BOOKS + WEB SITES
BOOKS
The journalists interviewed by SALON for the Bosnia Roundtable have written some of the most insightful and compelling books on the causes, course and horrors of the conflict. Here are some other books that they recommended:
"The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War."
By Misha Glenny. (Penguin1992) Glenny, then Central Europe correspondent for the BBC, accurately predicted the disaster that, thanks to cynical nationalism from within and Western European ineptitude from without, befell the former Yugoslavia.
"Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Tradition Betrayed."
By Robert J. Donia and John V.A. Fine. (Columbia University Press, 1995) Two historians put the conflict into an historical context. They refute the conventional wisdom that the parties are somehow genetically programmed to kill each. On the contrary, they find, Bosnia was for centuries a model of a multi-ethnic society.
"A Short History of Bosnia."
By Noel Malcolm. (New York University Press, 1994) Malcolm, an academic, disputes the view of Robert D. Kaplan and others that evil inevitably triumphs in this part of the world. "His point is basically that Bosnia has had a period of good intercommunal relations," comments Kaplan. "And that one can exaggerate the badness of history."
"Seasons in Hell: Understanding Bosnia's War."
By Ed Vulliamy. (Simon & Schuster, paperback, 1994) A strong, often gut-wrenching narrative of the war from its beginnings in 1991. Like Rieff's book, it makes one wonder how the West could have have stood by and twiddled its thumbs for so long.
Web surfers could spend many of their waking hours browsing the tens of dozens of Web sites devoted to the war in Bosnia. Offerings range from Croatian Television's Home Page to Sarajevo On Line , which connects Internet users with Sarajevo residents. Many of them are rich both in information and images. Among the best:
CNN Interactive, the main web site of Cable News Network, features "The Balkan Tragedy," which includes an extensive photo gallery, archived news reports, a guide to the key players, and much more.
California Institute of Technology
Caltech's Bosnia Home Page may be the most comprehensive single site devoted to Bosnia on the World Wide Web. In addition to a compendium of recent news, press releases, maps, factbooks and photos, the site provides a rogue's gallery of accused war criminals, artwork and letters from Bosnian residents, and lists of organizations involved in the region.
U.S. Defense Department
The official guide to Operation Joint Endeavor, the US-Nato military mission in Bosnia, comes to you courtesy of the Pentagon's BosniaLINK. It features maps, fact sheets, pictures taken by army photographers, biographies of some of the operation's commanders, transcripts of briefings, and speeches and Congressional testimony. The site also provides links to the air force, navy and State Department.
The war in pictures
Faces of Sorrow is a "virtual" exhibit of more than 50 photographs by taken by 36 photojournalists from 14 countries. The stated aim: "to give face to the faceless and voice to the victims of this devastating war." Produced by Photo Perspectives, it also features articles and reports from the Washington Post, the Irish Times, France 3 television and Human Rights Watch.
