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Book Review of Sarajevo Daily: A City and Its Newspaper Under Siege

Sarajevo Daily: A City and Its Newspaper Under Siege
PIZZELLEBFS avatar reviewed on + 331 more book reviews


From Library Journal
The struggle of the staff of the daily Sarajevo newspaper Oslobodjenje ("Liberation") to continue publishing during the prolonged siege is here presented as a metaphor for the struggles of the entire city. The ethnically mixed staff had always worked well together, and, with few exceptions, continued to do so, despite rising levels of ethnic animosity around them. Publishing a 15th anniversary issue in August 1993 was the goal that kept the staff focused despite their difficulties: newsprint was delivered as humanitarian aid; electricity to run the presses was unreliable, but diesel fuel to run a generator was expensive; when the building was shelled, they moved to the basement. Gjelten heard their stories during several visits to Sarajevo in 1991-94 as National Public Radio's Berlin-based correspondent covering the Yugoslav conflicts. A well-drawn portrait of determination in the face of adversity. Recommended for most collections