Balkan History Programme

Annotated list of recommended titles © CEEBP 2002

Fikret Adanir, Die Makedonische Frage, Ihre Entstehung und Entwicklung bis 1908, Steiner, Wiesbaden 1979, 283 pp.*

A well-balanced overview of Serb ideas and actions preceding the conquest of Macedonia which provided the basis for later justification for the foundation of an independent Macedonian state. Adanir makes short shrift with a number of historical myths. The author, professor at the Ruhr University at Bochum, is highly critical of the historiography that is current in his native country.

A.D. Alderson, The Structure of the Ottoman Dynasty, Oxford University Press, 1956 *

An important reference work.

Branimir Anzulović, Heavenly Serbia. From Myth to Genocide, New York University Press, 1999, 256 pp. *

This book gives a useful synthesis of the existing socio-anthropological views on the political culture of the Balkans. It explains the outburst of the violence from historical perspective, describing the social codes and norms of the area known as the Dinaric Highlands, a mountain chain that runs from the southeast of the Balkans to the Adriatic Coast. The author takes a firm stand against the historical and present myths that exist about the Balkans in the West.

Peter Bartl, Albanien, Oldenburg/München, Verlag Friedrich Pustet/Südosteuropa Gesellschaft, 1995, 304pp, 9 maps. *

This solid and well written history of Albania focuses on the XXth century, but also provides a brief account on the controversial centuries of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The main stress is laid on political and diplomatic history. Clear and precise, this book is very useful for students and researchers alike.

Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrique, Sephardi Jewry. A History of the Judeo-Spanish Community, 14^th-20^th centuries, University of California Press, 2000, 352 pp. *

A thorough historical synthesis on the Jewish communities in the Balkans and Turkey. The Sephardi Jews were not confronted with serious antisemitic outbreaks in the Balkans, yet they were never fully integrated in local society. Their presence is usually acknowledged by Balkan historiography, but the internal development of their communities is totally ignored. This book shows clearly that the cultural revival of the 19^th century and the spread of Zionism among the Sephardi were directly linked with the growth of nationalism in the Balkans.

Christopher Bennet, Yugoslavia's Bloody Collapse; Causes, Course and Consequences, London: Hurst & Company, 1995. 272pp. ISBN 1 85065 2325 *

Approximately half this book deals with the evolution of Yugoslavia before the mid-1980s, but the major proportion examines the impact of Milošević and the subsequent descent into war. Despite the sensationalist title the book is a sober and intelligent treatment of the complex issues involved. The author had some experience as a journalist in Yugoslavia in the 1980s and he brings out a number of factors frequently missed by other observers. As he spent some of his time in Ljubljana he gives Slovenia more prominence than many other authors.

Jean-Paul Bled, François-Joseph, Fayard, Paris 1987, 766 pp (English translation by Teresa Bridgeman, Basil Blackwell, Oxford UK & Cambridge USA, 1992, 359 pp. Incl. notes, chronology, bibliography, index) *

Superbly written and well documented biography, a standard work combining deep understanding of Franz Joseph with outstanding knowledge of the social, political, economic and cultural developments of the Austro-Hungarian empire. This monumental biography covers the exceptionally long reign of Franz Joseph (1848 – 1916). The author demonstrates that, far from playing a mere representative role, the emperor was in the centre of most decision-making in internal as well as international affairs. He gives a vivid insight in the complicated mechanisms of power in the Dual Monarchy in its best period.

Marc Bloch, Apologie pour l'histoire, ou Métier d'historien, 1949 (Historian's Craft, Random House, 1964), 160 pp.*

A beautifully written classic by the founder of the Annales school of historiography. Bloch moves from considerations about the relation between past and present, or why we should study history at all, to a polemical discussion of the nature of historical understanding and the need for "total history" integrating politics, culture, society and geography. The newest English-language edition of the Historian's Craft contains a useful ten-page introduction by Peter Burke.

Fernand Braudel, La Méditerranée et le monde méditerranéen a l’époque de Philippe II , 662 pp.*

A comprehensive study of Mediterranean culture, society, and economy during the 16^th century by one of the leading historians of the Annales school. Braudel describes the influence of climate, topography, distance, trade fairs, and battles on historical change.

