...reading this book. Despite her claims of being a "highly experienced specialist on international affairs" and something of an authority on Yugoslavia and its political scene, the late Nora Beloff wrote a book that is just another contribution to the vast body of propaganda on the Yugoslav conflict published over the last ten years. One would at least expect some new insights or arguments from this self-proclaimed specialist, but she provides no substantial information nor background, nor does she give readers even a perfunctory understanding of the Yugoslav wars and their terrible consequences. Beloff seems to go out of her way to exonerate Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic of responsibility for the crimes committed by his regime and on behalf of the aggressive Serbian nationalism he stirred up during the late 1980s. The grosteque Radovan Karadzic and the Bosnian Serb Army are similarly whitewashed. On the other hand, the Bosnian Muslims and especially the Croats (who become interchangeable with the word "Ustasha" in the course of the book) are to blame for almost everything. Much of the propaganda published by the Yugoslav Information Ministry is more convincing that Beloff's mindless diatribes in this book. In his foreward to the book, Richard Body lambasts Western commentators for allegedly adhering to the formula "Bosnia and Croatia, good; Serbia, bad." All this little pamphlet does is turn the formula around: "Serbia, good; Bosnia and Croatia, bad." Such moronic simplicity may make good sense for narrow-minded propaganda campaigns, but it does nothing more in reality than foment further misunderstanding and prejudices.

I respect the opinion of the person who wrote the review before me, but I urge you to read the book. I understand why Edo would not like the book. It is much different than anything else you can find in USA. The book shows the other side of the war and clearly states that there were three waring parties there. The book is filled with facts that show the numbers of serbian refugees from Bosnia (40%) which has been hidden to the West. The book gives a good idea of what really happened and all the reasons why the three nations didn't want to live together anymore. In any case, I can say that I feel wiser for have read it. Thank you.