Left in tatters after the violent breakup of Yugoslavia, the new country of Croatia has served as a troubled crossroads between East and West since the Dark Ages. Veteran journalist Marcus Tanner set out to write the recent history of this nation, but found it impossible to cover the 1990s without referring to World War II, and impossible to write about that period without going back even further. So he begins his account in the 7th century, covers Croatian history in a brief but thorough manner, and spends the final third of his book describing how Croatia regained its sovereignty in 1992. A glut of books on the Balkan War give short shrift to this intriguing story. Tanner corrects this problem with a fine and unique contribution.


From Library Journal
When Croatia declared itself an independent state in October 1991, the remnant of Yugoslavia reacted by invading and shelling towns such as Dubrovnik. Tanner was a correspondent in the Balkans from 1988 to 1993 for the London Independent and witnessed these events firsthand. His book covers the full recorded history of Croatia since the first Slav settlers in the seventh century A.D., but the period of World War II and after makes up half the work. No supporter of the Croats, Tanner presents incidents when they have behaved less than ideally. The narrative style is very sparse and condensed, presenting much detail in each chapter. A good survey of a region still much in the news, this work provides needed background for the current events in the region. For academic and larger public libraries.?Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New YorkCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review, Aleksa Djilas
Written with vigor, full of absorbing stories and important insights, Croatia: A Nation Forged in War deserves to be read--but not without critical reserve. Tanner ... uses predominantly Croatian and pro-Croatian sources. Thus, his book is not entirely free of nationalistic romanticism, and he approaches the pantheon of Croatian national heroes with excessive reverence.


From Kirkus Reviews
This survey of Croatian history fills in some gaps but falls short where readers most need guidance--in understanding the nature of President Franjo Tudjman's government and the Croatian Serbs' early fear of it. Tanner (Ticket to Latvia, 1990) served as Balkan correspondent for London's Independent during the heady years from 1988 to 1993. Reflecting the book's subtitle, he emphasizes the sacrifices Croatia has made to win independence, ranging from medieval times to the present, thereby implicitly portraying Croatia as a victim in a war with no recognized innocents: ``Apart from Bosnia,'' he asserts, ``no other state in Eastern Europe or the former Soviet Union suffered such material destruction and loss of life on the road to statehood.'' Tanner's prose is generally fluid; his narrative, drawing on most of the standard secondary sources, suffers from a surprising lack of inside information or anecdotes. Even the chapters on recent events rely primarily on published sources. The most important error of judgment on Tanner's part is his reluctance until the book's final pages to write unambiguously about the less pleasant aspects of Croatian history. Until his description of recent Croatian atrocities in the Bosnian war, Tanner adopts a glib and evasive approach to important aspects of Croatia's past and present: Tudjman's anti-Semitism and his fascist-sounding remarks are presented as attempts to make ``concessions to the extreme right of a symbolic nature.'' He devotes a mere paragraph to the Jasenovac concentration camp, the central symbol of postwar Croatian Serb fears. Gruesome details about the camp, widely available, are reduced to the observation that during the recent war ``the executions were frequently messy affairs.'' While correctly noting that the Serb question will long haunt Croatia, Tanner never explores the ways in which Croatia might have allayed Serb fears and gained a peaceful path to independence. A superficial study lacking rigor and clarity. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Aleska Djilas, New York Times Book Review
"A much-needed introduction to this southern Slavic country, whose past and present defy simple categorization."


Economist
"A good historical survey and an account of the war's causes."


Melanie McDonagh, Evening Standard
"Lucid and accessible."


Times Higher Education Supplement
"Readable and stimulating. . . . Long-overdue corrective to the one-sidedly negative view long entertained about Croatia by the educated British public."


Book Description
In this book an eyewitness to the breakup of Yugoslavia provides the first full and impartial account of the rise, fall, and rebirth of Croatia from its medieval origins to today's tentative peace. Marcus Tanner describes the turbulence and drama of Croatia's past and--drawing on his own experience and interviews with many of the leading figures in Croatia's conflict--explains its violent history since Tito's death in 1980. This second edition updates the account and follows Croatia's progress to democracy since the death of President Franjo Tudjman.


About the Author
Marcus Tanner was Balkan correspondent of the London Independent from 1988 to 1994 and subsequently the paper's assistant foreign editor. He is also the author of Ireland's Holy Wars: The Struggle for a Nation's Soul, 1500-2000, published by Yale University Press.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this book an eyewitness to the breakup of Yugoslavia provides the first full and impartial account of the rise, fall, and rebirth of Croatia from its medieval origins to today's tentative peace. Marcus Tanner describes the turbulence and drama of Croatia's past and -- drawing on his own experience and interviews with many of the leading figures in Croatia's conflict -- explains its violent history since Tito's death in 1980. This second edition updates the account and follows Croatia's progress to democracy since the death of President Franjo Tudjman.

FROM THE CRITICS

David Rieff - Toronto Globe and Mail

[This] brave and compelling book will remain valid for many years to come.

Economist

A good historical survey and an account of the war￯﾿ﾽs causes.

Aleska Djilas

A much-needed introduction to this southern Slavic country, whose past and present defy simple categorization. —New York Times Book Review

Times Higher Education Supplement

Readable and stimulating. . . . Long-overdue corrective to the one-sidedly negative view long entertained about Croatia by the educated British public.

Melanie McDonagh