Nathalie Clayer, Mystiques, état et Societé. Les halvetis dans 'l'aire balkanique de la fin du XV siecle a nos jours

A pioneer study of islamisation of the Balkan.

Philip J. Cohen and David Riesman, Serbia’s Secret War: Propaganda and the Deceit of History, Texas A&M University Press, 1997, 264 pp. ISBN 0890967601

The book challenges the black and white picture of the Second World War history in Serbia. The Serbian official historiography adopted the view of the Serbian anti-fascist resistance, and Serbian alliance with the democratic West European states. The authors of this book describe the Serbian political bonds with Germany. Between 1941 and 1945, Serbia was a Nazi-satellite state and the Serbian regime under the leadership of Milan Nedic was responsible for the extermination of the Serbian Jews. The authors give a comprehensive historical overview of the Serbian extreme-nationalist ideology. Without making an explicit connection with the recent Yugoslav wars, the book contributes to the understanding of the ideological background of the ethnic conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia.

R. J. Crampton, Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century. London & New York: Routledge, 1994, paperback edition 1997, 536 pp. *

This book deals with the history of Eastern Europe from the Baltic states to the Balkans, from World War I till the end of communist rule. Crampton focuses on the internal development of the Eastern European states, the economic changes and party politics. He combines a extensive knowledge with a profound understanding, which makes this very detailed, but well organised book a reliable and remarkably readable guide through 20^th century East European history.

Loring M. Danforth, The Macedonian Conflict. Ethnic nationalism in a transnational world, Princeton University Press, 1995, 290 pp.

Darnforth explores the construction of Macedonian national identity as a result of the establishment of a state structure after 1945 and of the state policy in the context of the complicated history of Macedonia's relations with neighbouring states. The historical and anthropological evidence he presents shows how changeable, and how dependent on historical, political and social circumstances national identities are.

Raymond Detrez, Kosovo: de uitgestelde oorlog (Kosovo: The Postponed War), Uitgeverij Houtekiet, 1999, 205 pp.

This is very well written even-handed critical analysis of the national myths and ideologies of the Great-Serbian and Great-Albanian nationalisms. The book offers a lucid examination of the Yugoslav disintegration, the Belgrade and the Kosovar policy, and a sober discussion of the international attempts at mediating the conflict.

Ger Duijzings, Religion and the Politics of Identity in Kosovo. London: Hurst & Company, 2000

This book is a collection of excellent studies, based on thorough fieldwork, concerning various aspects of intercultural exchange, especially between Muslims and Christians, in Kosovo. Among the many revealing studies – to be read, according to the author, as ‘ethnographic snapshots’, we can mention ‘The Exodus of Kosovo Croats: A Chronicle of Ethnic Unmixing’, ‘Christian Shrines and Muslim Pilgrims: Joint Pilgrimages and Ambiguous Sanctuaries’, The Martyrs of Stublla: Albanian Crypto-Catholics and the Franciscan Mission’, ‘The Making of the Egyptians in Kosovo and Macedonia’, ‘The Kosovo Epic: Religion and Nationalism among the Serbs’. Duijzings, a Dutch anthropologist teaching in London and Amsterdam, analyses local myths, but also challenges dominant Western myths about the Balkans, particularly those pertaining to ethnic conflict and violence in the region as the result of ancient tribal hatred and irreconcilable animosities. His most important contribution to a better understanding of the region is the way he shows the perception of clearly demarcated ethnic groups in the Balkans is highly illusory. A translation of this book in Serb and/or Albanian would be very useful.

Francis Dwornik, The Slavs in the European History and Civilization, Rutgers University Press, New York, 1962 *

The excellent treatise covers the international relations, the political development, and the cultural and institutional history of all Slavic peoples within the broader context of their neighbour's history.

Evans, R. J. W., The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550-1770; An Interpretation, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979, 531pp. ISBN 0 19 873085 3.

