Lion of the Balkans
Vladimir Chernozemsky
(Reviewer - Rebecca Brown)
2004 Triumvirate Publications
ISBN: 1932656014

The Bloody Balkan War pits small nations against the Ottoman Empire.

Most of us, so far from the nexus of Aegean & Black Seas, have no idea of the ebb & flow of politics in the Balkans before the First World War. To school students it seemed that the Ottoman Empire had been the dominant power in the region forever ... five centuries to be exact.

1911 was to change all of that. In the capital city of Sofia, the kings of Romania, Greece & Serbia & their families, have come to visit & make a pact with the Tzar of Bulgaria -- Ferdinand 1, Maximilian Karl Leopold Maria Sax-Coburg-Gotha. It was a very different time when horsepower & pageantry dominated. Where the royalty & the military were inextricably entwined, & when courage & honor were beset by subterfuge & alliances.

Called the "Powder-Keg of Europe", Bulgaria allied with its neighbors to drive the Turkish army out during the First Balkan War of 1912-13. In the process, tiny, victorious Bulgaria restored much of its historic territory all the way to the Aegean Sea, until it become known as the Lion of the Balkans.

Unfortunately, at the peace conference in London, (just before WWI broke out) Europe once again re-drew Bulgaria's boundaries, thus setting in motion the Second Balkan War: a brief, violent bid for power that pit Bulgaria against its former allies.

Named after his grandfather, the legendary Colonel Vladimir Seraphimov, the author brings to life the adventure & history of a nation seeking freedom from the oppression of the Ottoman Empire. Lion of the Balkans will take you back to a place steeped in history. It is based upon the author's family letters, diaries & tales told by his grandmother who lived during those turbulent times. It is unabashedly passionate (written like an unedited 1940s movie script) & a larger-than-life dramatic recreation of the glory & tragedy of that impressive historical period.

Better than a history text book & twice as lively!

More from Vladimir Chernozemsky:
A Continent Adrift
Dark Side of Time
The Other Side of the Moon & many more!
(05/08/05)

Rebecca