavia but before the war started. However, it does have some commentary on those events with a very short epilogue, which I wish it was longer. The war ended up killing 140,000 people.
While perhaps this seems a lot of information, it is only a fraction of what is in the book. While my reviews often include a fair bit of summary, this was even more so in this case. In part because I wanted to write it out so I could remember it and articulate it better.
The book is rather long, although it never felt too hard to read. I found the writing enjoyable, and I really enjoyed the perspective of the author. Not only is there a great deal of research involved in this, but he spent a long time in Yugoslavia as a journalist adds a valuable first-person perspective to his narration. There wasn't anything in the book that made me think the author was unfair to the events. He never tried to frame Tito as just another communist dictator, but also was not afraid to point out where he went wrong and the problems that Yugoslavia went through.
I found that the most enjoyable part of the book was the beginning with Tito's rise to power. In the more stable years of Yugoslavia, the story wasn't very interesting. Nevertheless, I got pleasure from reading the whole thing and having a much better knowledge and appreciation of the region. I am obviously in an unusual situation that made me pick this book. Most of you won't live in a country that belonged to Yugoslavia, and I'm sure that some have never even heard it before.
However, I also gained a lot more than I expected that wasn't specific to where I live. It is obviously centred around Yugoslavia and Tito, but I learned a lot about both world wars, the nature of politics, international relations, revolutions, communism, national and ethical conflict, and a lot more. Not saying to pick up the book just for these perspectives if you don't care about Yugoslavia specifically, but there is certainly a tremendous amount of value that goes well beyond the country and its leader.
Out of everything in the book, what stuck with me the most is much hate and violence there was in the Balkan region despite being the same people. I think it is an unfortunate wake-up call to how human beings are so easily divided. It is also a bit terrifying to see common themes arising over and over again in different times and regions that seem to end up in mass murder. Almost as if there was an evil spirit always lurking, waiting for the perfect opportunity to unleash utter chaos and misery upon the world. No matter where and who.
In some parts, it is a very depressing book. But I think it's one of the most rewarding ones I have read. History gives you a perspective that nothing else can match, and its importance cannot be understated. Perhaps reading about Yugoslavia isn't the best use of your time, but if you haven't done so, I would recommend reading the history of your region, and hopefully you will get as much out of it as I did.
Knowing what to read was tricky. There is a lot of nostalgia towards Yogoslavia. To this day, many people are fond of it and have a lot of nostalgia for it. Not as much in the younger population, but significant nevertheless. In part by simply being in the past (most people are nostalgic about the past almost no matter how it was like), in part fueled by the semi cult figure of Tito (its leader), and also in part simply because many people had a good life during it.
I didn't want to read a source that was biased towards that nostalgia and wanted to paint Yogoslavia in an overly positive light, consciously or not. But on the other hand, I didn't want a biased account of it simply because it was a communist state. After some research, this book seemed relatively neutral in these regards. Not that the book doesn't have biases, all books do, but I do believe it avoids the two extremes I wanted to dodge.
Yugoslavia was born after WW1 in 1918 and disintegrated in 1992 into what now is Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. I was more interested in the state itself rather than Tito. However, the two are really inseparable. While its creation was a bit forced from WW1, "modern" Yugoslavia starts with Tito's take-over in 1943. And its ending was inevitable after Tito's death. Nevertheless, there are some portions of the book which do not concern Tito directly but were still important for the development of Yugoslavia.
Yugoslavia was not always a communist state. While it had 12% of votes in the 1920s, it soon lost favour after terrorist acts. What allowed Tito to rise through power as in the state that Yugoslavia was in. By the time of WW2, it was occupied by the Axis Power and split up. Resistance forces appeared, and one of them that was led by Tito. Through guerrilla warfare, they managed to gain more and more control. But the war is not only towards the Axis, but also towards another resistance faction, the Chetniks, and that ended up being most of the battle later on.
What greatly contributed towards Tito's rise to power was the promise of a united Yugoslavia, an idea long in people's minds even before WW1, as the area has a similar culture and they are ethnically the same people. But unification was difficult and conflict between the countries had lead to great violence, extending as far back as the battle in Kosovo 600 years ago.
Part of the split up Yugoslavia included Croatia which was being used by Germany. A puppet Nazi State was established and lead by ultra-nationalists that wanted an independent Croatia called NHD - Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, meaning the Independent State of Croatia. And this was obviously against the unification dream of Yugoslavia.
The NDH was extremely violent, to the point where it even shocked the soldiers from both Mussolini's and Hitler's Reich. They cooperated with Nazi Germany in the Holocaust and did a genocide of their own against the Serbs living in Croatia. In the beginning, Serbs had to wear blue armbands with the letter P (for Pravoslav, meaning Orthodox).
They later enacted a policy of 'convert a third, expel a third, and kill a third' towards Orthodox Serbs. They wanted to restore a "pure" Croatia that was largely Christian, and the Serbs did not belong. Although somewhat confusingly, Muslims were tolerated. They were considered pure-blood Croats that simply converted to Islam, while Orthodox Serbs were a different race entirely that invaded the country and considered heretics. It is estimated that over 300.000 Serbs were killed.
The genocide from the NDH is described in detail, and it's very hard to read. It's violent beyond comprehension and perhaps the best depictions of evil I have encountered. People being buried alive, thousands of women and children thrown on cliffs, endless torture, and many other things that I will spare you the pain of reading.
