Europe - Ethnic & Race Relations, Balkan States - History, Eastern Europe - Politics & Government

Milosevic : Portrait of a Tyrant

Name: Milosevic : Portrait of a Tyrant
Author: Dusko Doder, Louise Branson
ISBN: 9780684843087

by Dusko Doder, Louise Branson

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Overview

Who is Slobodan Milosevic?. "Is he the next Saddam Hussein, the leader of a renegade nation who will continue to torment the United States for years to come? Or is he the next Moammar Qaddafi, an international outcast silenced for good by a resolute American bombing campaign?. "In this first full-length biography of the Yugoslav leader, veteran foreign correspondents Dusko Doder and Louise Branson paint a disturbing portrait of a cunning politician who has not shied from fomenting wars and double-crossing enemies and allies alike in his ruthless pursuit of power. Whereas most dictators encourage a cult of personality around themselves, Milosevic has been content to operate in the shadows, shunning publicity and allowing others to grab the limelight - and then to take the heat when things go badly. Milosevic's secretive style, the authors show, emerged in response to a family history of depression (both of his parents committed suicide) and has served him well as he begins his second decade in power.. "Doder and Branson introduce us to the key figures behind Milosevic's rise: his wife, Mirjana Markovic, who is often described (with justification) as a Serbian Lady Macbeth, and the Balkan and American politicians who learned, too late, about the costs of underestimating Milosevic. They also reveal how the United States refused to take the necessary action in 1992 to remove Milosevic from power without bloodshed - not realizing that he uses such moments of weakness as opportunities to lull his opponents into traps, thereby paving the way for a new consolidation of power.

About the Author, Dusko Doder, Louise Branson

Dusko Doder, a native of Yugoslavia, has been a foreign correspondent for The Washington Post and other publications for more than thirty years, covering Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and China.

Louise Branson is the Washington correspondent for The Scotsman (Edinburgh) and was the Balkan bureau chief for The Sunday Times of London from 1990 to 1996, following assignments in Moscow and Beijing.

Doder and Branson are the authors of the New York Times bestseller Gorbachev: Heretic in the Kremlin, and Doder is also the author of The Yugoslavs and Shadows and Whispers: Power Politics Inside the Kremlin from Brezhnev to Gorbachev. They live in Vienna, Virginia.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

With the hardened realism that comes from years of journalism and a first-hand knowledge of the Balkan scene, Doder and Branson (coauthor of Gorbachev) have written a vivid and scathing biography of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. During the past decade of war and chaos in the former Yugoslavia, the central figure amid the devastation has been Milosevic, yet he has remained a mystery, "drawing a veil around his persona." In their masterful expos , in which they charge Milosevic with causing the Balkan crises of the 1990s, Doder and Branson, a husband-and-wife team, draw a portrait of a man with "demons in his soul," filled with "the intoxication... of genuine popularity," who used that popularity to grab power. They take us from his youth in WWII and postwar Serbia, through his rise in Communist circles via crafty intrigues and blatant betrayal, and his cynical exploitation of Serb nationalism to gain power. Milosevic, the authors show, exercised that power with extreme cruelty, unleashing violent paramilitary groups on his enemies and ordering a gruesome beating of one of his political opponents, Vuk Draskovic. Doder and Branson present Milosevic the man and the politician against the larger canvas of postwar Yugoslavian history. They also emphasize the partnership of Milosevic and his wife, Mirjana, whom they and many others believe has long exerted enormous influence on her husband. For those looking for the reasons and motivations behind the wars and hatreds in the former Yugoslavia, this is an excellent book with some disturbing revelations. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Perhaps no two authors are better qualified for the task of such a biography. It is hardly surprising that journalists Doder and Branson (Gorbachev: Heretic in the Kremlin) should find 'Milo sevi'c's personality "compassionless," "rigid," and "vindictive." More interesting are the astonishing events that marked 'Milo sevi'c's rise to power: the "crucial" role of Radio TV Belgrade's "spin doctor" Dusan Mitevic; the betrayal of Serbian party chief Ivan Stambolic, 'Milo sevi'c's mentor; and the dramatic challenges from Prime Minister Milan Panic. The book's shortcoming concerns the details of 'Milo sevi'c's first 40 years. There's little information beyond his parents' suicides and his enduring dependence on his wife, Mira, beginning when they were "emotionally bruised teenagers." While more 'Milo sevi'c biographies will likely follow, this is a solid one suitable for all libraries.--Zachary T. Irwin, Pennsylvania State Univ., Erie Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.