John Bills reads books III: To End a War

So an American left a copy of this book in the hostel for me to read. By left, I mean he said I should read it and I forgot to wake up to give him it back. I'm not too sad about this, it's just too late now I suppose. Sorry American boy. For those who do not know, Richard Holbrooke was the chief voice and negotiator behind the Dayton Peace Accords (1995), which brought an end to the fighting in Bosnia (notice that I did not say brought peace). 'To End a War' is essentially his memoirs of the time he spent shuttling around the capitals of Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia negotiating with the 3 presidents to end the war. Hence the title.

So, whats good about it? Well, its easy to read I guess. Whilst the claim that it 'does for diplomacy what Indiana Jones did for archaeology' is just ever so slightly ridiculous, it is indeed a page turner, its easy to read style clearing up some of the usual academia that comes along with the Yugoslav wars. Holbrooke speaks of each president in a very open manner, which also proves interesting. This however, is more for guessing his bias as much as anything. His portrayal of Milosevic as a charmer is something that seems accurate, but he also describes ol' Slobo in such a way that he was the chief architect of any possible peace. Tudjman comes across as dangerously single minded in his perceived destiny, but its his portrayal of the Bosnian government that is possibly the most intriguing. The constant talk of in fighting and lack of preparation that the Bosnians put into the process is worrying to say the least. Izetbegovic is constantly described as moody and uninterested, which is a little hard to believe really. Still, its an interesting aspect of the book.

Thats pretty much where all the good ends. The overriding feeling you get from the book is that Holbrooke would like to really stamp his name into the annals of history, such is the self important nature of the book. The book truly tells you more about Holbrooke than the crisis itself, of his wants, worries and opinions. In all fairness, as a memoir this is to be expected, but if you want to learn about the Yugoslav wars, this is not the book to read. Another interesting aspect of the book is the arrogance Holbrooke shows towards the EU, UN and Europe in general, his comments amounting essentially to a claim that without America, the fighting would still be going on today. I will say that yes, the European community did a pretty shambolic job of it all, but claiming that America saved the day when the country is still a mess institutionally (2 police forces? 2 alphabets? 3 schools in one?) is pushing the boat out a little, and maybe encapsulates the arrogance of American foreign policy.

Read if: You are interested in hearing about fancy meals and the hard life of a negotiator.
Dont read if: You want to learn anything about Yugoslavia.