Noel Malcolm Knihy

"In the late sixteenth century, a prominent Albanian named Antonio Bruni composed a revealing document about his home country. Historian Sir Noel Malcolm takes this document as a point of departure to explore the lives of the entire Bruni family, whose members included an archbishop of the Balkans, the captain of the papal flagship at the Battle of Lepanto--at which the Ottomans were turned back in the Eastern Mediterranean--in 1571, and a highly placed interpreter in Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire that fell to the Turks in 1453. The taking of Constantinople had profoundly altered the map of the Mediterranean. By the time of Bruni's document, Albania, largely a Venetian province from 1405 onward, had been absorbed into the Ottoman Empire. Even under the Ottomans, however, this was a world marked by the ferment of the Italian Renaissance. In Agents of Empire, Malcolm uses the collective biography of the Brunis to paint a fascinating and intimate picture of Albania at a moment when it represented the frontier between empires, cultures, and religions. The lives of the polylingual, cosmopolitan Brunis shed new light on the interrelations between the Ottoman and Christian worlds, characterized by both conflict and complex interdependence. The result of years of archival detective work, Agents of Empire brings to life a vibrant moment in European and Ottoman history, challenging our assumptions about their supposed differences. Malcolm's book guides us through the exchanges between East and West, Venetians and the Ottomans, and tells a story of worlds colliding with and transforming one another"-- Provided by publisher

By the early-1980s Kosovo had reached a state of permanent crisis and military occupation, and it became the main focus for the revival of Serbian nationalism. This book traces the history of Kosovo, examining the Yugoslavian conflict, and the part played by Western Europe in its destruction. `This is a profound and important book, essential reading for those who wish to understand either the complex history or the present politics of Yugoslavia.` Hugh Trevor-Roper, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH `A dreadnought of a book, all big guns, covering the whole history of Kosovo, with an authority that is often breathtaking and never oppressive.` Norman Stone, SUNDAY TIMES

The years 1992 and 1993 mark the destruction of a unique country with a rich political and cultural history in Europe, where empires and religions converged: Rome, Charlemagne, the Ottomans, and the Austro-Hungarians, alongside Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, and Islam. This complex past has been overshadowed by violence and war, often misrepresented by ignorance and misinformation. In this comprehensive history, Balkan specialist Noel Malcolm chronicles the country from its origins to its tragic demise. The narrative dispels numerous myths surrounding Bosnia's racial, religious, and political history, particularly challenging the notion that the war stemmed from "ancient ethnic hatreds." Instead, it reveals that Bosnia's destruction was driven by external factors, primarily the political maneuvers of Serbian leadership and the misguided interventions of Western politicians. Malcolm effectively debunks historical fallacies that have influenced media portrayals and the actions of Western diplomats. This work not only contextualizes the Bosnian war but also honors the intricate history of a nation whose past—and future—has been nearly obliterated.

Forbidden Desire is a pioneering study of the history of male-male sex in the whole of Early Modern Europe, including the European colonies and the Ottoman world.

Bosniens historie fra middelalderen til krigen 1992-93