I felt somewhat disgusted with myself that I knew so little about this event. It feels somewhat disrespectful towards the victims that at least as far as I always concerned, the event was forgotten by history, overshadowed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
While this is happening, Tito isn't even mentioned. However, it's certainly relevant for Tito's story. His Partisan resistance was seen as an alternative, or a saviour, to this madness. Tito's Partisans slowly gained popularity and was Tito was increasingly seen as a hero. Especially after The Battle of Sutjeska, where 20,000 partisans were surrounded by 120,000 German, Italian, Bulgarian and Croatian troops. Yet the Partisans managed to survive, and Tito was injured in the process which likely contributed to the legend that this battle later became, recorded in songs and stories. They gained more and more territory, and in 1945 they managed to expel the Axis powers and 'modern' Yugoslavia was born with Tito as its leader.
Many times the story is told from Tito's perspective and what he went through. Some of it is both gripping and impressive, especially guerrilla warfare. I honestly felt like I was reading a war novel. You also get a good sense of Tito's personality. Part of what seemed to make Yoguslavia such a great country, at least in comparison to the other communist states that were hell on earth was precisely the character of Tito and his great leadership. It is in some sense luck that such a person happened to be leading the country (instead of someone like Stalin), but also luck isn't a fair characterization since his persona is what drove him to power in the first place.
He wasn't without faults, however. He had countless affairs and had a lavish lifestyle. While he didn't have such an inflated ego as many other dictators and didn't seem to want a following for its own sake, he did like his personal luxuries. He enjoyed expensive suits, cars, and houses. But as a whole, he certainly didn't fit with the stereotypical communist dictators. He also seemed not to hold personal grudges and was not vengeful. I was also impressed by several cases where he seemed to grasp nuance well and not so easily frame complex situations into an oversimplified Marxist lens, as many of his contemporaries did.
His personality aside, there was still a lot of human rights violations that often aren't talked about, especially of people anti-Yugoslavia or even pro-Yoguslavia but against Tito's more liberal revisions of communism. While Tito boasted that during the revolution they didn't perform the typical mass murder as other revolutions did, a large amount of torture was performed. Furthermore, there was an island slave camp in Croatia where political opponents were sent for imprisonment and forced labour. Over 12,00 people from 1948 to 1950 were sent there. The prisoners certainly weren't well treated, and it seemed to have been an equal match to Stalin's Gulags, and likely worse than some of them.
This was made worse by the political environment of the time. In the beginning, Tito was an ally with Stalin, but they eventually broke off, which was hard for Yugoslavia and resulted in harsh collectivisation which caused a great deal of suffering, especially towards the poorest.
While the southern Slavs have a great deal in common, they nevertheless seem destined to be apart. And as the common enemy faded into history, the national rivalries increased. Yugoslavia tried to be more democratic and liberal and opened their borders, it greatly benefited business, but not equally. Since Slovenia and Croatia were closer to the West, they got much richer from it compared to the others who were more East and South, which certainly did not make them happy. It also tended to reward more entrepreneur type people, who were more condensed in the West and North. The poorest and more conservative parts suffered the most.
In 1967 there was a movement towards the recognition of Croatian as a distinctive language, with some decent support from intellectuals. This was quickly stopped by the government, but it was a sign of the nationalism problem popping up again. Tito fought for his dream of a unified south Yugoslav nation and even achieved it for some time, but he couldn't hold it together. To make it worse, Tito was getting older, and his personality and his cult-like fame were largely keeping the country together. As much as he achieved, religious and racial intolerance seemed impossible to overcome. Serbs still wanted the Turks out of their land, and Croats still wanted to drive out the Serbs.
In Yugoslavia later years, the economy was again problematic. While there seemed to be prosperity in the country, a lot of it was from foreign loans that now needed to be paid. There was rising unemployment and horrible inflation. The author describes that when he was in Belgrade in 1953, the most valuable note was 100 dinars. Just three decades later, one coffee was one million dinars.
After Tito's death, his cult of personality was intensified to try to bring the country together. However, as communism collapsed in Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia eventually dissolved as well. All the old problems came back and a civil war started. This book was written in 1993, meaning that it captures the breakdown of Yugoslavia but before the war started. However, it does have some commentary on those events with a very short epilogue, which I wish it was longer. The war ended up killing 140,000 people.
While perhaps this seems a lot of information, it is only a fraction of what is in the book. While my reviews often include a fair bit of summary, this was even more so in this case. In part because I wanted to write it out so I could remember it and articulate it better.
The book is rather long, although it never felt too hard to read. I found the writing enjoyable, and I really enjoyed the perspective of the author. Not only is there a great deal of research involved in this, but he spent a long time in Yugoslavia as a journalist adds a valuable first-person perspective to his narration. There wasn't anything in the book that made me think the author was unfair to the events. He never tried to frame Tito as just another communist dictator, but also was not afraid to point out where he went wrong and the problems that Yugoslavia went through.
I found that the most enjoyable part of the book was the beginning with Tito's rise to power. In the more stable years of Yugoslavia, the story wasn't very interesting. Nevertheless, I got pleasure from reading the whole thing and having a much better knowledge and appreciation of the region. I am obviously in an unusual situation that made me pick this book. Most of you won't live in a country that belonged to Yugoslavia, and I'm sure that some have never even heard it before.
However, I also gained a lot more than I expected that wasn't specific to where I live. It is obviously centred around Yugoslavia and Tito, but I learned a lot about both world wars, the nature of politics, international relations, revolutions, communism, national and ethical conflict, and a lot more. Not saying to pick up the book just for these perspectives if you don't care about Yugoslavia specifically, but there is certainly a tremendous amount of value that goes well beyond the country and its leader.
