An updated edition of the groundbreaking history of the Balkans.

In this acclaimed, groundbreaking history of the Balkans, Misha Glenny examines the roots of the bloodshed, invasions, and nationalist fervor that have shaped our understanding of the southeastern edge of Europe. He demonstrates that groups we consider irreconcilable enemies have formed unexpected alliances over the centuries, challenging the notion that conflicts in the Balkans are the inevitable product of ancient hostilities. He reveals the often catastrophic relationship between the Balkans and the rest of Europe and raises profound questions about recent Western interventions. Updated to cover the brutal conflicts of the last decade in Kosovo and Macedonia, the rise of organized crime in the region, Turkey's ascent, and the rocky path to EU membership, "The Balkans" remains the essential and unparalleled study of Europe's most complex and least understood region.

Misha Glenny was born in 1958 and studied at the University of Bristol and Charles University in Prague. His reporting on the fall of communism in 1989-90 was widely praised. During the Yugoslav crisis in the early 1990s, he served as Central Eastern Europe correspondent for the BBC World Service. In 1993, he won a Sony Award for his reporting on Yugoslavia. Glenny speaks German, Czech, and Serbo-Croatian and has lived and worked throughout the Balkans. His books include "DarkMarket: Cyber Thieves, Cyber Cops, and You," as well as the highly acclaimed "McMafia," which is regarded as one of the essential nonfiction works of our time and was adapted into a major drama for BBC 1 in 2018.