What makes the book interesting and unusual are the soul-searching reflections on what in Tito's Yugoslavia—its concepts, politics, institutions, and abuses—contributed to the sinking of the Yugoslav idea and the misery that followed.
Foreign Affairs
Job's masterful and comprehensive work will be the touchstone for any future work on the Balkans and on politics and human nature generally. ... Read moreThis book is must-reading.
Marcus Raskin, George Washington University Cvijeto Job tells this 20th-century horror tale from the unique vantage point of a former Partisan fighter, a career Communist diplomat, a caring citizen of the fragile Yugoslav state, and a probing intellectual capable of an unsparing examination of his society and himself. The result is an analysis and memoir that starts where most of the other books leave off—a rich and sobering achievement.
Stephen S. Rosenfeld, former editorial page editor, The Washington Post Job combines a gripping personal account with a searching analysis of what went wrong and how it could have been prevented. He makes a dramatic plea for rejection of the lure of nationalists and for the building of free societies on the basis of compromise and racial tolerance.
Warren Zimmermann, U.S. Ambassador to Yugoslavia, 1989-1992 Cvijeto Job is that rare kind of writer who can feel from inside and write from outside. I thought I knew all about Yugoslavia until I read this passionate but disciplined treatise and learned that I knew nothing about Yugoslavia.
Daniel Schorr, National Public Radio [A] breath of fresh air….Job's book is impressive in its desire for objectivity, its devotion to democratic values, and its intellectual honesty….Its weighty observations regarding nearly all key factors in the contemporary history of the Yugoslav peoples and its bold, provocative assertions will surely win this book the attention of both specialists and the general public.
Review Of International Affairs
An informative account of Yugoslavia's destruction....This historical backgrounder to the present Balkan tragedy is immeasurably enriched by Job's insertion of vignettes that tie his and his family's personal history to the vacillations in Yugoslavia's fortunes over the years.
Balkan Academic News
This is a gem of an effort by a former Yugoslav Communist Party insider. Job's relentless indictment of rampant ethnonational propagandizing, especially by Serbian and Croatian leaders, is powerful and persuasive. Essential.
CHOICE
This book is thought-provoking (often provocative) and contains particular insights derived from Job's personal experience. It also provides the historical context that is essential for any account of Yugoslavia, past or present. If there is bias, which could hardly be avoided, it is almost entirely a bias against evil and foolishness. This book is essential reading for those seeking to understand what happened in Yugoslavia.
International Journal
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