Out of everything in the book, what stuck with me the most is much hate and violence there was in the Balkan region despite being the same people. I think it is an unfortunate wake-up call to how human beings are so easily divided. It is also a bit terrifying to see common themes arising over and over again in different times and regions that seem to end up in mass murder. Almost as if there was an evil spirit always lurking, waiting for the perfect opportunity to unleash utter chaos and misery upon the world. No matter where and who.
In some parts, it is a very depressing book. But I think it's one of the most rewarding ones I have read. History gives you a perspective that nothing else can match, and its importance cannot be understated. Perhaps reading about Yugoslavia isn't the best use of your time, but if you haven't done so, I would recommend reading the history of your region, and hopefully you will get as much out of it as I did.
December 19, 2021
Very impressing and detailed account of the history of Yugoslavia and the life of Josip Broz Tito, its most important leader.
Richard West is a great writer. He manages to seamlessly connect archival evidence, his own anecdotes and quotes of others in a way which proves his proficiency and knowledge on the subject. He doesn't make the mistake of starting the book by describing Tito's youth, but firstly provides the reader with a very interesting account of the history of the Western Balkan region since +/- the Romans, whereby he makes the correct conclusion: the South Slavs are ethnically and linguistically mostly the same; the main thing dividing them is religion (however, West emphasises "ancient religious quarrels" a bit too much throughout the book. What about economic struggles between those groups? This is mentioned, but too little in my opinion).
About Tito himself, West is surprisingly fair for a Western writer. He makes a very interesting analysis of Tito's personality, life and carreer, e.g. stressing his good nature, the complete abscence of feelings of revenge, his (mostly) competent leadership, both in wartime and in peacetime.
His research about what happened in Yugoslavia during WW2 is immaculate. He exposes the horrible Ustasha regime, and the horrible role the Catholic Church (the pope too!) played in the massacre of tens of thousands of Jews and Orthodox Serbians, but at the same time does not underestimate the massacres and collaboration with Axis powers by the Serbian Chetniks.
Contrary to some other writers, West doesn't make a charicature of the Yugoslav self-management system . He describes it fairly, even going as far as saying "I spent a whole day talking to management staff and workers at a Sarajevo clothing factory, and thought it was much better run than those I visited in Lancashire" (p.245). At the same time, he recognizes the dependence on foreign loans.
Also, the Yugoslav role in decolonisation and development projects in Africa are mentioned, I found the part about Ethiopia to be especially interesting.
At the end, West provides the reader a very clear, mostly chronological account of how Yugoslavia started to disintegrate, mainly after Tito's death. This, in the analysis of West, mainly because the renewal of religious bigotry and the infiltration of regional communist party organs by nationalists. The role of the West in this, mainly spearheaded by British PM Thatcher, Germany and Austria, but also by the US and Australia is poignantly described.
Richard West is a great writer. He manages to seamlessly connect archival evidence, his own anecdotes and quotes of others in a way which proves his proficiency and knowledge on the subject. He doesn't make the mistake of starting the book by describing Tito's youth, but firstly provides the reader with a very interesting account of the history of the Western Balkan region since +/- the Romans, whereby he makes the correct conclusion: the South Slavs are ethnically and linguistically mostly the same; the main thing dividing them is religion (however, West emphasises "ancient religious quarrels" a bit too much throughout the book. What about economic struggles between those groups? This is mentioned, but too little in my opinion).
About Tito himself, West is surprisingly fair for a Western writer. He makes a very interesting analysis of Tito's personality, life and carreer, e.g. stressing his good nature, the complete abscence of feelings of revenge, his (mostly) competent leadership, both in wartime and in peacetime.
His research about what happened in Yugoslavia during WW2 is immaculate. He exposes the horrible Ustasha regime, and the horrible role the Catholic Church (the pope too!) played in the massacre of tens of thousands of Jews and Orthodox Serbians, but at the same time does not underestimate the massacres and collaboration with Axis powers by the Serbian Chetniks.
Contrary to some other writers, West doesn't make a charicature of the Yugoslav self-management system . He describes it fairly, even going as far as saying "I spent a whole day talking to management staff and workers at a Sarajevo clothing factory, and thought it was much better run than those I visited in Lancashire" (p.245). At the same time, he recognizes the dependence on foreign loans.
Also, the Yugoslav role in decolonisation and development projects in Africa are mentioned, I found the part about Ethiopia to be especially interesting.
At the end, West provides the reader a very clear, mostly chronological account of how Yugoslavia started to disintegrate, mainly after Tito's death. This, in the analysis of West, mainly because the renewal of religious bigotry and the infiltration of regional communist party organs by nationalists. The role of the West in this, mainly spearheaded by British PM Thatcher, Germany and Austria, but also by the US and Australia is poignantly described.
October 5, 2025
West is not always factually on point, mostly lacks archival evidence (partial exception for German WW2 sources). His account of Tito is heavily based on Dedijer and Djilas. But his strength (and weakness) lies in his personal anecdotes from having reported on Yugoslavia for a lifetime and knowing the local language. The book's best and main part are the events of the Second World War and Tito's role there. He strangely glosses over important parts, like how the Communists entrenched their power, skipping over to the Tito-Stalin split. Nor does he do well to explain how Tito's Yugoslavia actually worked. His account of Yugoslavia's collapse is woefully inadequate and is where the book drops heavily in quality. And you could say that's partly to do with when it was published, but the Death of Yugoslavia by Silber and Little came out around the same time and remains a superb account to this day. But he did give some interesting anecdotes, like him going to the only cinema in 1980s Prishtina not showing pornography only for the movie to turn into an orgy to the cheers of the Albanians in the room.
All in all, not a great book for its scholarly value, but well written and a fair enough place of entry to understand Tito.
