A Journey to the Rivers: Justice for Serbia

By Peter Handke

Book Overview

In Europe, where it has been seen as pro-Serbian, journalist Peter Handke's meditative essay on ethnic conflict in the former Yugoslavia has been stirring up a great deal of controversy. But Handke, a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670873411
• ISBN13: 9780670873418
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 83 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.9" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Lyrical questions

I know nothing about Serbia beyond what the press commonly reports. This book is the first I have read about that country. It makes no apologies for Serbian atrocities. It does, however, lyrically call journalists and journalism to task. Written in German in late 1995 for a European audience, this 82-page book applies equally to the U.S. I speak as a former journalist who, during 25 years of largely national U.S. writing, plumbed every side to every question before reaching conclusions--always over-reporting to find nuances, and often reaching conclusions only as I wrote. It was a handicap not easily overcome. That is not how many, perhaps even most, journalists work. The fault is built into the system. Editors expect reporters to have an angle before they present an idea. Without a hook, assignments are often not made. Editors will deny it, but they expect reporters to have reached some conclusion before they begin reporting, and to report to prove their points. In other words, they routinely ask journalists to put the cart before the horse--an especially troubling phenomenon in this era of political correctness.Reporters say they are after truth and good. Most are in fact after the big game, the story to make them famous, a kill. Nowadays CNN hires television actors as news anchors. You get the picture. Ironically, on big stories covered by throngs--which I intensely disliked and avoided, and which of course include wars--reporters tend to mimic each other, to sit around after they file, bragging about their prowess. The largest braggarts are also often the least talented.Institutionalized problems have a depressing effect on journalism. Few stories are black and white. But most present that illusion, although they are products of very little, if any, deductive thought. Certainly, nuances do not surface in short sound bites feeding most news wires. Peter Handke seems to know all this--and a great deal of philosophy. Serbia aside, this book shows, in near-poetic language, that things are not always as journalists portray them. For that alone, Handke's tiny volume is worth its weight in gold. Alyssa A. Lappen

finely crafted magic

Once again, Handke tackles a difficult issue with masterful language. Upon its publication, the book received numerous negative responses by many critics who clearly had not read the piece. This carefully constructed book never "sides" with anyone, instead it attempts to seek out questions rather than answers. It is a dense difficult piece that is made very accessible by Scott Abbott's fine translation. I strongly recommend it and urge you to read it with an open mind.

2 million Serbs died fighting the Nazis

German literary genius Peter Handke should be commended for setting the record straight.Negative comments here by self proclaimed experts on Balkan and Serbian history are ridiculous. Comparing Serbs, who fought en-masse against the Nazis, to their killers is nothing but a pure insult to the intelligence of any decent person, especially since most Muslims, Albanians, and Croats fought for Hitler.I am more proud than anything to be a Serb, and I am proud of the German intellectual Peter Handke for his show of courage.Mr. Handke has put his own life and reputation on the line for the Serbian people, Serbia loves you Mr. Handke. Thank-you.

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

Finally someone gets that serbs can not possibly be the only responsible in the war in the former Yugoslavia

excellent

This book should be read by everyone. Very brave of Peter Handke for reemphasizing that the truth isn't always black and white.