Balkanalysis.com

Balkanalysis.com’s Christmas Booklist: Our Picks, Old Favorites and More

It’s the holiday season, and to ring it in Balkanalysis.com is presenting its readers with a blow-out list of intriguing reads available on Amazon.com, books that will be enjoyed by friends, colleagues and relatives interested in the fascinating region bounded by the Adriatic, Aegean and Black Seas. The list comprises recent releases, proven popular items, and a few old chestnuts- all of which will be received with gratitude by those on your list- as well as with the usual selection of Completely Unrelated Items.

And hey, don’t forget that buying your books through Amazon.com means you’ll have no problems finding a parking space at the mall. You’ll save gas and time- and be helping this website in the process.

Newly Published Books on the Balkans

Top 2005 recommended releases on the Balkans include Hellenicity, a provocative and groundbreaking study from the University of Chicago Press devoted to the shifting and varied nature of Greek identity in the ancient period, and The Black Sea: A History by Charles King.

One of the most interesting new books of the year, Cumans and Tatars : Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, 1185-1365 by Istvan Vasary was published this spring by Cambridge University Press, as was Guns for the Sultan: Military Power and the Weapons Industry in the Ottoman Empire, by Gabor Agoston.

Another CUP release, of August 2005, is the comprehensive study of the later years of Ottoman rule, The Ottoman Empire, 1700–1922 by Donald Quataert.

Reviews available from this category:

Cumans and Tatars : Oriental Military in the Pre-Ottoman Balkans, by Istvan Vasary

Guns for the Sultan, by Gabor Agoston

Perennial Favorites

The Scott Taylor library continues to appeal, month in and month out. The Canadian war reporter’s first-hand account of the Kosovo War, Inat: Images of Serbia and the Kosovo Conflict picks up were Tested Mettle, the riveting story of Canadian peacekeepers caught in the line of fire in the Yugoslav wars, left off. Scott’s later account of the Macedonia 2001 conflict, Diary of an Uncivil War: the Violent Aftermath of the Kosovo Conflict, is like Inat a first-hand retelling of the war at different stages of its development throughout the summer of 2001.

On the fascinating subject of the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913 by Edward J. Erickson tells the story of the campaign from the Turkish point of view, explaining Ottoman losses while also arguing that their army was no as hapless as is often said. It has proved popular in the past, as has the more accessible all-around survey of Richard C. Hall, The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War.

Reviews available from this category:

Inat: Images of Serbia and the Kosovo Conflict, by Scott Taylor

Diary of an Uncivil War: the Violent Aftermath of the Kosovo Conflict, by Scott Taylor

Defeat in Detail: The Ottoman Army in the Balkans, 1912-1913, by Edward J. Erickson

The Balkan Wars, 1912-1913: Prelude to the First World War, by Richard C. Hall

Old Chestnuts

…roasting on a Balkan fire. Two works of Balkan literature from the classics section include Ivo Andric’s The Bridge on the Drina, and Vladimir Bartol’s timeless 1938 novel, Alamut. Among classic travel writing, recommended are Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia by Rebecca West, and the renaissance-era Ottoman travelogue, Evliya Celebi in Albania and Adjacent Regions: Kossovo, Montenegro, Ohrid (Evliya Celebi’s Book of Travels,

Reviews available from this category:

Alamut, by Vladimir Bartol

And Now for Something Completely Unrelated…

Every month, we inevitably have a few items selected that fit none of the usual categories; in the past they have included South Park (first, second, third and fourth seasons) Irish investigative journalist Tim Pat Coogan’s Eamon De Valera: The Man Who Was Ireland and The IRA, Dr. Wayne W. Dwyer’s The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way, as well as tech items such as the Canon PowerShot S410 4MP Digital Elph with 3x Optical Zoom.

This time around, let us suggest the RIM BlackBerry 7290 Phone. And hey, the country’s going to hell anyway, so why not blow five-and-a-half G’s on a 60 inch plasma screen TV?

So go buy it- and then cultivate the sinking feeling of why you shouldn’t have done so by reading Empire of Debt: The Rise Of An Epic Financial Crisis by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin. For more light reading from the best-seller list, check out Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s first novel in 10 years, Memories of My Melancholy Whores and Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

To accompany all this reading, how about a strong coffee- made with the Gaggia 35008 Carezza Espresso Machine? And for dessert, how about a Velvety Smooth Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Delicately Flavored with Brandy and Espresso Resting atop Vanilla Cake? After all, it’s the holidays, time to splurge!

…………………..

Note: Over the next few months, we will continue to review many more new Balkan-related books. Upcoming reviews will include:

Military Operations Macedonia, Part 2 (to complement our existing review of the first volume of Military Operations Macedonia, found here: Military Operations Macedonia: The Official British History)

Preparation for a Revolution, the story of the rise to power of the Young Turks, by M. Sukru Hanioglu

Byzantium’s Balkan Frontiers, a study of the Balkans under Byzantine rule, by Paul Stephenson

As always, readers should feel free to recommend to us books that they would like to see reviewed. Researchers on Balkan subjects are also invited to offer their ideas for writing a review. Please send any suggestions/correspondence to contact@balkanalysis.com.