The Diary of a Political Idiot: Normal Life in Belgrade - Softcover

Shows us how ‘they’ could be ‘us’; what it feels like, what it is like to be trapped in a country isolated by its regime, where completely ordinary people pay for the crimes of their leaders."—Tim Judah, author of KOSOVO: WAR AND REVENGE

"This is a thoughtful and courageous book. As NATO bombs rain overhead and Yugoslav anti-aircraft guns flash through the night sky over Belgrade, Jasmina Tesanovic opens her diary and records what it is like to live in a city under siege. Day after day, she takes to the streets in search of her own moral compass, passing by terrified neighbors huddling in basements and mobs of vandals roaming through the city, destroying Western buildings. Ambiguous about Clinton's "humanitarian war," but vehemently opposed to Milosevic's carnage in Kosovo, she asks: "Which cross should I bear? NATO bombs or Serb Killings?" Her answer provides a rare glimpse into the mindset of ordinary Serbs who, because of their isolation and indifference, are paying dearly for the crimes of a tyrant." —Eric Stover, Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkeley, Author of THE GRAVES: SREBRENICA AND VUKOVAR