Another Fool In The Balkans

Following in the famous footsteps of Rebecca West's 1945 masterpiece "Black Lamb and Grey Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia," White's lively contemporaneous travelogue depicts the present-day Balkans in all its cultural glory.

This book revisits images of the Balkans in twentieth-century travel writing that vividly mirrors the turbulent changes that the region went through. As such, it provides a vital basis for research into the variety of possibilities, or obstacles, present on the region’s path to accession, when its unique heritage will have to be reconciled with a more European identity. This volume explores the work of well-known authors, such as Rebecca West, Paul Theroux, Robert D. Kaplan, and also contributes to travel writing theory by addressing less-known travellers who recorded their thoughts on the social dynamics of the region. The corpus offers divergent and often contradictory views, ranging from moral and political criticism to a delight in the rich heritage and the still “undiscovered” Balkan paths. More importantly, its generic potentials prove to overcome both the discourse of power and the discourse of apology. Its narrative style also comprises striking variations, from the objective and well-researched approaches to quick impressionist sketches. Being a multi-generic form, travel writing is observed from a multidisciplinary perspective, encompassing fields such as literature, linguistics, history, sociology, anthropology, ethnology, political sciences, and geography.

A discussion of the political illusion created by the humanitarian bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 that tests popular beliefs

This new, thoroughly updated fifth edition of Bradt's Serbia remains the most acclaimed guide available to a country which in recent years has welcomed an increasing number of foreign tourists to discover its attractive rolling countryside, lively cities, excellent food and friendly people. Development of tourism infrastructure continues apace in Serbia and this new edition reflects all the changes and trends of recent years, including Belgrade's increasing popularity as a weekend break destination, the continued evolution and rising quality of accommodation across all price brackets in both the capital and beyond, the development of Belgrade's Savamala riverfront area, the rise in popularity of bird-watching holidays, the possibilities for wine tours, and the increase in visitors to the EXIT festival held annually in Novi Sad and to the Guca trumpet festival in central Serbia. Particularly notable since the previous edition is Serbia's dramatic improvement in English-language facilities for visitors, with many towns and cities now having tourist information centres with helpful staff, all of which are detailed in this guide. Written by an expert author, the Bradt guide to Serbia offers up-to-date background information on the country's geography, history, economy, politics and people, as well as a strong emphasis on culture and the arts - music, literature, cinema and art - and on natural history, including a thorough overview of Serbia's best wildlife sites. Comprehensive and up-to-date listings of the best places to stay and eat according to budget are covered, along with reliable public transport information to enable you to travel independently with confidence. This guide recommends facilities and places of interest that will hold appeal for all types of visitor - from impecunious young travellers seeking a fun-filled city break to older visitors who prefer a slower pace and wish to immerse themselves in local tradition. Despite burgeoning interest, Serbia remains one of the least known corners of Europe. Belgrade and second city Novi Sad are lively, cosmopolitan and welcoming, while rural Serbia, with its hidden monasteries and gorgeous countryside, is an undiscovered gem. With the Bradt guide you will be able to discover all this intriguing country has to offer.

Rebecca West was a leading figure in the twentieth century literary scene. A passionate suffragist, socialist, fiercely intelligent, Rebecca West began her career as a writer with articles in The Freewoman and The Clarion. Her first book, a biography of Henry James, was published when she was only twenty–four, and her first novel followed just two years later. She had a notorious affair with H.G. Wells, and their illegitimate son, Anthony, was born at the beginning of the First World War. The author of several novels, she is perhaps best remembered for her classic account of pre–war Yugoslavia, Black Lamb, Grey Falcon (published by Macmillan in 1941 and as relevant today as it was sixty years ago) and for her coverage of the Nuremberg Trials. When she died in 1983 at the age of 90, William Shawn, then editor–in–chief of the New Yorker, said: "Rebecca West was one of the giants and will have a lasting place in English literature. No one in this century wrote more dazzling prose, or had more wit, or looked at the intricacies of human character and the ways of the world more intelligently." Formidably talented, West was a towering figure in the British literary landscape. Lorna Gibb's vivid and insightful biography affords a dazzling insight into her life and work.