All in all, not a great book for its scholarly value, but well written and a fair enough place of entry to understand Tito.
October 8, 2018
West mostly adheres to the root of Yugoslavia’s troubles as an “[a]ncient religious rivalry going back almost a thousand years” rather than “a struggle for power between the republics of Serbia and Croatia.” But he refers to the “nationalities problem” throughout the book. In summary and to generalize, the Croats committed atrocities against the Serbs, who, in turn, carried out atrocities against Muslims and also Croats.
Catholic Church
The Catholic church played a nefarious role in Croatia during WWII which the locals and those in the Vatican refused to acknowledge, let alone atone for.
Western Support for Tito
The declassification of Ultra has made it clear that the West backed Tito as the most likely victor in the Yugoslav civil war. My own research in grad school also made it pretty clear to me that even if Tito received no backing, the Partisans were the strongest tribe. At times during WWII the Germans thought defeating Tito was more important than “repelling an Allied landing.”
Tito’s Success in Yugoslavia
“As Tito knew perfectly well, the Partisan Army had come to power not as agents of revolution, not even as patriots fighting the foreign invader, but as the defenders of Serbs in the NDH (wartime Croatia). Without the Ustasha government and its murderous policy toward the Serbs, the Partisans would have had few recruits, and the Communist Party would never have come to power. This was the principal reason why Tito did not want to rake up the Ustasha [war] crimes [after WWII].”
Despite some great research, footnotes, first-hand interviews, extensive travel and Serbo-Croat language acquisition, West buys into what I see as more of a myth of a much admired Yugoslavia: “a remarkably free-market state, with only a small bureaucracy, and virtually no welfare system” “a healthy drift back [of wannabe workers] from the cities into the countryside and agriculture” “sacked workers travelled abroad as gastarbeiters” and that the Orthodox Church was above reproach. “Nobody thought the State had a right or a duty to interfere on behalf of some ‘underprivileged ‘ interest groups such as the unemployed, the ethnic minorities, working mothers, single parent or putative victims of child abuse. It [Yugoslavia] had almost entirely escaper the three popular Western causes of multiracialism, women’s rights and homosexual equality. The first of these was irrelevant in a country that did not encourage immigration. The other two causes did not take hold in a country enjoying a good relationship between the sexes.” Barf.
The Yugoslavian experiment coincided with the post-war life of Tito. He was the linchpin to making unification happen. When he died, it all began to unravel again. I do wonder if it was ever a good idea to unite the nations of Yugoslavia despite the relatively well-off lifestyle afforded to its citizens while it lasted. I’m still bitter and horrified by their most recent civil war. I think the Yugoslav good life was paid for through Western loans mostly defaulted upon. We propped up Tito and his version of communism against our premier bete noir, Stalin.
Catholic Church
The Catholic church played a nefarious role in Croatia during WWII which the locals and those in the Vatican refused to acknowledge, let alone atone for.
Western Support for Tito
The declassification of Ultra has made it clear that the West backed Tito as the most likely victor in the Yugoslav civil war. My own research in grad school also made it pretty clear to me that even if Tito received no backing, the Partisans were the strongest tribe. At times during WWII the Germans thought defeating Tito was more important than “repelling an Allied landing.”
Tito’s Success in Yugoslavia
“As Tito knew perfectly well, the Partisan Army had come to power not as agents of revolution, not even as patriots fighting the foreign invader, but as the defenders of Serbs in the NDH (wartime Croatia). Without the Ustasha government and its murderous policy toward the Serbs, the Partisans would have had few recruits, and the Communist Party would never have come to power. This was the principal reason why Tito did not want to rake up the Ustasha [war] crimes [after WWII].”
Despite some great research, footnotes, first-hand interviews, extensive travel and Serbo-Croat language acquisition, West buys into what I see as more of a myth of a much admired Yugoslavia: “a remarkably free-market state, with only a small bureaucracy, and virtually no welfare system” “a healthy drift back [of wannabe workers] from the cities into the countryside and agriculture” “sacked workers travelled abroad as gastarbeiters” and that the Orthodox Church was above reproach. “Nobody thought the State had a right or a duty to interfere on behalf of some ‘underprivileged ‘ interest groups such as the unemployed, the ethnic minorities, working mothers, single parent or putative victims of child abuse. It [Yugoslavia] had almost entirely escaper the three popular Western causes of multiracialism, women’s rights and homosexual equality. The first of these was irrelevant in a country that did not encourage immigration. The other two causes did not take hold in a country enjoying a good relationship between the sexes.” Barf.
The Yugoslavian experiment coincided with the post-war life of Tito. He was the linchpin to making unification happen. When he died, it all began to unravel again. I do wonder if it was ever a good idea to unite the nations of Yugoslavia despite the relatively well-off lifestyle afforded to its citizens while it lasted. I’m still bitter and horrified by their most recent civil war. I think the Yugoslav good life was paid for through Western loans mostly defaulted upon. We propped up Tito and his version of communism against our premier bete noir, Stalin.