This intense and authoritative study is divided into three sections: the General Evolution; The Centre and the Regions; and The Intellectual Foundations. From these titles it is clear that the book is not confined to narrative history of the old school, though nor does it dismiss that approach. It is strong on the social and the intellectual development of the area from the Renaissance and the Reformation through to the Enlightenment. It was widely acclaimed upon publication, was the joint winner of the Wolfson Literary Award for History in 1979.

John V. A. Fine, The Early Medieval Balkans. A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1983 (paperback edition 1991).

In this refreshing book, the author focuses on the many aspects of Medieval Balkan history that are less known, refuting well established, but erroneous or nationalistically biased interpretations. His critical examinations of the scarce and often contradictory sources appear like exciting excursions through history and genuine lessons in historical criticism.

John V. A. Fine, The Late Medieval Balkans, a Critical Survey from the 12^th Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor 1987, 683 pp.

A very balanced, fair, and well organised concise overview of the history of the region preceding the different Balkan states, contrasting with the narrowly national perspective that is ubiquitous in the local historiography.

Robert W. Fogel and Geoffrey R. Elton, Which Road to the Past? Two Views of History, Yale University Press, 1983, 136 pp.*

Two outstanding historians present different points of view on contemporary debates about ways of understanding the past, especially on the conflict between "traditional" historiography focusing on the narration of events, causes and effects, and the "scientific" or "cliometric" approach, which stresses quantitative methods and the analysis of structures.

Timothy Garton Ash, History of the Present. Essays, Sketches and Despatches from Europe in the 1990s, Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, London, 1999, pp. 441 *

A critical study of the past formative ten years of European history since the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe. Written between journalism, history and literature, the book is a delight to read and will be instructive for anyone interested in the present and future of Europe. It raises the question of the transition to democracy of the new states in the former Eastern Europe, by pointing the dangers to these democracies - elite dissent, popular disillusionment and economic distress, but also discusses the problems of Western Europe with the idea and implementation of a European Union. Ash voices his concern for the borderline cases and for the lack of sufficient moral responsibility on the part of Western Europe.

Ernest Gellner, Nation and Nationalism, Cornell University Press, 1983, 150 pp.*

Gellner explains nationalism not as a resurgence of tribalism or as a result of social disintegration, but describes it as a modernising force. Based on analysis of developments in Central and Eastern Europe, Gellner argues that that a society that aims for economic growth depends on universal literacy. Mass communication, and education in a shared standard idiom, tied to one culture and protected by a state identified with that culture. States which do not conform to this principle of "one state, one culture" are subject to internal strains in the form of nationalist activity.

Ernest Gellner, Plough, Sword and Book. The Structure of Human History, University of Chicago Press, 1991, 288 pp.*

Gellner reviews mechanisms of production, cognition and coercion which accompanied the three major phases of human development (hunter/gatherer, agrarian, and industrial) in order to assess future options, and argues for "the need for philosophical history".

Vesna Goldsworthy, Inventing Ruretania. The Imperialism of Imagination. Yale University Press, New Haven & London, 1998, 254 pp. *

Goldsworthy examines the perceptions, ideas, and images regarding the Balkan in the 19^th and 20^th century Western literature and entertainment industry. The book, written in the spirit of Imagining the Balkans by Maria Todorova, explores how this imagery has influenced Western attitudes and policy towards the region.

Misha Glenny The Fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War, London: Penguin Books, 1992. 194pp. ISBN 0 14 017288 2

Glenny was a reporter in Yugoslavia and the Balkans for much of the 1980s and being based in Belgrade for much of that time observed at first hand the tragedy of Yugoslavia’s collapse. Glenny is a shrewd observer who writes in a very lively style. His book was one of the first to appear on the subject and was greeted with enthusiasm; it is still highly regarded and widely read. It begins with the emergence of the Bosnian Serb opposition in Knin, Croatia, and continues to the beginning of the full-scale war in Bosnia in 1992. It has much detail on the personalities involved, and is full of intelligent analysis and useful background information.

