From Library Journal
The title suggests that this is a journalistic account of the Bosnian war, but it is not. Weine, codirector of the Project on Genocide, Psychiatry, and Witnessing at the University of Illinois in Chicago, seeks to elucidate the complicated conflict by emphasizing the psychology of everyone involvedAincluding those responsible for making ethnic cleansing part of our vocabulary. Weine sums up his argument precisely when he quotes from UlyssesA"History is a nightmare from which I'm trying to awake"Asaying that the core problem lies in the inability of the Balkan peoples to deal with history in the right way. Weine's attempt is admirable and sincere, but as an outsider he fails to see how intricate the conflict really is; it is severely stereotypical to assert that the post-World War II years were essentially about suppressing bitterness and hatreds. In addition, he neglects the crucial question of why so many were unable and unwilling to distinguish between their nationality and religion. Nevertheless, chapters on the leaders of the recent genocide in Bosnia are particularly interesting, and those with little knowledge of the conflict will find this accessible introductory work helpful.AMirela Roncevic, "Library Journal" Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book News, Inc.
Weine, a psychiatrist who spent six years working with Bosnian refugees, investigates survivors' attempts to reconcile their remembrances of living together in a cherished multiethnic society with the memories of horrific ethnic atrocities. He explore the Bosnian value of , meaning forgiveness and charity, which was central to the experience of living together, then looks at how Serbian leaders used memories to promote ethnic hatred and genocide. The author is an associate professor of psychiatry and co-director of the Project on Genocide, Psychiatry, and Witnessing, at the University of Illinois-Chicago. -- Copyright © 1999 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR All rights reserved Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR

SYNOPSIS

Stevan Weine is a psychiatrist who has spent the past six years working with Bosnians. Through listening to their testimonies, he has attained a complex and nuanced view of ethnic cleansing that focuses on collective memories of traumatization. Weine investigates the survivors' attempts to reconcile their remembrances of living together in a cherished multi-ethnic society with the memories of horrific ethnic atrocities. He explores the Bosnian value of merhamet, meaning forgiveness and charity, which was central to the experience of living together. He then looks at how Serbian nationalists, such as leaders of Jovan Raskovic and Radovan Karadzic, used memories to promote ethnic hatred and genocide. When History Is A Nightmare concludes by probing Bosnian's efforts, individually and collectively, to face their traumatic memories and struggle toward recovery.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

The title suggests that this is a journalistic account of the Bosnian war, but it is not. Weine, codirector of the Project on Genocide, Psychiatry, and Witnessing at the University of Illinois in Chicago, seeks to elucidate the complicated conflict by emphasizing the psychology of everyone involved--including those responsible for making ethnic cleansing part of our vocabulary. Weine sums up his argument precisely when he quotes from Ulysses--"History is a nightmare from which I'm trying to awake"--saying that the core problem lies in the inability of the Balkan peoples to deal with history in the right way. Weine's attempt is admirable and sincere, but as an outsider he fails to see how intricate the conflict really is; it is severely stereotypical to assert that the post-World War II years were essentially about suppressing bitterness and hatreds. In addition, he neglects the crucial question of why so many were unable and unwilling to distinguish between their nationality and religion. Nevertheless, chapters on the leaders of the recent genocide in Bosnia are particularly interesting, and those with little knowledge of the conflict will find this accessible introductory work helpful.--Mirela Roncevic, "Library Journal" Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

Weine, a psychiatrist who spent six years working with Bosnian refugees, investigates survivors' attempts to reconcile their remembrances of living together in a cherished multiethnic society with the memories of horrific ethnic atrocities. He explore the Bosnian value of , meaning forgiveness and charity, which was central to the experience of living together, then looks at how Serbian leaders used memories to promote ethnic hatred and genocide. The author is an associate professor of psychiatry and co-director of the Project on Genocide, Psychiatry, and Witnessing, at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

An extraordinary effort, on the part of an American psychiatrist, to understand a terrible European tragedy that still puzzles and haunts us. The result is a compelling series of human documents-stories from Bosnia that will bring the suffering there close to our minds and hearts, awaken and inform us mightily. — Robert Coles

A remarkable book. Everybody ought to read this panoramic view of the tragedy of Bosnia. — Ervin Staub

Through his skillful empathic listening and eloquent writing, Stevan Weine conveys the magnitude of the horrors, the dreadful consequences of man's inhumanity to man. — Jerrold M. Post

A profoundly human book, with a keen ear for the story, and an open heart to convey its depth. Stevan Weine attempts to weave history, human rights, psychology, anthropology, and creative arts into a new perspective on what genocide does to the lives of its survivors and to their culture. — Yael Danieli