June 17, 2024
so the main takeaway from this was that tito might have been the secret lesbian icon we never knew we needed (see page 183)... no, but in all seriousness, this was an excellent piece of scholarship that blends history with journalism, and also makes use of colourful, sometimes out of pocket, and certainly amusing anecdotes and remarks. i really should have read this before glenny's book on the conflicts during the 1990s as this provides the much needed context.
whilst i really enjoyed this book, i am somewhat skeptical about some of the claims presented here. prominently that tito was the main gravitational force holding yugoslavia together until his demise, after which its collapse was inevitable due to the nationalities issue. i'm usually quite adverse ito these kinds of individual-centric explanations to historical events (a whole different historiographical tangent), and i would be interested to know more about the ideological/intellectual/geopolitical/etc forces that guided the creation/recreation of yugoslavia. the bulk of the book was also quite pro-tito, which may raise a few eyebrows.
nonetheless, i must admit that there is something about tito as an individual that holds remarkable sway in the imagination. it is easy to see how the perception of him as an enigmatic and venerable figure lives on, even to this day ("the worst thing tito ever did was die" - heard in bosnia, 2024), in a region that has since seen so much bloodshed following his death. perhaps i could be persuaded against my dislike for 'great man' history, can't stress enough that this really was highly enjoyable. in any case, i really should've bought that tito magnet.
whilst i really enjoyed this book, i am somewhat skeptical about some of the claims presented here. prominently that tito was the main gravitational force holding yugoslavia together until his demise, after which its collapse was inevitable due to the nationalities issue. i'm usually quite adverse ito these kinds of individual-centric explanations to historical events (a whole different historiographical tangent), and i would be interested to know more about the ideological/intellectual/geopolitical/etc forces that guided the creation/recreation of yugoslavia. the bulk of the book was also quite pro-tito, which may raise a few eyebrows.
nonetheless, i must admit that there is something about tito as an individual that holds remarkable sway in the imagination. it is easy to see how the perception of him as an enigmatic and venerable figure lives on, even to this day ("the worst thing tito ever did was die" - heard in bosnia, 2024), in a region that has since seen so much bloodshed following his death. perhaps i could be persuaded against my dislike for 'great man' history, can't stress enough that this really was highly enjoyable. in any case, i really should've bought that tito magnet.
September 5, 2023
I loved it!
I tried to find an 'outsider' to tell the story and I am happy that this is the book I stumbled upon.
This is the outlook of a renowned journalist who even took the trouble of learning the language to understand everything better, so even when I didn't agree with some of the ideas he presented I liked to amount of research and references he tried to provide for his outlook. It was so masterfully written that it made me think: Hey, maybe my ideas are wrong!? which is the most you can ask from a book.
From the inital nationalist ideas to the horrible war in 1990s you get a really solid perspective on relationships and history of people in former Yugoslavia.
I read the book in record time and was saddened it wasn't translated to Serbo-Croatian as it should be required reading for all of the people in nations where Tito ruled. I guess it's something I'll have to do myself!
I tried to find an 'outsider' to tell the story and I am happy that this is the book I stumbled upon.
This is the outlook of a renowned journalist who even took the trouble of learning the language to understand everything better, so even when I didn't agree with some of the ideas he presented I liked to amount of research and references he tried to provide for his outlook. It was so masterfully written that it made me think: Hey, maybe my ideas are wrong!? which is the most you can ask from a book.
From the inital nationalist ideas to the horrible war in 1990s you get a really solid perspective on relationships and history of people in former Yugoslavia.
I read the book in record time and was saddened it wasn't translated to Serbo-Croatian as it should be required reading for all of the people in nations where Tito ruled. I guess it's something I'll have to do myself!
May 1, 2019
Informative in parts, but the structure of the book was poor. Much of the last third of the book was West's personal observations of traveling through Yugoslvia in the second half of the 20th centrury. The first two thirds of the book essentially was a biography of Tito. Felt like West skipped around too much. This book was too short and the scope of the content too large for it to be a great historical book. There could have been a whole book on Tito during WWII and this book tried to cover his whole life plus the 10 years in Yugoslavia following jis death.
The one thing I thought he did a great job on was laying out all the atrocities committed by the Ustaša and the complicity of the Croatian Catholic Church.
I also hated the fact that West often talked about inferiority complexes and persecution complexes when discussing Serbians and Croatians throughout the book. It seemed very low-brow. I give this book 3 stars just because the content is so interesting. Probably wont read anything else by West.
The one thing I thought he did a great job on was laying out all the atrocities committed by the Ustaša and the complicity of the Croatian Catholic Church.
I also hated the fact that West often talked about inferiority complexes and persecution complexes when discussing Serbians and Croatians throughout the book. It seemed very low-brow. I give this book 3 stars just because the content is so interesting. Probably wont read anything else by West.
September 30, 2021
An excellent overview of the tumultuous history of Yugoslavia and the rise of Tito. Especially concentrates on the atrocities of the Ustasha during WW2 and the religious tensions of the area.
July 16, 2022
I'm not so good at book reviews but I just wanted to say that I came upon this biography by chance and I'm very happy that I did. There doesn't seem to be many books on Tito, at least not in English, and out of the few I found a copy of, this was the only one that was reasonably priced (they also all seem to be out of print, including this one). So it was a bit of a gamble, but I found it to be a great read. West had traveled extensively through the region, and I enjoyed his first hand experience talking with people from all of the republics.
I got the sense early on that West might've not been so keen on socialism, so I was thinking that would set the tone for the rest of the book. However, his perspective ended up being very interesting and objective, he did not gloss over the positive changes made during the Tito years, when folks from all of the republics, of all religions, largely lived in peaceful coexistence. Nor did he neglect the challenges Tito faced and the mistakes he made. It was great getting a sense of West's perspective changing from his first visit in the years not long after WWII vs. his experience there shortly before the tragic civil war and fall of Yugoslavia. Just the right balance of history and personal perspective from his travels.
Of course, the WWII years were especially tragic and gave a dark insight to what humans are capable of. Post-war, however, showed the brighter side of what humans are capable of--emerging out of a violently divided country, people were able to live together in peace, and enjoy benefits and improvements in quality of life never experienced before in the country (or much of the world for that matter).
