Black Lamb And Grey Falcon Etc

“Rebecca West’s magnum opus . . . one of the great books of our time.” —The New Yorker Written on the brink of World War II, Rebecca West’s classic examination of the history, people, and politics of Yugoslavia illuminates a region that is still a focus of international concern. A magnificent blend of travel journal, cultural commentary, and historical insight, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon probes the troubled history of the Balkans and the uneasy relationships among its ethnic groups. The landscape and the people of Yugoslavia are brilliantly observed as West untangles the tensions that rule the country’s history as well as its daily life. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

With an introduction by Geoff Dyer First published in 1942, Rebecca West’s epic masterpiece is widely regarded as the most illuminating book to have been written on what was once Yugoslavia, essential for anyone attempting to understand the enigmatic history of the Balkan states. ‘West’s masterpiece [is] one of the great twentieth-century books of any genre.’ Independent ‘Impossible to put down, both timeless and of its time—a travel book and epic narrative history brimming with passion, anger, scholarship and intuition, hatred and love.’ Observer ‘Such incandescent writing—you find yourself wanting to mark every sentence in order to go back and relish it again.’ Brian Eno ‘One of the supreme masterpieces of the twentieth century . . . As a book about Yugoslavia it’s a kind of metaphysical Lonely Planet that never requires updating . . . this is history as it might have been written by Ryszard Kapuscinski or Gabriel García Márquez .’ Geoff Dyer, from his introduction ‘It is hard to convey the flavour of a book so rich in observation, history, philosophy, political ideas and ironic humour. West is full of digressions which are extraordinary, but never boring.’ The Times ‘The sheer quality and depth of the writing make it one of the great books of the century.’ Times Literary Supplement

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.