Ivan Ilčev, Rodinata mi – prava ili ne! Vânšnopolitičeska propaganda na balkanskite strani 1821-1923 [My Fatherland Right or Wrong! Foreign Propaganda of the Balkan Countries 1821-1923], Universitetsko izdatelstvo Sv Kliment Ohridski, Sofia 1996 *

A courageous approach to national propaganda in the Balkans, showing that all countries without exception manipulated the facts (history, geography, linguistics, religion, culture, etc.) according to their political claims. The usual picture of "small Balkan countries, victims of the decisions of the Great Powers" is radically reversed: the small countries are shown manipulating cleverly the Western public opinion. An impressive bibliography of hundreds of nationalistic pamphlets provides a solid basis to this remarkable work.

Colin Imber, The Ottoman Empire 1300-1481, ISIS Press Istanbul, 1990 *

An excellent analytical outline of the Ottoman history from its foundation by a British historian, based on detailed analysis of Ottoman, Greek, Slavic, and West European sources. The period under study is full of events important in the history (and abuse of history) of the Balkan. The carefully sifted evidence, split from myths, challenges the various national mythologies that are current among Greeks, Serbs, Albanians, Wallachians, Turks, and Bulgarians.

Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire. The Classical Age 1300-1600, Melisse Media, 1989, 258 pp. *

A leading Turkish historian's study of the Ottoman Empire during the period when it grew into a great Middle Eastern and South European power. Major part of the book is concerned with the role of religion and warfare in everyday life, as well as traditions of statecraft, administration, trade, social values, scholarship, and land policies.

Barbara Jelavich, History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Cambridge University Press, 1983, 407 pp. *

A synthetic history of the major Balkan nationalities (the Albanians, Bulgarians, Croats, Greeks, Romanians, Serbs, and Slovenes) starting with a description of the varied conditions under the Ottoman and the Habsburg empires. The book focuses on the national movements, their programs and revolutionary activities, achievements and failures to 1900. These movements, and the gradual disintegration of the Ottoman empire are analysed as major causes of dispute between the Great Powers.

Barbara Jelavich, History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century, Cambridge University Press, 1983, 476 pp.*

Jelavich discusses the internal developments in Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia from 1878, and of the Romanians and South Slav nationalities of the Habsburg Empire from 1867. The territorial expansion of some of these states, the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913, World War I, and the peace settlements after 1918 are described, as well as the Interbellum period. A large part of the volume deals with the Balkans as a battleground between the Allied and Axis forces and major resistance movements during the World War II, the establishment of the post-war Communist regimes, and the divergent development in the various states of the region from 1945 to 1980.

Anastasia N. Karakasidou, Fields of Wheat, Hills of Blood. Passages to nationhood in Greek Macedonia, 1870-1990, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1997, 334 pp.

Few scholars dare cross the borders of the established scientific fields, and their works usually launch hot polemics. This was the case with the study of the national attitudes in a village of Northern Greece by Karakasidou, an anthropologist who entered into historical debates (the ”Macedonian question”) with the tools of her own discipline. For historians her work is both very stimulating and highly frustrating. The author brings out a large amount of material on how people had to adapt their behaviour and opinions under difficult circumstances, something that historical studies rarely do. At the same time she pays great attention to a lot of ”absurd” local traditions (which historians would immediately dismiss), because people tell them and believe in them. It is most salutary for historians to see what becomes of their scholarship at the lowest level, among ordinary villagers.

Karl Kaser, Südosteuropäische Geschichte und Geschichtswissenschaft, Böhlau, Wien- Köln 1990, 308 pp.

A highly valuable approach for all those who try to understand the Balkans as a whole and not only as mere juxtaposition of separate peoples. The fundamental problems of Balkan historiography, its evolution, and its sources are presented in a simple and direct way, with accurate examples and maps, in a systematic comparative approach.

Machiel Kiel, Art and Society of Bulgaria in the Turkish Period, Van Gorcum, Assen/Maastricht 1985, 400 pp. *

A unique study in Bulgarian cultural history set in a wide social and demographic context by an acclaimed specialist in Bulgarian and Ottoman studies. The study, containing rich information on cultural phenomena from the 15^th to the 18^th century, is based on a thorough research. This period is still seen by many Bulgarian scholars and wider public as a "dark age" or at best as a transitional period between the medieval and modern ages, as a period outside Bulgarian history. Its free, unbiased, critical approach is the main reason why the book has remained inaccessible to Bulgarian public until now.