Ultimately tragic, but it provided a glimpse into a very special period in history. Tito was such a fascinating guy. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about him and the history of Yugoslavia.
I got the sense early on that West might've not been so keen on socialism, so I was thinking that would set the tone for the rest of the book. However, his perspective ended up being very interesting and objective, he did not gloss over the positive changes made during the Tito years, when folks from all of the republics, of all religions, largely lived in peaceful coexistence. Nor did he neglect the challenges Tito faced and the mistakes he made. It was great getting a sense of West's perspective changing from his first visit in the years not long after WWII vs. his experience there shortly before the tragic civil war and fall of Yugoslavia. Just the right balance of history and personal perspective from his travels.
Of course, the WWII years were especially tragic and gave a dark insight to what humans are capable of. Post-war, however, showed the brighter side of what humans are capable of--emerging out of a violently divided country, people were able to live together in peace, and enjoy benefits and improvements in quality of life never experienced before in the country (or much of the world for that matter).
Ultimately tragic, but it provided a glimpse into a very special period in history. Tito was such a fascinating guy. I highly recommend this book if you want to learn more about him and the history of Yugoslavia.
August 31, 2016
It is a good thing this book is so well written and comprehensive to counteract the intense upper-class English biases of the author which are basically constantly on display. Still, when it comes to Tito biographies this is probably the best that currently exists.
June 29, 2017
Here it is not a question of liberalism or nationalism. But worse than that - bears.
Its's a real invasion, and that's why we talk about them at our Party meetings. We're seriously thinking of leaving.
Its's a real invasion, and that's why we talk about them at our Party meetings. We're seriously thinking of leaving.
May 9, 2024
While offering valuable insights, the book suffers from a poor structure. Much of the latter part delves into Richard West's (the author) personal experiences traveling through Yugoslavia, somewhat overshadowing the initial biographical focus on Tito & factual focus on Yugoslavia.
West avoids the mistake of starting off with Tito's youth, opting instead to provide a comprehensive history of the Western Balkans dating back to Roman times. He aptly highlights the ethnic and linguistic unity of the South Slavs, attributing their divisions primarily to religious, and to a lesser extent economic, factors. The economic factors seems a bit downplayed as they are only highlighted during Tito's reign where the western parts of Yugoslavia (namely Croatia and Slovenia) benefitted way more from tourism and trade with the west than the eastern parts of the country.
West describes the strengths of Yugoslavia's economy, while also addressing its dependence on foreign loans. A farily high standard of living during the hights of Yugoslavia can partly be explained by such loans. West describes that when he was in Belgrade in 1953, the most valuable note was 100 dinars. Just three decades later, one coffee was one million dinars which is the result of these foreign loans. He suggests that Yugoslavia's prosperity was sustained by Western loans, portraying Tito's regime as a Western counterbalance to Stalinism.
The book offers a compelling overview of Yugoslavia's history, with a particular emphasis on the Croatian Ustasha atrocities during WWII and religious tensions in the region. Atrocities committed by Croats against Serbs is reciprocated by atrocities from Serbs against Muslims and Croats. During WWII the west mainly supported Tito during the Yugoslav civil war, recognizing the Partisans as formidable fighters and a serious threat to Hitler's plans of expansion. Tito's success in Yugoslavia stemmed from the Partisans' defense of Serbs against the Ustasha, supporting their recruitment and the Communist Party's success during and after the war.
The book also sheds light on Yugoslavia's involvement in decolonization efforts, with the section on Ethiopia proving especially enlightening. In many aspects, Yugoslavia had close relations to other countries, namely the african nations, with dictators or communist governments which cemented his place in power through trades and status amongst other powerful men.
Despite extensive research, including firsthand interviews, West perpetuates a romanticized view of Yugoslavia as a free-market state with minimal bureaucracy and a strong social fabric. He downplays societal issues like unemployment, ethnic minorities' rights, and women's and LGBTQ+ rights.
In the end, West provides a clear, chronological account of Yugoslavia's disintegration following Tito's death, attributing it largely to religious bigotry and nationalist influences within the communist party. He adeptly analyzes the role of Western powers, notably Britain, Germany, and the United States, in Yugoslavia's collapse. Even though Yugoslavia formally broke up in 1992, the book includes a NATO air strike on the Serbian population in Bosnia in 1995 to force Serbia into peace negotiations but doesn't include the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999 to stop the Serbs ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosovo.
West avoids the mistake of starting off with Tito's youth, opting instead to provide a comprehensive history of the Western Balkans dating back to Roman times. He aptly highlights the ethnic and linguistic unity of the South Slavs, attributing their divisions primarily to religious, and to a lesser extent economic, factors. The economic factors seems a bit downplayed as they are only highlighted during Tito's reign where the western parts of Yugoslavia (namely Croatia and Slovenia) benefitted way more from tourism and trade with the west than the eastern parts of the country.
West describes the strengths of Yugoslavia's economy, while also addressing its dependence on foreign loans. A farily high standard of living during the hights of Yugoslavia can partly be explained by such loans. West describes that when he was in Belgrade in 1953, the most valuable note was 100 dinars. Just three decades later, one coffee was one million dinars which is the result of these foreign loans. He suggests that Yugoslavia's prosperity was sustained by Western loans, portraying Tito's regime as a Western counterbalance to Stalinism.
The book offers a compelling overview of Yugoslavia's history, with a particular emphasis on the Croatian Ustasha atrocities during WWII and religious tensions in the region. Atrocities committed by Croats against Serbs is reciprocated by atrocities from Serbs against Muslims and Croats. During WWII the west mainly supported Tito during the Yugoslav civil war, recognizing the Partisans as formidable fighters and a serious threat to Hitler's plans of expansion. Tito's success in Yugoslavia stemmed from the Partisans' defense of Serbs against the Ustasha, supporting their recruitment and the Communist Party's success during and after the war.
