5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An 'on-the ground' look at such a complex period in history., 13 Mar 2001
I thoroughly enjoyed this short but informative narrative about a most turbulent period of very recent history. Eve-Ann Prentice lived in Yugoslavia (both Serbia proper and also Kosovo and Metohija) during the three month blitz. An obviously brave and determined journalist Prentice travelled the length and breadth of the country during the height of NATO's bombing campaign. During her travels ordinary people, both Serb and Albanian, were met and interviewed with regard to their views of the war. What is starkly revealed in this most though provoking book is an unheard of side to the crisis in Yugoslavia. A human side from all perspectives that should be compulsory reading for anyone who has an interest in Balkan history and the 'New World Order.' Balanced in it's prose, it asks very searching questions as to the whole reason for the bombings and the price that has been paid by ordinary people (both Serb and Albanian) for the West's determination for a quick fix solution. An easy to read, from the heart account of the situation on the ground in heartbreaking detail. A throughly good read.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Essential Read, 16 Jun 2004
This review is from: One Woman's War: Life and Death on a Deadline (Duckbacks) (Mass Market Paperback)
I must disagree entirely with the unnamed critic from NYC who I note with interest is not prepared to reveal his/her identity.
I am English and entirely non-partisan, and can confirm that Eve-Ann Prentice's book is in no way misleading or ficticious- it mirrors exactly my own experiences of the former Yugoslavia, having studied it and frequently visited there myself and talked to ordinary people from all 'sides' of the conflict. This book is one of the few attempts to portray honestly a sad and complicated situation, instead of blindly following what the British and US governments have had to say over the past 14 years. Had more people like her questioned the West's role in the Balkans, perhaps we would not find ourselves in the quagmire we now have in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As for the Mercale Market massacre, the intimation that the Muslims bombed their own side has not only been made in this book, but also by General Rose in his book, Fighting for Peace, and has been broadly hinted at by former UN negotiator, Lord Owen who should know the truth since he will have seen UN reports!
As Prentice also points out in her reference to this atrocity, weapons experts from Jane's Defence Weekly who examined the area and carried out extensive investigations, also were of the opinion that the Muslim side had indeed bombed their own people, with the intention of getting the arms embargo against them lifted and to increase pressure on the Bosnian Serbs.
I wonder if the anonymous reviewer has an axe to grind- are they perhaps connected to Bosnian Muslims or to Croatia? To portray Prentice as biased is a slur: she is an investigative journalist doing her job.
Anyone seriously interested in the roots of this conflict and what REALLY happened, as opposed to just taking sides, should read One Woman's War. It is not pro-Serb- just refreshingly pro-truth.
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0 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Fiction. Very misleading., 8 Jun 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: One Woman's War: Life and Death on a Deadline (Duckbacks) (Mass Market Paperback)
Im not going to go into many details about this book, as it is not worth spending much time on it. Eve Prentice is known to be Pro-Serb in her views, and therefore her book is just another piece of fiction, written with an intention to cover up crimes done by Serbian/Yugoslavian Army during the war in Bosnia.
The part where she talks about the massacre on "Markale" market is completely misleading. She writes "eyewitnesses claim they did not hear characteristic sound that mortar shell makes before it hits the ground...", well i was present about 50 yards away from the place where mortar hit and there was clear sound from incoming mortar, and that is why the number of victims was much lower that it could be, as many people looked for cover just seconds before the deadly mortar hit. All in all, Eve Prentice should stop trying to re-write the history by hurting victims of Serbian Terror with her lies, all over again.
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