Miss Ex-Yugoslavia: A Memoir Book Review

Living through history often provides a perspective that causes one to see the world through different eyes.

Sofija Stefanovic was born in 1982 in what was Yugoslavia. Together, with her family, she emigrated to Australia and then returned to Yugoslavia before then living out the rest of her youth in Australia.

Her new memoir, Miss Ex-Yugoslavia: A Memoir, is about a girl living in two worlds: the world of her childhood in Yugoslavia before it collapsed into war and the world of her growing up in peaceful Australia.

Not only is the book well written and enjoyable, it is to my mind relevant. It’s relevant because the current refugee crisis is not going away. If we are going to solve this crisis, we need to understand its root cause. This book is a good place to start.

I recommend it.

 

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Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu Book Review

Any politician that climbs the political ladder will no doubt have a controversy or two attached to their name. Benjamin Netanyahu, also known as Bibi, is the Prime Minister of Israel.

Earlier this year writer Anshel Pfeffer published a biography of Benjamin Netanyahu entitled Bibi: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu.  Netanyahu is the first Israeli Prime Minister to be born after the state of Israel was created in 1948. Born in Jerusalem and partially raised in the United States, Netanyahu is used to political controversy. A political animal who learned his political lessons in both Israel and the United States, the author argues that not only is his subject’s political career will soon be in pieces, but that modern Israel, for better or for worse, is defined by his leadership.

This book is part biography, part analysis of the subject’s political career. I think this book is an important read, especially if one is interested in world politics. It shows that a politician is a politician or a politician, regardless of the country they lead.

I recommend it.