Books from Croatia

Books Croatia - Travel and Other Guides to Croatia

ZAGREB: A CULTURAL AND LITERARY HISTORY by Celia Hawkesworth, Foreword by Sonia Wild Bićanić: Situated at the foot of a range of hills on the edge of the great Pannonian Plain, for most of its history Zagreb has been a small town to which things happened. Administered from 1102 by Hungary and later absorbed into the Habsburg Monarchy, Zagreb was under threat from the advancing Ottomans until the late sixteenth century. In 1918 the Croatian lands joined their immediate South Slav neighbours in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later renamed Yugoslavia. Following Yugoslavia’s violent collapse, in 1991 Zagreb became the capital city of the new independent Croatia... read more

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT HUM : A Croatian Cricketing Odyssey by Steven Haslemere : How on earth did an English pub team end up playing cricket on a remote Croatian island? What linked their booze-fuelled exploits to the British legacy of the Second World War and the Napoleonic era? This book tells the story of how a group of distinctly average cricketers became unlikely sporting ambassadors and, quite by accident, helped re-introduce an island to its forgotten past... read more

Ethical Travel Guide published - We are pleased to feature in 'The Ethical Travel Guide' by by Polly Pattullo and Orely Minelly for Tourism Concern. Tired of tourist traps and guilt trips, or just want to have a positive impact on the people and places you visit? This is the essential resource for responsible global travellers. read more

New book on Korcula : Black Island - Memories From The Adriatic by Frank Arneil Walker - " The author engages with the place and the people, describing landscapes natural and architectural, recalling joys and remembering sadnesses. Above all he speaks of those magic moments of shared hospitality and friendship which live in the memory of all those made welcome on Korcula. Not without good reason the Korculani claim their island as the birth-place of the world's most famous traveller and travel writer, Marco Polo. Whoever reads this book may be forgiven for wondering why Marco ever left home " - read more

Frommer's Croatia, the first travel guide to Croatia published in USA - New book " Frommer's Croatia " has been published yesterday in USA. This is the first ever guide book to Croatia being published in USA. The book consist of 340 pages where American readers are presented with various Croatian destinations, suitable to visit in different seasons and on various budget.... read more..

The Rough Guide to Croatia 2nd Edition (Rough Guides)
With nearly 2000km of rocky, indented shore and more than 1000 islands, many blanketed in luxuriant Mediterranean vegetation, Croatia boasts one of the most dramatic stretches of coastline that Europe has to offer. Despite the region’s popularity as a package destination for over four decades, exploitation of the coastal settlements has been kept in check, and there are still enough off-the-beaten-track islands, quiet coves and stone-built fishing villages to make you feel as if you’re visiting one of southern Europe’s most unspoiled areas.As a bonus, many of Croatia’s coastal towns and cities are living museums of Mediterranean culture, generously sprinkled with historical remains from Roman times onwards.

Croatia (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
From it's beautiful coastline and archipelago to its splendid architecture, explore Croatia in renowned Eyewitness Travel Guide style. Includes practical advice on how to get around, where to rent a yacht, travel between the islands, and where to enjoy the best local food. Features over 850 full-color photographs, maps and illustrations.

Lonely Planet Guide to Croatia :

Lonely Planet, a reputable publisher was the first to publish a travel guide to Croatia. The third edition will come out in March 2005. This new edition will give up-to-date information on Croatia . The author Jeanne Oliver is a travel writer who traveled around Croatia and shows her knowledge about Croatia. Note: Left photo is from cover of out of print 2nd Edition)

Footprint Croatia :

Footprint Croatia is a new guide published this year. This first edition has detailed information as well as a useful listings of what are things 'not-to-be-missed' in various regions in the country.

The Best Croatian Cooking :

Meat lovers and vegetarians alike will find favorites among these 200 easy-to-follow recipes -- from classic dishes like Strudel with Sauteed Cabbage, and Potatoes with Swiss Chard to the famous Dalmatian specialties Stewed Beef and Black Risotto, prepared with the ink from cuttlefish. Also included are 50 dessert recipes for all variety of strudels, fine tortes, and cookies. The authors' introduction to Croatia and its cuisine provides insight into the development of the culinary tradition through the centuries, as well as into the specialties of the various regions in Croatia. The addition of a chapter on Croatian wines completes the culinary tour offered through the pages of this book. Also included are time-saving tips and ideas for lightening recipes to accommodate modern tastes and healthy lifestyles.

