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Title: Croatia: A Nation Forged in War, Second Edition
ISBN: 0300091257
Author:
Marcus Tanner
Publicate Date: 2001-09-01
Publish: 2001-09-01
List Price: $20.00
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $11.31
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $4.10
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| Customer Review: |
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1: "Long-time Minor Leaguer Steps up to Plate, Hits Homer"
We start in the dim past of Slavic tribes moving into the dark realms of the collapsed Roman empire, Christianizing and warding off (sometimes unsuccessfully) the Byzantine rulers from the southeast. Then we move rapidly through the long period of Hungarian rule, coupled with the Venetian hold on the Dalmatian coast, and Turkish occupation. The lands that make up Croatia today long served as a frontier for the Hapsburg Empire and the Hungarian Kingdom, fighting the Muslims/Turks of Bosnia, the French under Napoleon, and the Italians and Russians in World War I. Ultimately Croatia wound up---not an independent state as so many had hoped under the rising tide of nationalism in Austro-Hungarian times---but as a part of Yugoslavia where they played the part of perpetual second fiddle to Serbia. More than half the book is devoted to Croatian history after World War I. Large sections cover the country between the two World Wars, under the awful Ustashe regime during German occupation, and in Tito's Yugoslavia. The slow crumbling and breakup of that country after the leader's death in 1980 is documented very well, as is the war between Croatia and Serbia in 1991-92 and then the lightning campaign in 1995 when the renewed national army drove out the Serbs who had tried to set up an independent enclave within the boundaries of Croatia. Like Ireland, Finland, Slovakia, and other small nations, Croatia endured for centuries as a minor outpost, used but not appreciated by the empires that ruled it. Its territories were often divided among different conquerors. After nearly a thousand years of passionate defence of its mere existence, the nation finally emerged into the light in the 1990s with a language and culture of its own. The perennial "minor leaguer" entered the majors at last. It was an exceedingly difficult transition.
I've read various histories of Balkan and Eastern European countries in which nationalism outpoints facts. Perhaps we might say that "certain facts are ignored" in such books. Tanner, a journalist who worked for years in Croatia and former Yugoslavia, tries to maintain a neutral stance. He neither whitewashes Croatian sins nor takes sides with their enemies. The result is a highly readable book with attention to academic sources, with a series of interesting black and white photographs, and some modern details gleaned on the spot by personal experience which standard histories might never incorporate. I felt that he tried his best to be fair. There are a number of interesting portraits of characters in Croatian history---of Jelacic, Gaj, Strossmeyer, Radic, Pavelic, Stepinac, and Tudjman among others---men hardly known in the outside world. Given that knowledge of Croatia is not particularly widespread, a better, more detailed large map would have been useful. The small maps provided are all right, but insufficient. Histories of Croatia in English aren't exactly a dime a dozen, so you've got to take what you can find. I suspect that Tanner's work, definitive or not, is the most readable. He sticks closely to political/military matters, eschewing the economic, cultural, religious, and other spheres. Croatia's artists, writers, musicians, and architects; the trade, agriculture, and industrial growth, education, even population trends---all are almost totally absent. If you want an excellent action-history of Croatia, this is it, just be aware that nobody can cover all the bases.
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2: Where's the bloody stains of Jasenovac?
Many leaving reviews for this book are taking time and space to re-write history. It would be humorous if it weren't so sad that grandiose national insecurity complex of Croatia. Always the victim to the Serbs. To clarify a quick matter, no gun was put to the head of Croatia at the conclusion of WWI to join up with Serbia as a kingdom of Serbs, Croats & Slovenes. This was a willful act of their intellegencia, but, as history shows us, it was not backed by their masses influenced by their hate filled demagogues. This was the conception of Yugoslavia.
Perhaps I missed the chapter dedicated to the slaughter of thousands upon thousands of Serbs, Jews & Gypsies at the Aushwitz of the Balkans, Jasenovac, during WWII. When books depict the Croatians as accepting their history of lust for blood, then that book will be worth 5 stars.
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3: good but lacking
This is a decent book which provides some insight into the struggle of the Croatian people. But it fails to provide the most important information. That is, the background of how Serbian and communist domination and hegemony forced all people of the former Yugoslavia to want to break free from oppresion. I lived in Zagreb in the late 1980s and the fact is that Serbs dominated Police, Military, Education, Politics, Diplomacy throughout Croatia. The fact is that Croatia, a fairly developed republic had to give most of its income to the YU government in Belgrade. The fact is that the Croatians were not allowed to show any national (not nationalistic) pride. How would we Americans feel if we were not allowed to display our flag, sing our anthem or criticise the governemt. That's how it was. The YU constitution allowed for separation of the individual YU republics if so elected in a public poll, which 94% of Croatian inhabitants did. Croatia offered Belgrade a loose confederation at first but Belgrade replied with terrorist attacks. On a personal basis Croats don't hate Serbs. They just wanted their own country, flag, governemtn and peace. If you look at the history, Croatia due to its natural richness and location, was constantly under attack or occupation. Including by the Serbs. But since the Serbs were the ruling republic, they wrote the history books. Why do you think Croatia is always singled out as an ally to Italy/Germany and Serbia isn't? Serbs wrote the history. Serbs were allies with Germany as well. They had brutal forces like the chetniks who killed tens of thousands of Croatians and Bosnians. But that is not common knowledge. But the anti-Nazi uprising started in Croatia, not Serbia. That's something to think about. So, this book is good, but lacks deeper explanations of the reasons behind the conflict.
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4: Seems Good, But Hard To Tell!
My fiancee and I were both really eager to read this book, we'd heard good things about it and are planning a trip to Croatia. Unfortunately, it's so poorly typeset that it's a real struggle to read! We both got about 15-20 pages into it and just couldn't continue, we were getting headaches (no joke). The problem is that the text is just too densely set, there's no breathing room whatsoever. Yale Press has a done a real disservice to the author.
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5: Good, but Simple
Tanner is neither a Croatian nor an academic, and this limits the book in both understanding and the depth of its research. And yet, the book is successful all the same. It is a quick and accurate overview of Croatia's long and complicated history. Useful for those new to the region and its issues. Some of Tanner's conclusions (particularly those for the most recent events) are decidedly pro-Croat nationalist (unabashed support for Tudjman and the HDZ), and the still-important WW2 events are not carefully considered. But overall, it is a good, if simple book. You may want to complement it with Goldstein's history as well.
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