Bosnia: a short history

Noel Malcolm

NYU Press, Sep 1, 1996 - History - 360 pages

This updated edition of Noel Malcolm's highly-acclaimed Bosnia: A Short History provides the reader with the most comprehensive narrative history of Bosnia in the English language. Malcolm examines the different religious and ethnic inhabitants of Bosnia, a land of vast cultural upheaval where the empires of Rome, Charlemagne, the Ottomans, and the Austro-Hungarians overlapped. Clarifying the various myths that have clouded the modern understanding of Bosnia's past, Malcolm brings to light the true causes of the country's destruction. This expanded edition of Bosnia includes a new epilogue by the author examining the failed Vance-Owen peace plan, the tenuous resolution of the Dayton Accords, and the efforts of the United Nations to keep the uneasy peace.

What went wrong in the country where Christians and Muslims mingled and tolerated each other for over five centuries? It was a land with a vibrant political and cultural history, unlike any other in Europe, where great powers and religions-the empires of Rome, Charlemagne, the Ottomans; the faiths of Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, and Islam overlapped and combined. In this first English-language history of Bosnia, Noel Malcolm provides a narrative chronicle of the country from its beginnings to its tragic end. Clarifying the various myths that have clouded the modern understanding of Bosnia's past, Malcolm brings to light the true causes of the country's destruction: the political strategy of the Serbian leadership, the conflict between the city and the countryside, the fatal inaction and miscalculations of Western politicians. Putting the Bosnia war into perspective, this volume celebrates the complex history of a country whose past, as well as its future, has been all but erased. At last, here is the guide for the general reader seeking a comprehensive and accessible account of the war in the former Yugoslavia.

Table of Contents

A Note on Names and Pronunciations
Maps
Introduction
1. Races, myths and origins: Bosnia to 1180
2. The medieval Bosnian state, 1180-1463
3. The Bosnian Church
4. War and the Ottoman system, 1463-1606
5. The Islamicization of Bosnia
6. Serbs and Vlachs
7. War and politics in Ottoman Bosnia, 1606-1815
8. Economic life, culture and society in Ottoman Bosnia, 1606-1815
9. The Jews and the Gypsies of Bosnia
10. Resistance and reform, 1815-1878
11. Bosnia under Austro-Hungarian rule, 1878-1914
12. War and the kingdom: Bosnia 1914-1941
13. Bosnia and the second world war, 1941-1945
14. Bosnia in Titoist Yugoslavia, 1945-1989
15. Bosnia and the death of Yugoslavia: 1989-1992
16. The destruction of Bosnia: 1992-1993
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index

What people are saying

Review: Bosnia: A Short History

User Review  - Anny - Goodreads

I read both this book and the one about Kosovo by the same author, and I found that they complimented each other very well. They both made for a compelling and interesting read.

Review: Bosnia: A Short History

User Review  - Jeff Kelleher - Goodreads

Much of what goes by "history" in the Balkans is actually myth, generated and repeated by the regional tribes to serve their chauvinistic purposes. The serious historian will necessarily clash with ...

Contents

• Bosnia to 1180: 1
• The medieval Bosnian state 11801463: 13
• The Bosnian Church: 27
• War and the Ottoman system 14631606: 43
• The Islamicization of Bosnia: 51
• Serbs and Vlachs: 70
• War and politics in Ottoman Bosnia 16061815: 82
• Economic life culture and society in Ottoman: 93
• The Jews and the Gypsies of Bosnia: 107
• Resistance and reform 18151878: 119
• Bosnia under AustroHungarian rule 18781914: 136
• Bosnia 19141941: 156
• Bosnia and the second world war 19411945: 174
• Bosnia in Titoist Yugoslavia 19451989: 193
• 19891992: 213
• 19921993: 234
• A short survey of events 19931995: 253
• Notes: 273
• Glossary: 317
• Bibliography: 323
• Index: 343

About the author

Noel Malcolm is a political columnist for London's Daily Telegraph.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Bosnia: a short history
• Author: Noel Malcolm
• Publisher: NYU Press, 1996
• ISBN: 0814755615, 9780814755617
• Length: 360 pages
• Subjects: History / Europe / Eastern; History / Europe / Greece