The Little School : Tales of Disappearance and Survival

One of Argentina's 30,000 "disappeared," Alicia Partnoy was abducted from her home by secret police and taken to a concentration camp where she was tortured, and where most of the other prisoners were killed. Her writings were smuggled out of prison and published anonymously in human rights journals. The Little School is Alicia Partnoy's memoir of her disappearance and imprisonment in Argentina in the 1970s. Told in a series of tales that resound in memory like parables, The Little School is proof of the resilience of the human spirit and the healing powers of art. This second edition features a revised introduction by the author and a preface by Julia Alvarez.

British photographer and BBC radio reporter Melanie Friend has covered the Balkans since 1989. Her visits have been brief and always subject to film confiscation and surveillance. In 1999, as NATO bombs fell on Serbia, and ethnic Albanians fled Kosovo, Friend took portraits in the refugee camps of Macedonia. The 75 photographs and extraordinary interviews present one of the most profound, complex, and human documents of the recent history of the Balkans. As the centuries-old cycle of abuse enters a new phase, No Place Like Home explores life in the Balkans with fresh, unconventional insight.

Library Journal

Those who study world conflicts from afar tend to portray both the perpetrators and their victims through a series of politically correct phrases, often masking just what years of oppression, ethnic cleansing, and nationalistic intolerance (to name just a few terms often used to describe Kosovo) mean for the common people who must bear their consequences. This remarkable collection of interviews reveals how easy it is for those in power to manipulate the feeling of nationalism and systematically create an environment in which brutality becomes part of life. Friend, a British photojournalist who has covered Kosovo's political turmoil since 1989, has collected some 50 interviews that she conducted with Albanian refugees in neighboring Macedonia after the conflict culminated in early 1999. The compelling and often disturbing interviews and the 75 powerful photographs that accompany them serve not only to document the actual experiences of Kosovo's inhabitants but to help us understand why the region must remain multiethnic for the good of all. Finally, Friend acknowledges the difficulty faced by the international community in its attempt to bring peace to the region. Highly recommended for all interested in international conflicts. Natasa Musa, New York Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

"This is a thoughtful and courageous book. As NATO bombs rain overhead and Yugoslav anti-aircraft guns flash through the night sky over Belgrade, Jasmina Tesanovic opens her diary and records what it is like to live in a city under siege. Day after day, she takes to the streets in search of her own moral compass, passing by terrified neighbors huddling in basements and mobs of vandals roaming through the city, destroying Western buildings. Ambiguous about Clinton's "humanitarian war," but vehemently opposed to Milosevic's carnage in Kosovo, she asks: "Which cross should I bear? NATO bombs or Serb killings?" Her answer provides a rare glimpse into the mindset of ordinary Serbs who, because of their isolation and indifference, are paying dearly for the crimes of a tyrant."--BOOK JACKET.

Labeled a traitor by nationalist Serbians because she opposes the war in Kosovo, a dissident journalist chronicles the intimate details that haunt her daily life. Amidst the bombardment, however, hope persists: neighbors braving air attacks to commune at midnight Easter service; young women performing ballet recitals despite all threats of danger; strangers gathered for safety, waiting for the next NATO bomb to strike. The author takes us beyond the sound bites of the nightly news by offering a firsthand account of daily life in a war zone. The Diary of a Political Idiot was named a PEN selection for 2000 and has been simultaneously published in 11 languages.

One of Argentina's 30,000 "disappeared", Alicia Partnoy (b. 1955) was abducted from her home by secret police and taken to a concentration camp where she was tortured, and where most of the other prisoners were killed. Smuggled out and published anonymously, this work is Partnoy's memoir of her disappearance and imprisonment. In 1979, she was forced to leave the country and moved to the U.S. where she was reunited with her daughter and her husband. Her story induced the world to open its eyes to the treatment of women in reference to the disappearances of Latin Americans Labeled a traitor by nationalist Serbians because she opposes the war in Kosovo, a dissident journalist chronicles the intimate details that haunt her daily life. Amidst the bombardment, however, hope persists: neighbors braving air attacks to commune at midnight Easter service; young women performing ballet recitals despite all threats of danger; strangers gathered for safety, waiting for the next NATO bomb to strike. The author takes us beyond the sound bites of the nightly news by offering a firsthand account of daily life in a war zone.--From publisher description A chilling photo documentary of the war in Kosovo exposes the human tragedy of ethnic violence in the Balkans and the international response it prompted. Original.