"By far the best available guide to the fatal steps to catastrophe . . . . Thoughtful, lucid, and deeply informed."
—New York Review of Books

"An extraordinary book—the best available in English on the background of the Bosnian war."
—Warren Zimmermann
former U.S. ambassador to Yugoslavia, in the National Interest

"Quite simply one of the best books of historical scholarship written for a general audience in the last decade."
—New York Newsday

"An acute, readable introduction to why and how racial history has been the bane of the Balkans and why it need not be."
—Village Voice Literary Supplement

"A positive gem, the product of profound scholarship, deep reflection, and a decency of sentiment. . . There are few works of scholarship that I have read in recent decades that have impressed me as much as Noel Malcolm's."
—National Review

"A masterpiece. Few histories have made history. This one could yet do so."
—Times of London

"A marvelous book, a work of great scholarship."
—Margaret Thatcher

"A most impressive achievement . . .A firm and skillful guide to the general reader."
—Times Literary Supplement

"Will be read as the definitive work for decades to come."
—Spectator

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

"Excellent."
--The New York Review of Books

"In this awe-inspiring work, Malcolm has created an essential aid to anyone who wishes to understand this tragic region today. . . . His book is exceptional not only for his unimpeachable research, but also for his equitable examination of the conflicting ethnic views of what really happened in this contentious region, and his determination to debunk dangerous myths."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A book every policy expert, journalist and lay person must read."
--Wall Street Journal

"Malcolm's narrative is gripping, even brilliant at times. . . . He takes to his task with the vigor of a detective driven by true passion. At times his claims are, in terms of Balkan history, quite revolutionary."
--The Economist