The book also sheds light on Yugoslavia's involvement in decolonization efforts, with the section on Ethiopia proving especially enlightening. In many aspects, Yugoslavia had close relations to other countries, namely the african nations, with dictators or communist governments which cemented his place in power through trades and status amongst other powerful men.
Despite extensive research, including firsthand interviews, West perpetuates a romanticized view of Yugoslavia as a free-market state with minimal bureaucracy and a strong social fabric. He downplays societal issues like unemployment, ethnic minorities' rights, and women's and LGBTQ+ rights.
In the end, West provides a clear, chronological account of Yugoslavia's disintegration following Tito's death, attributing it largely to religious bigotry and nationalist influences within the communist party. He adeptly analyzes the role of Western powers, notably Britain, Germany, and the United States, in Yugoslavia's collapse. Even though Yugoslavia formally broke up in 1992, the book includes a NATO air strike on the Serbian population in Bosnia in 1995 to force Serbia into peace negotiations but doesn't include the NATO bombing of Belgrade in 1999 to stop the Serbs ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosovo.
June 12, 2018
This was a good over view of Tito's life and policies, which places them within the broader context of the region. The author was a correspondent in Socialist Yugoslavia for most of its existence. Because of this, he is able to embellish his argument that the conflicts in the region flow from religious rather than ethnic conflict with a good amount of 'on the ground' and ethnographic information. I also enjoyed that West attempts to show how this conflict developed starting in the Middle Ages.
While the author has clearly done his research, some parts of the book, especially those related to the post-WWII era, digress almost completely from the role of Tito. At times, I was left with the sense that I was reading a thinly-disguised memoir of the time that the author spent reporting from Yugoslavia. This makes some parts of the book feel mis-packaged. For instance, the section entitled "Towards Conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina" contains little more than reminiscences of some time that the author spent in Mostar shortly before the wars began, rather than a brief analysis of the events leading directly up to it.
Would recommend to those interested in Tito's role in the wider history of the region, though this is not an in-depth profile of the man himself.
While the author has clearly done his research, some parts of the book, especially those related to the post-WWII era, digress almost completely from the role of Tito. At times, I was left with the sense that I was reading a thinly-disguised memoir of the time that the author spent reporting from Yugoslavia. This makes some parts of the book feel mis-packaged. For instance, the section entitled "Towards Conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina" contains little more than reminiscences of some time that the author spent in Mostar shortly before the wars began, rather than a brief analysis of the events leading directly up to it.
Would recommend to those interested in Tito's role in the wider history of the region, though this is not an in-depth profile of the man himself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 4, 2023
This is the best thriller I've read in a long time. The character developments are layered (and relatable), the universe building is unreal (take that George R.R Martin), and the final ending (foreshadowed by the main protagonist halfway through the book already) inevitably comes as a heart-break.
Gets 4 stars because of some stupid shit he says in the book, such as that "there is a greater difference between kids in a British classroom of whom some may have Norman, Celtic or Anglo-Saxon ancestry than between a Catholic, Orthodox and a Muslim south-Slav". This was really stupid and unnecessary, you arrogant Brit. He also claims Bosnian Muslims do not constitute a separate nation - a bold statement given the context - and then offers no alternative interpretation of what they should constitute.
Still, commendable work from our buddy Richard, who spent most of his life absorbed in the area and trying to understand Yugoslavs. He did a great job summarizing the region's complicated multiverse-crossover history of the last 600+ years, which I honestly don't think most westerners (or Yugoslavs) are capable of understanding very easily.
Gets 4 stars because of some stupid shit he says in the book, such as that "there is a greater difference between kids in a British classroom of whom some may have Norman, Celtic or Anglo-Saxon ancestry than between a Catholic, Orthodox and a Muslim south-Slav". This was really stupid and unnecessary, you arrogant Brit. He also claims Bosnian Muslims do not constitute a separate nation - a bold statement given the context - and then offers no alternative interpretation of what they should constitute.
Still, commendable work from our buddy Richard, who spent most of his life absorbed in the area and trying to understand Yugoslavs. He did a great job summarizing the region's complicated multiverse-crossover history of the last 600+ years, which I honestly don't think most westerners (or Yugoslavs) are capable of understanding very easily.
April 30, 2018
The author's viewpoint of the past 1,000 year history of the area is detailed and of course interesting. I learned more about Yugoslavia from this one book than any other source. All it’s different nationalities and groups are akin to Game of Thrones. No people have treated each other as bad as the Croats and Serbs. The Ustashi represents one of the most horrific and brutal periods in human history only given a brief respite by Tito and the communists. Not so much detail included on the the story of the day to day life or history of Tito who remains just as admirable if not slightly more enigmatic.
January 2, 2024
Stopped reading it when I realized this almost exclusively followed Tito as a social figure and hardly touched on the policies of the Communist party of Yugoslavia. The writer doesn't hide his liberal bias at all and practically apologizes for Tito being a Marxist, which doesn't make sense to bother writing about a person if you're going to completely discount their politics.
I probably shouldn't leave a review if I only read half of it, but I was looking for something that went into greater detail on the military strategies of the Partisans and the realpolitik of their government.
I probably shouldn't leave a review if I only read half of it, but I was looking for something that went into greater detail on the military strategies of the Partisans and the realpolitik of their government.
