A review by vsbedford
In Europe's Shadow: Two Cold Wars and a Thirty-Year Journey Through Romania and Beyond by Robert D. Kaplan

1.0

Had I realized that this was the same author who wrote Balkan Ghosts I wouldn't have bothered with this travelogue/long form journalistic essay, as that damn thing irritated me to no end. Look, is there a place for the "I" in journalistic writing, in explorations of history? For sure- Rebecca West did it in Black Lamb, Grey Falcon, George Orwell built his rep on it, and Sarah Vowell dragged it into the modern age; what I'm saying is Robert Kaplan is bad at it. His writing shuffles along and he seems very, very proud of himself; if the most interesting passages are quotes from other writers, it's time to close the book and move on.

I received an ecopy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.