09/12/2025
This is an excellent book that presents a compelling case about the reality of the Srebrenica Genocide. The book is exceptionally well-researched and makes this complex topic accessible to a wide audience. The way the information is presented makes the reader feel the enormous monstrosity of the acts committed. The image of a child emerging from a pile of dead bodies asking "Babo, where are you?" (p.95) as he searched for his father is heartbreaking. Additionally, the words used by the Serbs in carrying out the genocide to downplay their actions (such as "triage" on p. 102, and "tasks" on p. 211), and carrying out the genocide so that "not even a fly" could be allowed to escape (p. 113), are eye-opening in their lack of humanity. What makes these criminal acts even more perplexing is that the Serbs perpetrating the genocide were members of the military who obviously knew they were carrying out crimes that violated the "laws and customs of war" (p. 260). This book is a must-read for anyone interested in learning about the Srebrenica Genocide.
John Donovan, Professor of History, Broward College