January 31, 2020
I wanted a history of the economic and policy situation in Yugoslavia under the context of Tito's leadership.
What I got was 300 pages of "Three religions, one people" said in many different ways.
This didn't really explain why Tito was able to keep Yugoslavia intact, though it did a decent job of explaining why it fell apart (because three religions).
What I got was 300 pages of "Three religions, one people" said in many different ways.
This didn't really explain why Tito was able to keep Yugoslavia intact, though it did a decent job of explaining why it fell apart (because three religions).
August 29, 2020
Written by a journalist who spent a lot of time in Yugoslavia (and elsewhere in Eastern Europe), this book doesn't pretend to be objective, though it feels for the most part "fair". West admires much about Tito, but doesn't ignore his shortcomings, particularly his failure to do more than paper over the ethnic/cultural/religious divisions that would lead to the patchwork nation's demise.
July 28, 2018
Marshal Tito was one of the greatest men ever in all times and specially in the 20th century !
July 31, 2020
Very good and interesting book, talks about Tito's life in detail, kept me interested all through the book.
August 8, 2024
Great unbiased read on a little known great historical figure
June 27, 2019
We on Balkan love to lie and have made history revisions to our favourite sport. I think that it should be forbidden to all of us insiders to write about this, it should be quarantined for let's say 100 years until smarter generations come to areas of Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia.
It was quite nice to read a book covering part of Yugoslavian history that was written by someone outside. I think this is the most objective view about rise and fall of Yugoslavia as it can be at this point of time.
It was quite nice to read a book covering part of Yugoslavian history that was written by someone outside. I think this is the most objective view about rise and fall of Yugoslavia as it can be at this point of time.
January 22, 2010
Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia: And the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia (Paperback)
by Richard West
Carroll & Graf Publishers
436 pages
isbn 0786703326
Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia is about the once proud nation of Yugoslavia and how it collasped in to 6 different weak republics.This biography explains how Josiph Broz Tito held the nation of Yugoslavia together for more than 45 years despite deep ethnic and religious conflict and propelled it to the center of the world when it was still a weak nation. Tito was the face of Yugoslavia and when he died the country died with him.
The biography talks about Yugoslavia's biggest feats including defeating the German Nazi army and helping the allies rid Europe of Nazi occupation. Althought Yugoslavia was communist they were independent and they were not allied with the USSR. During Tito's time Yugoslavia was at peace and no fighting occured. Despite Tito's efforts Yugoslavia still had a lot of problems; religious + ethnic conflict and nationialism. The result after the breakup of Yugoslavia was bloody civil war and much war crimes.
The biography uses many different angles and inside sources to help define how one man unified a whole nation. The biography gives a lot of historical background information and uses a lot of media sources in order support it's central theme: Tito was the father of Yugoslavia and the country survived through him.
Overall I would say most people would not read this book unless they has have Yugoslavian heritage and like history. It's an alright book but half the things I read in this book I already knew. I think this book needs to examine new angles and perspectives.
by Richard West
Carroll & Graf Publishers
436 pages
isbn 0786703326
Tito and the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia is about the once proud nation of Yugoslavia and how it collasped in to 6 different weak republics.This biography explains how Josiph Broz Tito held the nation of Yugoslavia together for more than 45 years despite deep ethnic and religious conflict and propelled it to the center of the world when it was still a weak nation. Tito was the face of Yugoslavia and when he died the country died with him.
The biography talks about Yugoslavia's biggest feats including defeating the German Nazi army and helping the allies rid Europe of Nazi occupation. Althought Yugoslavia was communist they were independent and they were not allied with the USSR. During Tito's time Yugoslavia was at peace and no fighting occured. Despite Tito's efforts Yugoslavia still had a lot of problems; religious + ethnic conflict and nationialism. The result after the breakup of Yugoslavia was bloody civil war and much war crimes.
The biography uses many different angles and inside sources to help define how one man unified a whole nation. The biography gives a lot of historical background information and uses a lot of media sources in order support it's central theme: Tito was the father of Yugoslavia and the country survived through him.
Overall I would say most people would not read this book unless they has have Yugoslavian heritage and like history. It's an alright book but half the things I read in this book I already knew. I think this book needs to examine new angles and perspectives.
May 18, 2016
What a well presented book! I did not expect such a clear and comprehensive presentation of the main episodes of Tito's life and beyond. It's not the usual dull and itemized biog. You get the bigger picture here. Yes it has some holes and gaps here and there but nothing that you can't fill in with more readings. This book is meant to give you the frame and a clear understanding of the socio-political, economical, cultural and historic context in which Tito was born, raised, grew up, matured, operated and eventually passed away. The boring list of names, dates and facts leave them to some other biographers. This book so simply explains with more details you may require the big pitcure of the Yugoslavia culminating in Tito, from his raise to power to his death and its aftermath.
Again I can only come up with the following adjectives in relation to this book: simple, clear, disarming, truthful, non biased, wide and sensitive.
Again I can only come up with the following adjectives in relation to this book: simple, clear, disarming, truthful, non biased, wide and sensitive.
didn-t-finish
April 27, 2008Well I've started this and I'm not going to make it through. Way too much history. I read the first thirty pages and couldn't remember a thing about which group was which. I think I'm going to try a biography written by one of his closest friends. Obviously the history is important to who Tito was, but I need a book that's not written like a history textbook. Without much prior knowledge of this region, I was drowning in the details.
May 22, 2012
This is at once a partial biography of Josip Broz and a history of Yugoslavia from its reformation after World War II until its break-up, Tito's life and political practice being considered both in terms of how he kept the country together and how his means of doing so may have contributed to its eventual dissolution.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews