Product Description
From its settlement in the 7th century to its conquest by Napoleon at the beginning of the 19th, Dubrovnik repeatedly held a significant position beyond what could have been expected of this tiny city-state. But Dubrovnik also faced the extreme dangers posed by Venetian plotters, Ottoman aggressors, natural disasters and, finally, Napoleon. In modern times, the city survived the besieging Yugoslav army in 1991-92, which heavily damaged but did not destroy Dubrovnik's cultural heritage. This book is a comprehensive history of Dubrovnik's progress over twelve centuries of European development, encompassing arts, architecture, social and economic changes and the traumas of war and politics.
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Customer Reviews (3)

A word of warning
For the last ten years Dubrovnik, a gem of a city on the Adriatic coast, has been an increasingly popular tourist attraction. The fortified old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the beaches, the cuisine and the friendly people make Dubrovnik well worth a visit. Visitors will enjoy their stay even more if they are aware of the city's rich history. Dubrovnik flourished for centuries as the Republic of Ragusa and was a rich trading rival to Venice and a player in the diplomacy of the Balkans. Robin Harris's "Dubrovnik: A History" brings the medieval and early-modern city to life. This is a well-written and beautifully-illustrated volume but readers should beware: Harris's account pretty much ends in 1808. This is not so much as history of Dubrovnik as it is a history of the Republic which was extinguished in the early 19th century. Readers who are curious about the city's fate after that -- and it has a rich history under the Habsburgs, the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Yugoslavia and finally an independent Croatia -- will have to look elsewhere.

St. Blasius, Middle Age Mystic
Robin Harris has demonstrably added to what has been called "The Pearl of the Adriatic"'s historical foundation in a delightful way.Not only is "Dubrovnik" well researched, it is also a joy to read, particularly passages describing the complexity of Dubrovnik's trade until the Napoleonic Wars.One travels to Dubrovnik, looks at history -Harris has done much to shed light on Dubrovnik's great walls and its rich cultural preserve.

Gregor Dekleva

A Must Have Book!
Simply put this is a must have book for any person interested in Croatian history, especially the city of Dubrovnik (the Croatian Athens). The author pulls together his information from an exhaustive list of mostly non-English resources and puts them together in a very orderly and interesting manner. The author brings life to the history of Dubrovnik (not that he would need to) which makes for a very interesting and easy read. I personally loved this book from beginning to end and can only hope the author produces more books on Croatian history (perhaps the next one could tackle the history of Split?). Overall, an excellent piece of work and a great price for a book that should be in every serious Croatian historian's library. ... Read more

Product Description
The cult of Cybele and Attis is a spiritual phenomenon of wide chronological and geographical range. There is abundant documentation of its existence, but even more numerous are the works of scholars engaged in the interpretation of the cult and the divine figures around it. It is a field of interest for linguists, classicists, archaeologists, historians and art historians, ethnologists, and even psychoanalysts. To try to display all the aspects of the cult, its rituality and manifestation in iconography and epigraphy is a hard assignment: countless studies have been made trying to portray the character and evolution of the cult of the Phrygian Great Goddess, the timeless Mother of Gods, and her lover Attis. The work presented here is another interpretative drop in a vast cultural legacy that these deities have left behind, focusing on one particular corner of the Roman Empire. ... Read more

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The Republic of Croatia is one of the new countries which resulted from the collapse of the former Yugoslavia. To its own people, however, it is a very old country with a long-awaited chance to forge a nation. The Croats trace their roots back many centuries and the depth of this resurgent nationalism helps explain why Yugoslavia split as it did and to some extent where it did. The "Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Croatia" tries to show what happened and why. It also indicates possible directions which may be taken in the future. It mentions not only the former and present rulers and governing parties but also the opposition forces then and now. Alongside the unsteady political superstructure, it describes the more stable social, cultural, and lingusitic foundations. In addition to the Croats living in the new states, it considers those still outside as well as the minorities still inside it and their respective problems. While hundreds of entries provide essential information, the chronology places events in a clearer framework and the bibliography directs readers to further sources of information. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not propaganda, just useless
The previous review makes some very good points about the many flaws in this hastily compiled and poorly written "historical dictionary." However, I don't believe the intent of the authors was to engage in a propaganda exercise, nor that the publisher had some hidden agenda in printing it; on the contrary, it is part of a series of "European Historical Dictionaries," which, if this volume is any indication, are not of a very high quality. The problem with this book is that it seems to be more of a political lexicon for the Republic of Croatia rather than an actual historical dictionary. For if it was a historical dictionary, it would not contain uncritical entries on certain medieval Croatian kings (like Trpimir II and Kresimir I, II & III), whose very existence beyond the realm of legend is doubted by most serious historians of this region during the Middle Ages, whether in Croatia or abroad. Even more controversial is the uncritical acceptance of the theory that the pre-Ottoman era heretics of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Dalmatia were Bogumils (a heresy otherwise centered in Bulgaria). This issue is still the subject of much controversy among historians and far from settled. These are just two examples which show that the authors are not critical historians, and that they depended too heavily on a few sources for such information. Also, if this were truly a historical dictionary, there would not be insubstantial one-line entries on such important Croatian historical figures such as 19th century writers August Senoa and Antun Gustav Matos or politicians like Ante Trumbic. There is no entry at all for the very important turn-of-the-century political leader Frano Supilo, while at the same time there are entries for often obscure and sometimes laughable contemporary political figures like Hrvoje Sosic, Slavko Degoricija, Joja Ricov, Marija Peakic-Mikuljan and even the (recently assassinated) Serbian war criminal and all-around thug Arkan. In this sense, this "dictionary" even fails as a "who's who" for the contemporary political scene in Croatia - particularly since it was published five years ago and is now truly dated.

How Far Propaganda Could Go?
"The Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Croatia" is a controversial book, beginning with its title. The Republic of Croatia became recognized as a sovereign country in 1992. The question that poses itself, before we even enter the contents ofthis dictionary, is whether it is at all possible to write thehistory of a state little more than two years after its internationalrecognition, when the civil war from which itemerged had yet to reach its peak?

Wrappinga political agenda in a"scientific", usually"historical," folder is just one of the methods employed in promoting a political goal into an internationally recognized status. The claim that a certain political aspiration has historical roots and that as such it has been an object of scientific research, makes the aspiration legitimate. Moreover, if it is not challenged it acquires the solidity of fact and paves the way to the desired changes. The conflict between current politics and history is an area of research that is probably not lacking material for exploration nowadays. This book expands the controversy,adding a new spin to it by insinuating itself, with all its disregard for the facts, its fabrications and prevarications in the reference section of a respected university library where academic research usually begins.

Inaccuracy of data, one of themajor problems with this book, strikes the reader from the very first pages.The infamous Nazi satellite state, the Independent State of Croatia, according to the authors, was proclaimed on April 10, 1942,(Chronology xxiii) exactly one year later than it really occured on April 10, 1941.If the proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia were presented accurately in this book, it would have been viewed in the line of two other salient historical events which all happened within 8 days in April 1941, and the nature of this Nazi satellite country would have been self-evident.

April 6, 1941 Attack on Yugoslavia with the bombingBelgrade by German army. April 10, 1941 Proclamation of the Independent State of Croatia April 14, 1941 Recognition of the Independent State of Croatia by Germany and Italy.

One of the longest entries, the "Borders of Croatia" (36) creates only further confusion since Croatia is also a geographical area havingdifferent borders from the Republic of Croatia. The following is perhaps a good illustration:The present interruption of the Croatian territory at Neum goes back to the same time, when Bosnia-Herzegovina was given access to the sea. It was a concession of Dubrovnik to the Ottoman Empire. It is exactly in this place that the Bosnian President Izetbegovicnow wants a corridor to the sea for the Muslims.

According to the authors of this book, althoughNeum has been a part of Bosnia and Herzegovina for about 300 years, Neum is here defined by the authors as a"present interruption of the Croatian territory." Theimplication is that it is a Croatian territory, that the territory is interrupted, and that such an interruption is only for the "present," which further implies that it is not only temporary but also of a short duration. The next politically loeaded statement informs that the Bosnian President Izetbegovic " now wants a corridor to the sea for the Muslims."

Describing Neum as a corridor in political terminology implies no more than ageographical connection to something rather than the legitimate claim to that territory on other grounds. The claim that it is the Bosnian President Izetbegovic who "wants" it suggests two things: that it is (only) he who makes that claim and that such a claim is rather subjective because he "wants," which sounds rather personal, almost like a whim. And why does he want it?It is said that he wants it for Muslims, although he, as the president of the state, at least officially, represents all the nationalities who live in the state over which he presides.

The same thing could have been described as a territorial disputebetween the states of the Republic of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnia wants the borders to remain unchanged, claiming their control over Neum to be historically grounded, since 300 years of their legitimate possession of Neum was only interrupted duringWorld War II,when it was controlled by the Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi satellite state. But, such an account, although closer to the facts, would not make the Croatian claim sound justified.

On the other hand entriesthat have nothing in common with the Croatian nation or the Republic ofCroatia are included such as: "Miroslav Gospel" (156), "Sevdalinke" (193) "Bosanska Posavina" (39) etc. It is characteristic that all those apparently unrelated entries have one thing in common - a Bosnian element. The explanation for such a criterion can be found in the phrase that "Croatia officially inherited the borders fixed by the former Yugoslavia". This statement too is loaded with the implication that the present boarders of Croatia are not the ones with which the Republic of Croatia should be content, because they are officially inherited, and inherited from the former Yugoslavia, which was a Communist country. Merely by that fact it should be questioned. And the way they were established by the former Yugoslavia is that they were "fixed". If something is "fixed" it is rather imposed than mutually agreed to. And what wasimposed by the former Communist regime was, of course, not just!

Questioning the borders of the Republic of Croatia to the extent and in the manner the authors did in this book, indicates a political agenda of Croatian territorial expansion into Bosnian territories. In view of such claims, this book could also be perceived as a piece of propaganda rather than an impartial historical overview. It is worth exploring how this book was placed in the reference section of a reputable university library (Robarts Library - University of Toronto), and what the motives of the publisher to promote this manuscript were. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This volume presents 30 highly illustrated essays charting a cultural survey of Croatia from the 7th to the end of the 12th century. Richly illustrated with colour plates, maps, plans, and diagrams, it provides a major new resource for all those seeking to gain a broad understanding of the medieval world in central Europe and the Adriatic region before the Ottoman invasions.
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Customer Reviews (2)

much interesting detail -- presenting one large untruth
This massive, impressively illustrated tome is the first in a projected series, begun in the late 1990s. The origins of the work -- that is, its commissioning by the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences during the Tudjman years and the immediate aftermath of the break-up of Yugoslavia -- are crucial to understanding the book's central purpose. That purpose is to demonstrate that there has 'always' (OK, since the early Middle Ages) been a 'Croatian nation'. The reading of the past is designed to provide an undergirding for modern Croatian statehood and nationalism.

The result is a book full of fascinating antiquarian information, yet significantly blighted by a didacticism scarcely less dreary than that of the Academy's immediate Communist predecessors. To be fair, the interpretation of the data presented can be interesting, at the micro-level, at least. But the reader must bear constantly in mind that he/she is being led by the hand to read back modern nationalist categories into a distant past that was, in actual fact, innocent of them.

A Must Read for Historians
An excellent and easy to read book that should be available in all universities and libraries world-wide for scholars and anyone interested in studying the history of Europe's Middle Ages. Croatia as a country andnation has been sadly ignored by most historians, even though it is one ofthe oldest continuously existing countries in Europe. There has been aCroatia since its people appeared in the 7th century and settled in aboutthe same land as today's Croatia. First a Principality, then a kingdom inthe Middle Ages, it kept its identity and a Parliament throughout itshistory, in spite of the take-over, first by Hungary, then Austro-Hungaryand finally by incorporation into Yugoslavia in the last century.TodayCroatia is a sovereign country again and its history should finally beacknowledged. This book serves as an important part of such confirmation. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (10)

Mediocre
Mostly a personal account, not much real data.Sort of a feminist take on rape in wartime, but a little under-researched and over-dramatized.Not recommended.

Take Note: An Influential Book
Rape Warfare was a courageous book to write:Beverly Allen dared to speak out about how rape was being used systematically before `historical consensus' had validated that claim.Thus it became an influential and historically significant work, credited today with having been instrumental in the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal's decision to change international law so that war rape might now be prosecuted as a "crime against humanity."The very first convictions under this new law were handed down in February 2001.

Incidentally, some apparently not up-to-date on recent strides in research approaches, failed to grasp the importance of the inclusion in Rape Warfare of Dr. Allen's personal responses, especially considering the situation on the ground in the Balkans at that time.The information coming from interviews is always shaped by the attitudes and expectations of the interviewer. Thus it becomes the interviewer's duty to both REVEAL and SITUATE the details of her/his own subjectivity.

By withholding the gruesome details of the rapes, Allen protected the women she interviewed; she spared them the kind of re-victimization they experience when journalists pander to public prurience, making pornography of these women's horrors.Nonetheless, or perhaps even, therefore, Rape Warfare is also `about' the power of stories; it makes a significant contribution to demonstrating that narrative, often disqualified as "not objective," is, in fact, a valid tool for discovering the deepest truths.

[Susan Schwartz Senstad is the author of MUSIC FOR THE THIRD EAR (Picador, 2001), which treats the fate of, among others, a Croatian woman who seeks asylum in Norway after being subjected to the mass rapes in Bosnia.]

Take Note: An Influential Book
Rape Warfare was a courageous book to write:Beverly Allen dared to speak out about how rape was being used systematically before `historical consensus' had validated that claim.Thus it became an influential and historically significant work, credited today with having been instrumental in the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal's decision to change international law so that war rape might now be prosecuted as a "crime against humanity."The very first convictions under this new law were handed down in February 2001.

Incidentally, some reader reviewers, apparently not up-to-date on recent strides in research approaches, failed to grasp the importance of the inclusion in Rape Warfare of Dr. Allen's personal responses, especially considering the situation on the ground in the Balkans at that time.The information coming from interviews is always shaped by the attitudes and expectations of the interviewer. Thus it becomes the interviewer's duty to both REVEAL and SITUATE the details of her/his own subjectivity.

By withholding the gruesome details of the rapes, Allen protected the women she interviewed; she spared them the kind of re-victimization they experience when journalists pander to public prurience, making pornography of these women's horrors.Nonetheless, or perhaps even, therefore, Rape Warfare is also `about' the power of stories; it makes a significant contribution to demonstrating that narrative, often disqualified as "not objective," is, in fact, a valid tool for discovering the deepest truths.

[Susan Schwartz Senstad is the author of MUSIC FOR THE THIRD EAR (Picador, 2001), which treats the fate of, among others, a Croatian woman who seeks asylum in Norway after being subjected to the mass rapes in Bosnia.]

Terrible Book
Allen knows zilch about the Balkans, knows nothing about the war, prattles on incessantly about herself.Seems she heard some horrifying stories of mass rapes from acquaintances and decided to write about how bad that made her feel.That's it.If you care about that, then this book is for you.

Not a Great Book
After reading the book, I read all of the reviews below.This book isn't as bad as the worst critics make it out to be, but it's not as good as the apologists purport.It's just another read.If you get assigned it for a feminist class, relax, read it, and move on.It's a strange book becauseit's not really about Bosnia - not having much to offer about politics orthe war.It's not about sexual politics - being just another feministscreed.But it's mostly about the writer's own personal thoughts on rapeas a military tool.If that interests you, you'll enjoy the book.If not,you probably won't be able to finish it. ... Read more

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The History and Families of Unije began as the author's quest to study his own genealogical past, and evolved into an examination of the history and origins of the people on the island of Unije in western Croatia. Based on documentary evidence and the oral knowledge of residents, this volume recounts the island's history and family origins spanning four hundred years. Included are the genealogies of the families who established themselves on the island from the 16th through to the 19th Centuries, and the families who migrated to nearby Cunski and Mali Losinj in the 18th Century, and to the United States during the 19th and 20th Centuries.In order to make the text available to a wider audience, the history is rendered into Croatian as Unije Povijest i Obitelji by Mirna Solic and translated into Italian as La Storia di Unie by Enzo Valencich and Fiorella Rivera.Born in Mali Losinj, Croatia, Grant Karcich was educated in Toronto, London, Ontario, and Buffalo. He is a librarian who has worked in the Canadian Arctic, Ontario, and Virginia. He is also the author of Finding Your Italian Ancestors (1999, rev. ed. 2007). ... Read more

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Chapters: 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the Ss Handschar. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 68. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The 13th Waffen Mountain Division of the SS Handschar (1st Croatian) was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Its recruits were Croats and Bosnian Muslims. Handschar (Bosnian/Croatian: Handar) was the local word for the scimitar (Arabic: Khanjar ), a historical symbol of Bosnia and Islam. An image of the Handschar adorned the division's flag and coat of arms. The Handschar division was a mountain infantry formation, the equivalent of the German "Gebirgsjäger" (Mountain troops) units. It was used to conduct operations against Yugoslav Partisans in the Independent State of Croatia from February to September 1944. After the fall of Sarajevo on 16 April 1941 to Nazi Germany, the extremist Croat-nationalist and Fascist Ante Paveli (who had been in exile in Mussolini's Italy) was appointed Poglavnik or leader of a new Ustae state - Nezavisna Drava Hrvatska (NDH, the Independent State of Croatia). The Yugoslav provinces of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and parts of Serbia were reconstituted as a pro-Nazi satellite entity under joint Nazi and Italian occupation. The Ustae almost immediately launched a vicious campaign of violence directed at unarmed Serb civilians. Paveli ordered a property in Zagreb be converted into a mosque that he modestly named after himself in his efforts to secure the loyalty of the Bosnian Muslims, the Poglavniks Mosque. Bosnian Muslim clerics issued three declarations (fatwa), all publicly denouncing Croat-Nazi collaborationist measures, laws and violence against Jews and Serbs: that of Sarajevo in October 1941, of Mostar in 1941, and of Banja Luka on 12 November 1941 . Despite Paveli's...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=1969218 ... Read more

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Tradepaper. Photographic historical ... Read more

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Ljudevit Posavski was the Slavic Duke of Lower Pannonia from 810 to 823. The capital of his realm was in Sisak. As the ruler of the Pannonian Croats, he led an unsuccessful resistance to Frankish domination. He held close ties with the Carantanian and Carniolan Slovenes and with the Serbian tribe of Timo?ani, named after the Timok river. He is often regarded as a national hero in Croatian and Slovenian history. ... Read more