My thanks, firstly, go to those who granted me interviews, especially individuals from the former Yugoslavia. They gave their time generously, often at some emotional cost, relating the details of their lives and their involvement with Slobodan Milosevic and his regime, whether chosen or not. Such encounters have deepened my understanding of the complexities of his rise and fall, and of the destruction of Yugoslavia. Bleak subject matter aside, I have also been fortunate to experience many stimulating and enjoyable discussions in the cafés of Belgrade, Zagreb and Sarajevo.
I have benefited greatly from the guidance and advice of my editors at Bloomsbury: Bill Swainson, a steady hand at the tiller through sometimes dark and choppy waters, and Pascal Cariss, whose eagle-eye has helped hone a manuscript into a book, Katharina Bielenberg for her meticulous proof-reading and Douglas Matthews for his excellent index. Thanks also to Ruth Logan and Katherine Greenwood for keeping the wheels rolling. As ever, I am very grateful to my agent Laura Longrigg, always a source of encouragement and inspiration. Many thanks must go to my present and former colleagues at the Budapest International Press Centre, who have freely shared with me their knowledge and experience of reporting on the former Yugoslavia: Neil Barnett, Christopher Condon, Simon Evans, Jim Lowney, Mark Milstein, John Nadler, Erwin Tuil and Robert Wright. Their advice, input, good humour and steady supply of coffee – and occasionally stronger Balkan libations – is much appreciated. I am also grateful to Celia Hawkesworth of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London for her advice and expert knowledge, and to the Society of Authors for a generous grant.
The genesis of this book was my experience as a reporter for the Independent and The Times during the early 1990s, covering the Yugoslav wars. As a young and then inexperienced foreign correspondent I was fortunate to meet a fine group of colleagues. In places such as Sarajevo and Split, Vitez and Travnik, Zagreb and Belgrade, their comradeship eased the passage of sometimes unnerving days and nights. They know who they are.
It would be near impossible to write a book of this kind without considerable local assistance. Many have been generous with their expertise, contacts and good offices. In Belgrade: the staff of the Belgrade Media Center, Charles Crawford, Mihailo Crnobrnja, Braca Grubacic, Tahir Hasanovic, Ljubica Markovic, Nebojsa Radic, Aleksandar Nenadovic, Seska Stanojlovic, Milos Vasic, Buca Zimjonic and especially, Mark Tomlinson. Thanks to Dragan Milanovic for an illuminating walk around Pozarevac. Thanks also to three fine journalists who have helped in many ways: Vesna Peric-Zimjonic, Daniel Sunter and Vlastimira Stankovic. In Zagreb: David Austin, Sanja Markusic, and especially Laura Irena Lui. In Ljubljana: Natasha Gorse. In Budapest: Agnes Csonka for virtuoso French translations, Hugh Martin for politesse at its best; Vesna Kojic for many hours of interpreting, Janet Garvey, Pablo Gorondi, Lutz Kleveman, David Landsmann, Dr Robert Ligeti, Dr Jancis Long, Djordje Radic, Rob Scott, Julius Strauss, Vladimir Vlaskalic, and also Dusan Mitevic for granting me a series of lengthy interviews.
Thanks to Tony Lang at Bestsellers bookshop for his support over the years, the same holds true for Roger Boyes in Berlin and Justin Leighton. In London: Sir John Birch, Adrian Brown, Yigal Chazan, Leonard Doyle for a steady supply of accreditation letters, Tim English at the BBC press office, Tim Judah, Dessa Trevisan and Francis Wheen. I am especially grateful to Norma Percy, Paul Mitchell, Angus Macqueen and the staff of Brook Lapping Associates for their generous provision of video tapes and transcripts of the six-part series The Death of Yugoslavia, an invaluable resource for any student of this period. In the United States my thanks go to Charles Lane and Peter Maass, and in Moscow, Matthew Chance and Ian Traynor. Several others in various cities have also helped with their knowledge and expertise, but have asked not to be named. De a legnagyobb köszönettel életem fénysugáranak, Ligeti Katalinnak tartozom.