This fascinating book outlines how a mix of effective Public Relations and ineffective political leadership can lead to disaster. While Yugoslavia's borders had shifted over the years since its inception, the republic remained relatively peaceful and united under the communist rule of Tito.

After Tito's death in 1980, a string of leaders followed, all of which struggled to deal with the vast range of ethnicities and heritages that made up this great land. In addition, the fall of communism provided the catalyst needed to hammer the nails into the lid of Yugoslavia's coffin. Slovenia the first to declare independence in 1991, followed by Croatia the same year. This book follows Yugoslavia's undoing and the subsequent Bosnian war, which ran from March 1992 to November 1995.

The Bosnian's employed the services of public relations company Hill and Knowlton who did a good job in convincing the US president of the time, Bill Clinton (via CNN news coverage) to support their cause at a time when the UK and France preferred to sit it out.

Could the Bosnian war have been avoided?  Most probably is the answer. To find out more we recommend adding this book to your reading list. The author, John Schindler was a member of the USA's National Security Agency  and has penned many books covering wars and terrorism.

The book was reviewed on the Brian Wiltshire program on Radio 2GB. A podcast will be available shortly by following this link.