Machiel Kiel, Turco-Bulgarica. Collected Works. *

Dimitri Kitsikis, L’Empire Ottoman, Presses Universitaires de France, Paris 1985, 127 pp.

The continuity and the similarities between the Byzantine and the Ottoman empires are analysed as a consequence of the "middle position" of both states.

Bogdan Krizman, Raspad Austro-Ugarske i stvaranje jugoslovenske države [The Fall of Austria-Hungary and the Creation of the Yugoslav State], Školska kniga, Zagreb 1997

An excellent study of the critical months at the end of 1918 when the old world collapsed. It is far better than many later books, which retro-project the disintegration of Yugoslavia upon its initial period. The author has always been something of an outsider in Croatian historiography. The cheap unsatisfactory aspect of this small original edition (very dense chapters, no maps, nor chronology and almost no scholarly apparatus) should not be an obstacle to its wider dissemination.

Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, Oxford University Press 1986, 524 pp.*

In the first part of the book, the doyen of Oriental and Islam studies offers a chronological account of the social and political events since the end of the 18^th century, which led to the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the rise of Turkish nationalism. The author highlights the slow penetration of Western elements, and the reform tendencies in Ottoman politics. The second part is a detailed study of the intellectual and political history of the late Ottoman society and the period of consolidation of power of Attaturk's movement. In a thematic approach, Lewis analyses the development of nationalism, statehood, religion, culture, and social elite's. His discussion of diplomatic and commercial relations between the West and East provides insight in misunderstandings that led the Western policymaking.

Bernard Lewis, Cultures in Conflict: Christians, Muslims, and Jews in the Age of Discovery, 1996, 101 pp. *

An even-handed overview of the cultural and political clash between Christianity and Islam from the late 15^th to the early 19^th centuries, offering a lucid analysis of the political and economic motives that prompted the Ottoman Empire to welcome the Jews expelled from Spain. The book examines the multiple causes of why the West gained the upper hand in the course of the period.

Philip Longworth, The Making of Eastern Europe, St. Martin’s Press, New York [1992], 1994, 320 pp. *

The author, a historian with a journalistic experience, explores in a thought provoking study the cultural, political, economic and social origins of current problems in Eastern Europe, setting its history in the context of European history dating back to the period of Constantine the Great. In a new chapter, Longworth examines the demise of Communism and the development of post-communism.

Bernard Lory, Le Sort de' Heritage Ottoman en Bulgarie. L'exemple des Villes Bulgares 1878-1880, Varia Turcica no.1, published on the initiative and with the consent of the Institut Français d’Etudes Anatoliennes d’Istanbul and the Association pour le Développement des Etudes Turque (Paris), Istanbul: Isis, 1985, 235pp.*

Almost certainly the most original and one of the most important books on Bulgarian history ever published. But it has a much wider significance: as an examination of the problems of cultural co-existence in a world of changing political over lordship it should be read everywhere in the Balkans. It deals not only with the towns themselves but more importantly with the survival and evolution of ethnic customs and everyday life from systems of weights and measures to cuisine, sports, and festivals.

David Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country, Cambridge University Press, first published in 1985, 489 pp. *

The book offers a rich survey of attitudes towards the past and its meaning. This survey follows three broad lines: 1. The enriching and impoverishing effects of nostalgic, romantic views of the past as opposed to a harsh and disillusioned approach. 2. The value of recollections and the function of memory which is seen as a filter through which consciously or unwittingly the past is adapted and manipulated. 3. Analyses of how and why we change the past, and the trappings of disenchantment or over-appreciation of past events.

It demonstrates that a past event, at the moment when it is registered, is already subjected to a number of interpretations and alterations even when the chronicler strives to be true. It contains a large number of art and photography illustrations and citations from literature, and offers rich bibliography.

