This remarkable book combines analysis and memoir to offer the unique perspective of an informed insider who lived through Yugoslavia's demise. Cvijeto Job witnessed his country's history as a committed partisan in WWII, a member of the Yugoslav Communist Party, and a career ambassador. His powerful and provocative story of Yugoslavia's birth, rise, and brutal destruction is told in tandem with the experiences of his family and friends as they made political choices that would change their lives forever. Intertwining his family history with the evolution of the Yugoslav Idea, Job probes knowledgeably and deeply into the causes and legacies of Yugoslavia's ruin. The result is a sober assessment of the successes and unflinching critique of the failures of Tito's Yugoslavia and how policies that were intended to ameliorate the country's ethnic tensions were corrupted or abandoned, ending in its undoing. Job argues passionately for the intervention of the international community in Yugoslavia and offers constructive and concrete suggestions for preventing future ethnic atrocities. Anyone reading this book will come to think more deeply about the ways in which the web of history and collective political culture weave the fates of nations and individuals in times of crisis.

"What makes the book interesting and unusual are the soul-searching reflections on what in Tito's Yugoslavia—its concepts, politics, institutions, and abuses—contributed to the sinking of the Yugoslav idea and the misery that followed." - Foreign Affairs

"[A] breath of fresh air….Job's book is impressive in its desire for objectivity, its devotion to democratic values, and its intellectual honesty….Its weighty observations regarding nearly all key factors in the contemporary history of the Yugoslav peoples and its bold, provocative assertions will surely win this book the attention of both specialists and the general public." - Review Of International Affairs

"An informative account of Yugoslavia's destruction....This historical backgrounder to the present Balkan tragedy is immeasurably enriched by Job's insertion of vignettes that tie his and his family's personal history to the vacillations in Yugoslavia's fortunes over the years." - Balkan Academic News

"This is a gem of an effort by a former Yugoslav Communist Party insider. Job's relentless indictment of rampant ethnonational propagandizing, especially by Serbian and Croatian leaders, is powerful and persuasive. Essential." - CHOICE

"This book is thought-provoking (often provocative) and contains particular insights derived from Job's personal experience. It also provides the historical context that is essential for any account of Yugoslavia, past or present. If there is bias, which could hardly be avoided, it is almost entirely a bias against evil and foolishness. This book is essential reading for those seeking to understand what happened in Yugoslavia." - International Journal