A review by wheelockjackie
Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History by Robert D. Kaplan
4.0
What do you say about a book that is tragically outdated and problematic but still fascinating and absorbing? Robert Kaplan’s Balkan Ghosts is certainly a product of a specific time and, more importantly, a very distinctive mindset about Eastern Europe. Throughout the book, the Balkans and Eastern Europe in general is definitively “other” in an “us vs. them” telling. Kaplan is not a trained historian but seeks to use history as a guide for understanding the various countries that comprise the Balkan Peninsula. In his exploration, Kaplan ignores many factors historians would point to for explanations (economics, contingency, relations with foreign actors) and uses ancient ethnic and ancestral hatred and a propensity for violence for most of his theses. Kaplan’s biases are also clear: the West is progress, the East is backwardness; communism and religion are detrimental to human society and liberal democracy is the only way forward. The book is divided into four parts: Yugoslavia with chapters on Serbia, Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia; Romania; Bulgaria; and Greece. I would have preferred more chapters on the Yugoslavian countries but that is surely because of personal preference. Each chapter follows a historical figure or event that Kaplan tries to use to illuminate a theme or issue of the area he is exploring in that chapter. It is pure chance as to whether you will find that figure and their story compelling but I found most of them absorbing.
Do not get me wrong. This book is full of some terrible stereotypes and generalizations. Bosnia is described as full of superstitious mystics, Kaplan regularly describes the drunkenness of most Balkan people, and the opening scenes of his section on Romania characterize the place as full of prostitutes and an over-dramatic people who are underhanded and sneaky. You have to be ready to outrightly dismiss Kaplan here and take whatever knowledge you can get out of this book - there are certainly a few kernels if you are ready to overlook and keep plowing through. At least, in addition to a few interesting stories, Kaplan is able to transplant you into a new setting of old world European charm, shifting sands of power, and amazing ethnic and linguistic diversity.
Do not get me wrong. This book is full of some terrible stereotypes and generalizations. Bosnia is described as full of superstitious mystics, Kaplan regularly describes the drunkenness of most Balkan people, and the opening scenes of his section on Romania characterize the place as full of prostitutes and an over-dramatic people who are underhanded and sneaky. You have to be ready to outrightly dismiss Kaplan here and take whatever knowledge you can get out of this book - there are certainly a few kernels if you are ready to overlook and keep plowing through. At least, in addition to a few interesting stories, Kaplan is able to transplant you into a new setting of old world European charm, shifting sands of power, and amazing ethnic and linguistic diversity.