Robert Mantran (ed.), Histoire de l' Empire ottoman, Fayard, Paris 1989, 810 pp. *

A team of eleven French scholars sums up six centuries of Ottoman history, taking into account the latest results of research in this complicated and controversial field. This precise and clear book is of great help to anyone trying to understand the history of the Balkans and the Near East. The book provides many indexes and a wide-ranging bibliography. (Bulgarian translation is underway).

Mark Mazower, The Balkans, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2000, 130 pp. ISBN 0 297 64399 1

"… this fine book is likely to be a seminal work both in academia and among the large numbers of diplomats, soldiers, spies, journalists and 'international community' staff who occupy the capitals of the region… his description of the rise of the nation state within the late Ottoman world … is likely to be the standard general introduction to the subject for a long time. It will encourage people to ask awkward, but relevant questions, and to think clearly. It will also lead to much productive future research and scholarship, as well as being an excellent introduction to the region for the general reader" (James Pettifer in TLS February 2, 2000: 35)

Mazower’s book is a very accessible and lucid account of the history of the Balkans. He focuses on the main tendencies and developing, but also offers many original insights and challenges many wide-spread Western popular prejudices concerning the Balkans. For this reason, the book is a good introduction for those who are not acquainted with the region, but also a refreshing survey for those more familiar with it. The Balkan reader might be interested to learn about the impartial and balanced way the Balkans are approached by professional Western historians, still untouched by what Todorova has called ‘Balkanism’.

Dmitri Obolensky, The Byzantine Commonwealth, Eastern Europe 500-1453, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1971. 445pp. (I)SBN 0 297 00343 7

This has long been the standard, single-volume English text on the Byzantine empire, though, as the subtitle suggests, its concentration is overwhelmingly on the European provinces of the empire. Written by an acclaimed and accomplished scholar. After opening chapters on ‘The Geographical Setting’ and ‘Barbarians in the Balkans’, it has a basically chronological approach but also has chapters on ‘Factors in Cultural Diffusion’, ‘Religion and Law’, and ‘Literature and Art’. It is generously illustrated and has useful maps.

Stevan Pavlowitch, A History of the Balkans, 1804-1945, Londen, New York: Longman, 199, 375 pp.

This work of synthesis, clarity, and precision covers a crucial period in the history of the Balkans. The author treats only a century and a half, instead of taking a much longer period as other works on the Balkans do. For students this gives the advantage that they are not discouraged by an avalanche of names and facts. The book contains fifteen chronological chapters, half of which are devoted to the years 1900-1945. The author integrates the economic history, not just as a background to the political and social developments, but as a driving force. This puts into perspective the way the history of the Balkans is all too often seen: as an antique tragedy or a Viennese operate. Pavlowitch, instead, underscores the difficulties of a peripheral region to integrate in the industrial development of Europe.

Alexandre Popovic, L'Islam balkanique. Les musulmans du sud-est européen dans la période post-ottomane, Harassowitz, Berlin 1986

This monumental and pioneering work has received a very small circulation, especially in the Balkans (where its price reaches astronomic proportions). It provides a very clear analytical account of the various Moslem communities in their historical evolution after the fall of Ottoman rule in Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and former Yugoslavia until the 1980s. The book contains an extensive bibliography.

Hugh Poulton, Who are the Macedonians?, 2nd ed. Hurst, London, 2000

An even-handed and fearless unravelling of a most complex region. Just how contentious the area is, even as a topic for scholarly analysis, can be gauged from the publishing history of Anastasia N. Karakasidou's book Fields of Wheat, Hills of Blood. Passages to nationhood in Greek Macedonia, 1870-1990 (see above).

Report of the research of Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian history and literature textbooks by Branislava Baranovic et al (manuscript, Zagreb 1999)

A comprehensive critical study of the schoolbooks on history and literature for the primary and secondary schools in Bosnia-Herzegovina after Dayton peace plan (1995). The authors examined thoroughly the textbooks used in the Serbian, Croat, and Bosnia schools. The focus was put on the relationship between the historical facts and the story (fiction) which together influence the social perception of the past in the Serbian, Croatian and Bosniak ethnic communities.

Joseph Rothschild et al., Return to Diversity. A political History of East Central Europe Since World War II, Oxford University Press, 1993, 338 pp. *

An excellent introductory survey covering Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania and former Yugoslavia.

