Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars is a chronicle of poet and critic Christopher Merrill's ten war-time journeys to the Balkans from the years 1992 through 1996. At once a travelogue, a book of war reportage, and a biography of the imagination under siege, this beautifully written and personal narrative takes the reader along on the author's journeys to all the provinces and republics of the former Yugoslavia—Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and Vojvodina—as well as to Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Turkey. His journeys provide the narrative structure for an exploration of the roles and responsibility of intellectuals caught up in a decisive historical moment, many of whom either helped to incite the war or else bore eloquent witness to its carnage. What separates this book-the first non-native literary work on the conflict-from other collections of reportage, political analysis, and polemic, is its concern for capturing the texture of particular places in the midst of dramatic change-the sounds and sights and smells, the stories and observations of victim and perpetrator alike, the culture of war. Here is a literary meditation on war, a fascinating portrait of the poetry, politics and the people of the Balkans that will provide insight into the past, present, and future of those war-torn lands. Hear an interview with the author on NPR's Weekend All Things Considered, February 20th, "Balkan Poets."

"With this extraordinary book, Merrill, a poet, author, and translator, has broadened the discussion to include not only politics and history, but culture and literature, too. Unlike many other books on the former Yugoslavia, Merrill’s was not hastily written in the year after his duty in the war zone. Instead, it contains ripe reflections on his 10 journeys to Slovenia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Croatia and Mecedonia. . . . The beautifully written scenes from his travels are keenly observed and insightful. Like Rebecca West’s Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, this book might very well become a modern classic about what once again seems a painful and incomprehensible corner of Europe." - Publishers Weekly

"An engrossing account of the Balkan wars . . . also an informed account, for Merrill butresses his vignettes with numerous asides into Balkan history and politics. In addition, he provides the reader with fascinating profiles of heroes and villains, past and present, whose biographies explain, or help to explain, Yugoslavia's legacy of revenge, cruelty, and bloodshed. . . . Anyone who wishes to understand the human tragedy that is Yugoslavia should read Only the Nails Remain." - America: The Jesuit Review of Faith & Culture

"A poet who has journeyed, often on foot, through the Balkans, Merrill presents anecdotes from ordinary people encountered during his wanderings, as well as from friends in the arts and some political leaders. . . . His wide-ranging cultural connections provide a clearer understanding of each ethnic group's triumphs and follies, underscoring the importance of language, literature and folklore in forging national identity. Merrill goes further. . . . Merrill reveals both the complex hatreds and the darkly comical bickering between nationalities about their cultures." - San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle

"In the line of fire. Only the Nails Remain works on a myriad of different levels. . . . [It] does not flinch when presenting the war, but then it will just as adeptly switch gears and recount a snippet of medieval history or a quirky character sketch. The latter abound. Life goes on. Which, more than anything, is the underlying theme of Only the Nails Remain—the perverse endurance of the human spirit." - The Seattle Times

"Apowerful and enigmatic account. . . . A valuable book, especially for its portrait of the less-known Slovene literary life. Highly recommended for all academic and larger libraries." - Library Journal

"Only the Nails Remain, Christopher Merrill's eloquent depiction of his journeys through the Balkans." - Village Voice Literary Supplement

"[A] widely admired book." - Worcester Telegram and Gazette

"A rich supplement to the otherwise dry diet of those academic texts that purport to analyse more systematically the causes and consequences of Balkan conflict." - Political Studies Review

"It is a study uniquely sensitive to the rhythms and nuances of a place where writing poetry is sometimes considered a national profession and where art is valued in even its most outrageously experimental forms. Merrill captures the wild beauty and romance of the region and records its dangers and inconsistencies." - MANOA

"This is a book of voices—of conversation, rumors, witticisms, grotesque legends and jokes. . . . It is also a brilliant marriage of history and anecdote—a highly lucid travelogue through terrain as complex as it is dark." - The New Mexican

"Merril's absorbing, beautifully written chronicle describes his ten trips to the Balkans during the Third Balkan War. Recommended enthusiastically for readers at all levels." - CHOICE

"A beautifully written and visual book that stirs and engages all the senses of its reader. It is a travel book, which describes a journey less through the fragmenting space of the former Yugoslavia as through a crumbling humanity in the conditions of a protracted vicious and desensitizing war. It is a must for any scholar of the former Yugoslavia, and a magnificent addition to the library of any reader." - Balkan Academic News

"Not many books have been written with both passionate energy and respect for the facts; Only the Nails is one of them. It is recommended not only to students of psychohistory but to anyone interested in contemporary Europe." - Canadian Slavonic Papers