Outlandia is an off-grid artists’ fieldstation, a treehouse imagined by artists London Fieldworks (Bruce Gilchrist & Jo Joelson) and designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects, situated in Glen Nevis, opposite Ben Nevis. It is performative architecture that immerses its occupants in a particular environment, provoking creative interaction between artists and the land. This book explores the relationship between place and forms of thought and creative activity, relating Outlandia and the artists there to the tradition of generative thinking and making structures that have included Goethe’s Gartenhaus in Weimar, Henry Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond and Dylan Thomas’s writing shack in Laugharne. Based on a series of residencies and radio broadcasts produced by London Fieldworks in collaboration with Resonance 104.4fm, the Remote Performances project enabled twenty invited artists to consider and engage in transmissions, sound performances and dialogues on their artmaking strategies immersed in this specific rural environment of mountain, forest and river; flora and fauna. Some artists engaged in dialogue with people living and working in the area with a range of specialisms and experience in, for examples, forestry, mountain culture, wildlife, tourism, and local history. This book explores the ways in which being in the field impacts on artists and permeates through to the artworks they create. It considers the relationship between geography and contemporary art and artists’ use of maps and fieldwork. It charts these artists’ explorations of the ecological and cultural value of the natural environment, questioning our perceptions and relationships to landscape, climate and their changes. The book is an inspiring collection of ways to think differently about our relationship with the changing natural environment. The book includes essays by Jo Joelson, Francis McKee, Tracey Warr and Bruce Gilchrist, and texts, images and drawings by the artists: Bram Thomas Arn

Successfully navigate the rich world of travel narratives and identify fiction and nonfiction read-alikes with this detailed and expertly constructed guide. Just as savvy travelers make use of guidebooks to help navigate the hundreds of countries around the globe, smart librarians need a guidebook that makes sense of the world of travel narratives. Going Places: A Reader's Guide to Travel Narratives meets that demand, helping librarians assist patrons in finding the nonfiction books that most interest them. It will also serve to help users better understand the genre and their own reading interests. The book examines the subgenres of the travel narrative genre in its seven chapters, categorizing and describing approximately 600 titles according to genres and broad reading interests, and identifying hundreds of other fiction and nonfiction titles as read-alikes and related reads by shared key topics. The author has also identified award-winning titles and spotlighted further resources on travel lit, making this work an ideal guide for readers' advisors as well a book general readers will enjoy browsing.

Across the Adriatic from Italy, Montenegro occupies one of Europe's hidden corners. With medieval gems and a stark rugged beauty, the country offers something for cultural and active travellers alike. This fifth edition of Bradt's Montenegro is the most up-to-date and detailed guide to the country available. It contains the comprehensive coverage of the improvements in Montenegro's tourism infrastructure, such as the highway to Belgrade, and practical information on where-to-go and where-to-stay, perfect for the independent traveller.

Situated at the foot of a range of hills on the edge of the great Pannonian Plain, for most of its history Zagreb has been a small town to which things happened. Administered from 1102 by Hungary and later absorbed into the Habsburg Monarchy, Zagreb was under threat from the advancing Ottomans until the late sixteenth century. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards Zagreb developed steadily into a modern city, reflecting all the important trends in Central European culture, architecture and fashion. Its pretty centre is laid out according to a plan incorporating trees and public gardens, forming a "green horseshoe" lined with imposing buildings. Celia Hawkesworth explores this central core and the atmospheric old town on a rise above it, finding a mix of old and modern building, a rich cultural tradition and a vibrant outdoor cafe life, in which many of the individuals who have contributed to creating the city's unique inner life are commemorated in statues in the streets and squares.

Dispatches from the Balkan War and Other Writings is a collection of essays on the Balkan crisis and on European reaction to it. In opposition to many powerful figures in France, Alain Finkielkraut has largely supported the Croatian struggles for sovereignty. He argues against an array of outmoded views of the Balkan region and its political and cultural conditions?conceptions that date back to earlier in the century and that have long bedeviled the region and the European powers? relation to it. The book takes up larger issues about European political and intellectual history?issues that are in urgent need of reexamination and revision in the post-Cold War world. ø A timely and passionate book, this volume will be of great interest to Finkielkraut?s many admirers as well as to anyone interested in the ongoing Balkan crisis and modern European history.