David Shankland, Islam and Society in Turkey, Eothen Press 1999, 240 pp.

The Ottoman Empire left bad memories and prejudices against Islam in the Balkans. Ataturk's secularism in modern Turkey was never fully acknowledged in the region. This book, based on extensive field research, can help better understand this crucial development. The author, a highly acclaimed British anthropologist, offers a lucid overview of different problems: the state secularism, the place of Islam in Turkish secular democracy, the emergence of political Islam in 1990's, and the debate between various groups that have accepted secularism and those who consider the state not secular enough.

Peter F. Sugar & Ivo John Lederer. Nationalism in Eastern Europe, University of Washington Press, Seattle & London 1969, 465 pp.

This is a third reprint of a collection of path-breaking studies of the development of nationalism in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia through the mid 1960s. The book offers an update in a new introduction, and a bibliography of sources covering the developments in the region since 1960s.

Peter F. Sugar (ed.), Eastern European Nationalism in the 20^th century. Washinton, DC: The American University Press, 1995

This book only looks like a ‘remake’ of Sugar and Lederer’s Nationalism in Eastern Europe (1969). It deals exclusively with twentieth century Eastern European nationalism and is written by a number of younger authors, some of whom approach the subject in a explicitly post-nationalist, sceptical and deconstructionist way. Every chapter includes a selection of nationalist documents from the inter-war period till now, which serve as a starting-point for the analysis.

Peter F. Sugar, Southeastern Europe under Ottoman Rule, University of Washington Press, Seattle and London 1977, 365 pp.

Sugar provides a full and concise overview of the Ottoman expansion, analysing its underlying causes, the institutions it had created, and the functioning of the Ottoman state before the beginning of the 19^th century. It is the most outstanding work on this period, laying the ground for other works, such as the volumes of Jelavich on 19^th and early 20^th century.

Marcus Tanner, Croatia: A Nation Forged in War, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997. 338pp. ISBN 0 300 06933 2

The concentration in this overall history of Croatia is on the modern period, eight of the nineteen chapters dealing with the post second world war years. Nevertheless, the author gives a clear picture of Croatia’s history in the mediaeval period and he pays due attention to important turning points such as 1848. He shows the complexity of Croatia’s composition but at the same time makes his narrative coherent and clear, whilst providing intelligent commentary and analysis. He draws the personalities extremely well. This is, so far, the best all-round account of Croatia’s history.

Alan J.P. Taylor The Habsburg Monarchy, 1809-1918: A History of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, University of Chicago Press, 1983, 279 pp.

A classic study, written for a broad educated audience. Taylor describes the Habsburgs as the greatest dynasty of the modern period, which left deep mark on Europe in general and on Central Europe in particular. The book provides an understanding of the problems inherent in attempts to give peace, stability, and a common loyalty to a heterogeneous population.

Miranda Vickers, The Albanians. A Short History. London and New York, Tauris, 1995. Revised paperback edition, 1997, 280 pp., 2 maps.

A comprehensive history of Albania since the XVIIIth century op to the most recent events. The historical narrative is illustrated by many quotations from different sources, which makes reading it enjoyable. The Albanian point of view on historical events is stressed, which is helpful, but should haven been sometimes more critically presented.

Andrew Baruch Wachtel, Making a nation, Breaking a Nation. Literature and Cultural Politics in Yugoslavia, Stanford University Press, Stanford Ca, 1998, 302 pp. *

Traces the concept of the Yugoslav national identity through the three stages of the "construction" of national cultural tradition(s) in language and literature: the canonising of Yugoslav literature, especially national oral epic; the unitary culture of Brotherhood; the rise and spread of ethnic nationalism in the 1970's. Shows conclusively that the Yugoslav national idea was not something "entirely artificial" as has been claimed in most works on the disintegration of Yugoslavia, neither was it "seething with ancient hatreds". It was rather the abandonment of the cultural nation building on the part of both political and cultural elites created the conditions for the collapse of the Yugoslav state.

Books marked by * have been translated in one of more languages of the region