Product Description

At the end of the twentieth century people spoke as if the Balkans had plagued Europe for ever. But two hundred years earlier, the Balkans did not exist. It was not the Balkans but the 'Rumeli' that the Ottomans ruled, the formerly Roman lands they had conquered from Byzantium, together with their Christian inhabitants. In this original account of the region Mark Mazower dispels current Western cliches and replaces stereotypes with a vivid account of how mountains, empires and religions have shaped its inhabitants' lives. As a bridge between Europe and Asia it has been exposed to a constant incursion of nomadic peoples across the centuries. Mazower's narrative ranges broadly both in time and in space, treating the former Turkish domains in Europe as part of a common if complex historical inheritance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39057 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From the Publisher
Roy Foster explains why this is one of his favourites...
This is the kind of history that takes you straight to conclusions, with a swift and startling demonstration of event and effect, rather than painstakingly rehearsing every step of the way. It is a short and elegant book, but the variety of sources quoted and the breadth of reference show the author's unassuming control over his fractious subject.

Mazower demonstrates how recent the concept of 'the Balkans' is, and how freighted with preconceptions. He traces the geographical, demographic and political pressures which carved out interdependent but antagonistic political units; in the process he suggestively redefines our ideas of 'Europe', especially regarding its Ottoman dimension.

The reflections on subjects as diverse as the continuity of Byzantine culture, the fate of 'post-peasant' societies in the age of tourism, the uses of ecumenism (and occultism), and the relationship of nationalism and globalisation make this book far larger than its narrow covers suggest; the epilogue alone, 'On Violence', should be required reading for all students of modern history.

It takes as its epigraph the remark made by an Ottoman official to a French priest in 1848. 'When I travelled in Europe, I saw everywhere things I did not particularly like. Fine - I did not say, "That is no good." I wanted to know why things were thus.' Mazower himself is faithful to this precept, and it is one of the reasons why he has written a modern classic.

About the Author
Mark Mazower is a Professor of History at Princeton University and has recently been appointed Professor of History at Birkbeck College, London.

Customer Reviews

an outstanding history
Its probaby best to start this review with a disclaimer. This is not an account of recent events in the Balkans. Nor is it some sort of an in-depth exploration of the reasons for its conflicts. What it is is an exercise in masterful historical writing.

The book is written with flair and ease, engaging even to those who normally shy from history books. It is certainly not a heavy tome of new research. This is not to say that it is simple-minded. Rather the depth of knowledge evident in Mr. Mazower's deft command of a wide range of both modern research and contemporary sources is remarkable. There is something here for both those looking for an introduction to the region, as well as those (like myself) with more than a passing acquaintance with its history looking for a synthesis of a wide range work.

Despite my earlier disclaimer, the book does shed light on the nationalist wars of the 90s in the region, mostly through its 'myth-busting'. Mr. Mazower puts to flight both the ultra-nationalist myths of demagogues in the region, as well as theories popularized by certain "historical" writers in the english-speaking world (a la 'Balkan Ghosts') that attempted to portray Balkan history as a series of neverending massacres by peoples instinctively given to violence. Mr. Mazower in his own quiet, and elegant manner buries such theories under the weight of evidence.

This is one of the best books Ive read on the region for ages. Both well written as well as eye-opening and mind-expanding. Perhaps Mr. Mazower's greatest gift is his ability to recreate the changing pulse of life for different groups of people over the last few hundred years throughout the region. The people he describes are never stereotypes, and finally the montage of pictures that emerge of the Balkans itself is far richer and more distinctive than the caricutured symbol for bloodshed it has been in far too much 'academic' literature in the west.

An original and stimulating synopsis
This short book is a must read for any student of the Balkans region. Mazower enables the reader to gain an understanding of the pysche of the peoples of the region. The quality of analysis is especially lucid and original - though the focus of the book is pre-dominantly pre-WW2.

Sense & Sentivity
I chose this book because I had read Mazower's "Greece Under Hitler" and was impressed by many aspects of that book: his research is thorough, his writing is intelligent and balanced, and he uses a lot of first-hand eye-witness accounts from all sides of this multi-faceted conflict to get to the heart of the real experience of people, whether they be peasants, politicians or foot-soldiers. In "The Balkans" he is tackling a very different set of historiographical problems, trying to map historically a vast and diverse geographical area over several hundred years, up to and including that most difficult era for any historian, the present.
Typically, he starts by examining the clichés of Balkan lawlessness and violence, questioning the origins of the stereotypes. He goes back systematically to primary sources to ask what life was really like in Turkish Europe under Ottoman rule. Although a meticulous scholar, Mazower is aimed at the "general reader"; his writing is humane and engaging without ever dumbing-down or condescending to the imagined reader. My only criticism of this book is that it is not longer.