Books Croatia : Other good, interesting and relevant readings:

Ivo Andric : The Bridge Over Drina - A grand historical narrative stretching over 500 years of Balkan history, this book should be read by everyone with an interest in European history. You won't be able to put it down. If you have any interest in beautiful writing, humanity, and European history, it is completely indispensable.

Andric uses the bridge over the river Drina as a constant against the background of shifting empires, personal tragedies, broken gamblers and distraught lovers, and gives a much more compelling vision of Bosnian identity than any journalist or historian ever could. An absolutely brilliant book one of the best you will ever read.

Miroslav Krleza : Banket in Blitva

Krleza's epic condemnation of hypocrisy and totalitarianism in pre - World War II Europe; Miroslav Krleza is considered one of the most important Central European authors of the twentieth century. In his career as a poet, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, essayist, journalist, and travel writer he wrote over fifty books. He also suffered condemnation - as a leftist and a practitioner of modernism - and saw his books proscribed in the late 1930s. The first two books of the trilogy The Banquet in Blitva were written in the thirties to comment on political, psychological, artistic, and ethical issues. Such commentary had already earned him the enmity of Yugoslavia's increasingly fascistic government. He wrote and published the third book, together with the previous two, in 1962. Colonel Kristian Barutanski, lord of the mythical Baltic nation of Blitva, has freed his country from foreign oppression and now governs with an iron fist. He is opposed by Niels Nielsen, a melancholy intellectual who hurls invective at the dictator and at the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of society. Barutanski himself despises the sycophants beneath him and recognizes in Nielsen a genuine foe; yet Nielsen ( Amazon co.uk)

Slavenka Drakulic: How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed

In Amazon.co.uk review of this book somebody says about this book : "I'm going to give this five stars quite simply because I haven't been able to get this book out of my head. ...To most of us, our knowledge of the fall of Communism and the era beforehand is dictated from newspapers and maybe arthouse films. This book tells you what it was like day to day by the inclusion of unforgettable detail . ... Drakulic reports on the depression and frustration of women who have all their choices removed. They had no personal freedom. We take all this for granted in the day to day activities that make being female so enjoyable. ...This is the kind of inside information that you would never otherwise find out or give a thought to. There is violence too, and the threat of imprisonment or the removal of what meagre liberties there were. I will never take my lifestyle for granted again." - really enjoyable reading !

Sir Fitzroy MacLean : Eastern Approaches

An account of a young diplomat's time in Russia before World War II including his travels through Eastern Russia and Siberia. It includes his encounters with the people and his historical descriptions as well as material on his transfer to Cairo and the war in the Western desert.

The final part of the book mixes military action and politics, with Maclean organizing the support for the Yugoslav Partisans and representing them to the Allies. The political agenda here is a little blurred - Maclean is obviously a Conservative who has instinctive support for the return of the Yugoslav monarchy, and yet he admires Tito for what he has achieved in the liberation of his own country, while still maintaining a personal anti-Communist agenda... This section of the book makes the sheer scale of the Partisan operations very apparent, and hints at the confusion between the Western allies over the future fate of Yugoslavia.

This is a splendidly readable book, full of incident and description, with vividly drawn characters. It is told with occasional gentle humour, modesty, and genuine insight. ( from amazon.co.uk)

Since 1960's Sir Fitzroy MacLean had his second home on Island Korcula - Croatia. He was the only foreigner to be allowed ( by special permission of Marshal Tito) to buy his property in Communist Yugoslavia... A book by the amazing man...

Rebeca West : Black Lamb and Grey Falcon

First appearing in two volumes in 1942, this book was written as a result of the Rebecca West's three journeys to Yugoslavia: one in 1936, another in 1937 and finally, in the summer of 1938. At first, she thought it was folly to consider a book on such a subject and it seems that her publishers thought so too. But the book became a historical, archaeological and political analysis of the country, as well as a conversation and an account of folklore, prophecy, and a record of landscape. The book also includes the author's views on religion, ethics, art, myth and gender. The book was completed as Yugoslavia was plunged into political turmoil, followed by invasion and four years of merciless civil and partisan warfare. It is being re-published half a century later during equally critical times for the people of the Balkans. (amazon.co.uk)

New Book on Korcula - Marco Polo's Isle by Michael Donley - The Croatian Adriatic – the New Riviera. Surprisingly, this nickname is a good hundred years old; yet once again the area has become a popular destination. However, apart from guides and books of a political or academic nature, nothing has appeared in English for 25 years. Marco Polo’s Isle is thus a timely publication. In it the author offers an in-depth view of one particular island, but at the same time captures the spirit of Dalmatia as a whole. read more..

Books Croatia Blog