Belgrade a Cultural History

By David A. Norris

Book Overview

Perched above the confluence of two great rivers, the Sava and Danube, Belgrade has been home to many civilizations: Celts, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgars, Magyars, Ottomans and Serbs. A Turkish fortress, the focus for a Serbian principality, an intellectual and artistic center, the city grew until it became capital of Yugoslavia. Now it is one of the largest cities in south-eastern Europe and capital of the Republic of Serbia. Despite many challenges, Belgrade has resisted assimilation and created a unique cultural identity out of its many contrasting sides, sometimes with surprising consequences.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195376099
• ISBN13: 9780195376098
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A much needed biography of a City often misunderstood

The cultural history of Belgrade is at once rich and dramatic, which is how this book reads. Norris doesn't dwell too much on the most recent history,nor does he take a narrow political view of recent events. Belgrade (and Serbia) is as much about Milosevic and the wars as America is about Bush and the Iraq Invasion/Occupation. There's just so much more. Norris understands this and gives us a broader understanding while painting a nuanced portrait of a city eternally at European and World crossroads.