This book is a bit of a doorstop, but that makes it detailed enough to be a good alternative to histories of individual countries. It is clearly written and well organised and the recapitulation of key bits of information mean that it would be possible to read chapters in isolation or skip to the period in which you are most interested. The book proceeds at a fairly slow pace, but in my opinion that makes it an unusually easy read for something so academic. I found it easier going than Glenny's "The Balkans" for instance, though the latter has the virtue of being extremely up to date. ( )

Well-written, comprehensive historical coverage of the Balkans, from the time of their conquest by the Ottomans, until the 1950's. It is a slow read -- very detailed, and written in that unique style of historians that makes it more suitable for "skinning" than for dedicated end-to-end reading. However it's worth digging into if you are interested in the subject. ( )

I have the 1963 Hardcover edition