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Summary: History Lesson, Travelogue, War Observation, and Memory
Review: The Fracture Zone is one of the most unusual books I have ever read. It provides a mosaic of perspectives on the former Yugoslavia centering on the UN-led end of the most recent conflicts in the region. Although the effect can be a little unsettling, the advantage of the approach is to make the experience more personal and more human than a narrower, more disciplined method would have done.The book's premise is to share the author's experiences through the context of his former visit during peaceful times to the same region, historical perspective on why and how the tensions and conflicts have evolved, and on-the-ground insights from conversations with those who hate and those who do not. The effect is not unlike what one's own experiences might have been like if a time machine brought us first into the year 1858 in South Carolina and then in the same area in the year 1865. Without more perspective, someone from Kosovo would not be able to understand what had happened between the two times. That is what the author has been trying to accomplish in this book. Through flashbacks and narration, you will travel twice (once before the wars, and once after them) through the former Yugoslavia on a journey starting in Vienna and ending in Istanbul. You will have many unforgettable moments, like seeing thousands of displaced refugees squatting in a former alpine meadow while overwhelmed army forces try to save lives. You'll learn what a Sarajevo rose is (no, it's not what you think). And you will find how historical lessons can be used as excuses to fan current hatreds of those who are similar and different from oneself. All of this has an incredible immediacy because this is like the worst of the Nazi era, being relived in many ways in our own times. The author keeps asking, why? He poses some answers, but ultimately, it is unanswerable. Perhaps in time, we can make sense of this terrible tragedy. Here are some cautions: Anyone who wants a serious history will not like this book. Anyone who wants a brilliant essay will be even less satisfied. If you are open to a new approach to understanding an extremely complex circumstance, you will find this book to be interesting. It will expand your curiosity, and that will be good. We all need to ponder the lessons here, to help avoid their recurrence. Share this book with one other person, so the memory will expand.
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Summary: Insightful reporting
Review: This book is great for understanding the reasons for the wars in the former Yugoslavia- wars which may yet spread beyond those artificial boundaries. It's refreshing to see researched opinion, rather than emotional polemics, about that troubled region.
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Summary: The Balkans for beginners
Review: Veteran journalist Simon Winchester retraces his steps through the Balkans 20 years after a brief vacation there, to rediscover a region where the geography is as dizzying as the political and ethnic agendas. His journey from Vienna to Istanbul encompasses the crisis in Kosovo and in a series of astute vignettes, Winchester meets some of the major players and the victims. All around him is a simmering cauldron of hatred which has spilled blood yet again and the issues provoke more questions than can ever be answered. Winchester has questions of his own, but he is unable to answer them in any depth. But then, most Westerners have also had trouble analysing the Balkan history of bloodshed. He is only skimming the surface here and for guidance refers to the great works of Nobel prize winner Ivo Andric, whose book Bridge On The Drina remains a classic text to understanding the background of Balkan turmoil. Unfortunately, Winchester departs Kosovo in June 1999, just after NATO enters the region to restore some semblance of calm. I wish he had remained to write about what happened next. The book fizzles a bit when he goes to Bulgaria. There is now a bewildering plethora of books on recent Balkan upheavals. Winchester's wry observations would serve well as a beginner's guide to one of the most troubled and fascinating places on earth.
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