Tito: And the Rise and Fall of Yugoslavia 1St edition by West, Richard (1995) Hardcover

10 Reviews For This Product

1. 

   Rated 3 out of 5

   01

   by Matija November 5, 2025

   OK.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   01

   by JennyGraves November 21, 2025

   I bought this book for my husband as a gift, so I asked him to compose a review and this is what he wrote:
   “This book provides a complete and valuable background on Tito, the man, the fighter and the leader of the former Yugoslavia. Starting from his birth and subsequent adult activities, it also comprehensively covers the long-standing enmities between the Serbs, the Croats, the Bosnians and other minority groupings. Occasionally, the disastrous relationships between them become hard to follow, especially during the Second World War, but the author brings a valuable background – he was there. Easy to read and hard to put down.”

3. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   01

   by Darragh J. Delany November 22, 2025

   A good sweep of certain events in Yugoslav history though uneven in it’s focus. The authors personal experiences colour a lot of the commentary though in a fair way and he’s more than happy to hand out criticism to all the groups involved. I’d have liked to know more about the day to day evolution of Yugoslav society between 1945 and 1991 and while there are fascinating bits of that jigsaw I came away wanting more. Overall a fascinating book but I wanted more about Tito the man and Yugoslavia the society.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   01

   by dunc November 24, 2025

   Not your normal Xams present for teenager but very well recieved

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   01

   by Amazon Customer November 29, 2025

   A very informative although difficult read

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   01

   by Kindle Customer December 13, 2025

   Having traveled through Yugoslavia during the summer of 1988, I found West’s book very informative. Watching the destruction of Yugoslavia from the safety of the U.S., I have always been interested in this regions history especially during WWII and the Tito years. This book certainly filled in the gaps leading to the destruction and dismemberment of Yugoslavia. I must say I was particularly disturbed by the role of the Croatian Catholic Church in the Ustashie genocide and unaware of Ustashie terror attacks on Yugoslavia during the 60’s and 70’s. A very good history of this troubled region.

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   01

   by Amazon Customer December 15, 2025

   This book is 10% about Tito, 90% about the rise and fall of Yugoslavia. That is what I was looking for, but some one else may be disappointed that it isn’t more biographical. It is jam-packed with information that I never learned in school, either because Western teachers overlooked this information, or because Eastern leaders suppressed it. At times it is a bit rambling and repetitive. So, I call it a good book but not a great book.

8. 

   Rated 2 out of 5

   01

   by Micky December 28, 2025

   The author boldly claims in the introduction that there is no difference between Serbs and Croats, and that Bosniaks (Muslims) “are now known by a faith in which many of them do not believe.” If that is his understanding of that particular topic, then I can’t imagine his understanding of Yugoslavia as a whole could be any more accurate.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   01

   by Matthew R. Mayfield January 4, 2026

   This book is very well researched and is one of the only books not to carry any ethnic bias. It is a history review rather than a documentation of Tito the man. It starts just after the Toman Empire collapsed and ends just weeks before the recent fighting of the 1990s.
   I have been living in Slovenia for the last 3 years and made some travels into Serbia and Croatia. I learned more from this book that the 3 years living here. It is long and somewhat academic but a reasonably easy recreational read.
   Do NOT get the other book about Tito (by Djlias)– this was written for an audience who is interesting in debating Markist philosophy.

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    01

    by joelaredo January 5, 2026

    Take no notice of the John Bull set/Spirograph cover (come on, Faber! there are a handful of typos, too); this is a beautifully written book by someone who obviously not only knew a great deal about Tito and Yugoslavia but also cared passionately about his subject and brought it vividly to life. Yes, if you want to know why there was war in Yugoslavia in the 90s, West explains; but he does a lot more than that. He makes you think (again) about what makes a great leader, how to lead, whether communism/socialism can work … all sorts of things. Highly recommended.