Mark Almond

This account of the lives and downfall of the ghastly pair who used Romania as a personal playground for 24 years is written by an academic who visited the country many times both before and after the revolution of 1989. It was written in 1991 before the fall of the Soviet Union, so offers a fairly immediate perspective on these events. The extent of oppression, poverty and misery in Romania during their rule is vividly portrayed. They combined the worse excesses of Stalin, Kim Il Sung and Caligula and were considerably worse than other East European dictators. However, their often independent stance vis a vis the Soviet Union often made them a Cold War semi-ally of the West especially in the late 60s and 70s (less so later on), culminating in their grotesque honouring by the UK government and Queen in 1978, though many other countries also heaped them with honours and recognition. If anything, Elena emerges as the worse of the two, with her spurious claims to world-class academic achievement and her sheer banality. The world is undoubtedly a sweeter place without them, though the summary manner of their "trial" and execution on Christmas day reflects poorly on those who carried it out, many of whom must have been anxious to avoid a full public trial that would have exposed the accusers as complicit in many of the Ceausescus' crimes and abuses. 4/5… (mais)

This is a a compelling book. It is not just a history of the War in the Balkans, is a history of the countries that made up Yugoslavia. As such it is not an easy book to follow. I must have read through two times and then gone back to take detailed notes before I could dompletely understand the story. It seems to me that the thesis of the book is that the Serbs had had a plan going back several centures of unitin the area, even a larger area stretching down to Bulgaria and Albanis for following the Prussian and Piedmont model to create essentially a united states of the Balkans, but only to be thwarted over and over. When Yugoslavia was put together formally at the end of World War II,only Tito, who had strong associates with appropriate strong men in the various sections, could keep it together. I strongly recommend it for anyone wanting to understand the history of Europe.

October 6, 2011

Now I have read this book through for the third time, a year later, after digesting a history (republished in 1991 after initial publication in 1922) that gives the entire background of the Balkans from Constantine forward. I have reread it with so much more understanding, and now we will be looking forward to the trial of Ratko Mladic at the Hague. Almond's book gives the necessary background to this man.

The book would have benefited by a glossary and maps and brief biographies. I kept dipping into the index to identify the HDZ (Croat Democratic Union), JNA (Federal Yugoslav Army), and UNHCF (High Commission for Refugees)

I have inserted in my book an article from Newsweek about the recent capture of Mladic
Di Giovanni Janine "Monster" Newsweek June 6, 2011.

It is also the story of how qyuckly can dictator llike Miloslevic..who really only got his political start in 1987 used so many Hitler tactics, especially blaming the victim, could be the kind of dangerous man we, this summer of 2010 are seeing in the Middle East. It also shows how outside countries were so intent on preserving the status quo, that no one would intervene.

Old as the book is I strongly recommend it for reading today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Almond
The author has an impressive background.

More about the author currently (Oct 2011)

Mark Almond is a writer and lecturer in Modern History at Oriel College, Oxford. Almond holds a Master's degree (M.A.), and is the Chair of the British Helsinki Human Rights Group (which despite its name is not affiliated with the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights). He has served as an election observer under the aegis of the BHHRG in a number of countries including Georgia and Ukraine. Almond has been critical of what he characterizes as Western interference with democracy, such as the activities of George Soros. His research interests lie in 19th century and 20th century Central-Eastern Europe; Almond has written a biography of Nicolae and Elena Ceauşescu, a study of Albanian migration, and a study of the Bosnian War in its historical context. He has recently been teaching a course on 18th Century France, focusing on the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville,

August 2013

I cannot believe that I have read this for yet another time, after studying more about the Balkans. It is so very complicated and more and more seems to fall in place.… (mais)