Yugoslavia and Its Historians - by Norman M Naimark & Holly Case (Hardcover)

About the Book

The goal of this volume is to bring together insights from a distinguished group of American and European scholars of Yugoslavia to add depth to our historical understanding of that country's recent struggles.

Book Synopsis

Most of what has been written about the recent history of Yugoslavia and the fierce wars that have plagued that country has been produced by journalists, political analysts, diplomats, human rights organization, the United Nations, and other government and intergovernmental organizations. Professional historians of Yugoslavia, however, have been strangely silent about the wars and the breakup of the country. This book is an effort to end that silence.

The goal of this volume is to bring together insights from a distinguished group of American and European scholars of Yugoslavia to add depth to our historical understanding of that country's recent struggles. The first part of the volume examines the ways in which images of the Yugoslav past have shaped current understandings of the region. The second part deals more directly with the events of the recent past and also looks forward to some of the problems and future prospects for Yugoslavia's successor states.

From the Back Cover

Most of what has been written about the recent history of Yugoslavia and the fierce wars that have plagued that country has been produced by journalists, political analysts, diplomats, human rights organization, the United Nations, and other government and intergovernmental organizations. Professional historians of Yugoslavia, however, have been strangely silent about the wars and the breakup of the country. This book is an effort to end that silence.
The goal of this volume is to bring together insights from a distinguished group of American and European scholars of Yugoslavia to add depth to our historical understanding of that country's recent struggles. The first part of the volume examines the ways in which images of the Yugoslav past have shaped current understandings of the region. The second part deals more directly with the events of the recent past and also looks forward to some of the problems and future prospects for Yugoslavia's successor states.

Review Quotes

"...nearly all of these essays are written, and written carefully and adroitly, by top-drawer scholars who seem to have been encouraged to convey a bit more passion than academic writing typically tolerates....This is a commendable collection that will have enduring value for specialists and libraries as well as for graduate and even undergraduate students."--Slavic and East European Journal

"Yugoslav historians have been unwilling to debate the catastrophe that has overtaken Yugoslavia since the late 1980s. This collection edited by Naimark and Case is a welcome exception in which leading practitioners explore 'images of the past' as well as key factorss in the unsuccessful struggle of Yugoslavia to exist and renew itself under different social systems.--Slavic and Eastern European Review

About the Author

Norman M. Naimark is Robert and Florence McDonnell Professor of East European Studies at Stanford University. His most recent book is Fires of Hatred: Ethnic Cleansing in Twentieth-Century Europe. Holly Case is a Ph.D. candidate at Stanford University.