From Library Journal
Allcock and his colleagues (South East European studies, Univ. of Bradford, U.K.) have created a valuable reference tool for all scholars of the Balkans. The breadth of entries provides much information about Yugoslavia's successor states as well as the wars attending their creation. Attention to Socialist Yugoslavia is less complete, and some entries may be annoying; how could organized rape as a tool of warfare not be "sensationalized" by media nor its report fail to "demonize the enemy"? But on the whole, treatment is balanced. Some of the best entries include brief and competent biographies, significant geostrategic place names, and concepts such as "recognition" and "peace movements" often neglected in accounts of the war. The authors clearly explain the versions of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) I and II, United Nations Preventive Development Force (UNPREDF), and Implementation/ Stabilization Force (I/SFOR). Appendixes include a comprehensive chronology, maps, and the text of the Dayton Accords. For academic and larger public libraries.AZachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Booklist
Here is an outstanding reference resource in which a wide array of entries deepen our knowledge of a vital contemporary issue. Three British specialists on the region have brought together 26 other colleagues, mainly from United Kingdom institutions, to provide insight on one of the major conflicts of the 1990s. The 500 entries cover political, military, geographical, historical, economic, social, and cultural matters. Biographical entries and entries on small communities caught up in the fighting help personalize the tragedy. The material is current through 1997.
The alphabetically arranged, signed entries include see and see also references. Entries are usually one paragraph but longer when necessary; political parties is seven pages. Twelve black-and-white maps at the beginning of the volume and many photos throughout the text add a visual dimension to the clearly written, accurate information. Although the focus is on the current period, sufficient background and analysis, such as in the article on Communist leader Tito, bring the past into the present.
An extensive bibliography includes 1998 titles; a 38-page chronology from 1941 to 1997 presents events in the country and surrounding world. This powerful resource will be useful in high-school, public, and academic libraries.
