The History of Serbia

by John K. Cox

Release Date: 30 May, 2002

Edition: Hardcover

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Passable Introduction to Serbian History

With the difficulty of finding an introduction to Serbian history that is both brief and unbiased, this book should serve as a passable introduction to Serbian history. Cox does an excellent job of condensing a large and complex history into a very short space.

Unfortunately, much of the history is too condensed. Cox spends far too much time discussing recent events at the expense of the richness and variety of early Serbian history and the historical and ethnic connections between Serbs and other Slavs in Southeast Europe. Only about half the book covers the history of Serbia prior to the Twentieth Century. With so much material available and such an underemphasis on the older history of Serbia, I wonder if this book should be renamed "The Twentieth Century History of Serbia."

Cox also overcompensates when trying to keep individual pieces of history from being co-opted by nationalist Serbian propagandists. For instance, during his discussion of the Turkish practice of exacting a "blood tax" (Serbian children were taken from their parents and sent to Turkey to be raised as Muslim Turks), he opines that the practice shouldn't be viewed too negatively as it allowed poorer children to have more material goods. While this may be true, it is clear the Turks were not abducting children for altruistic purposes, nor am I convinced that many of the abductees' parents were happy with the practice.

While the book is not overly polemical, its lack of historical depth for the space available keeps it from being everything it can be. Still, it is a worthwhile and easy read for those needing a quick introduction to Serbian history.