Butcher's Trail, The : How the Search for Balkan War Criminals Became the World's Most Successful Manhunt - Hardcover

Julian Borger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590516052 ISBN 13: 9781590516058

Publisher: Other Press, 2016

Synopsis

Written with a thrilling narrative pull, The Butcher's Trail chronicles the pursuit and capture of the Balkan war criminals indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague. Borger recounts how Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic - both now on trial in The Hague - were finally tracked down, and describes the intrigue behind the arrest of Slobodan Milosevic, the Yugoslav president who became the first head of state to stand before an international tribunal for crimes perpetrated in a time of war.

About this title

Review:

'In the former Yugoslavia itself, the justice it has dispensed helped establish a sustainable peace, even though Borger warns that nationalist sentiments are again on the rise. At worst, he says, in what is a rather sad indictment of our times, the manhunt and subsequent trials ensure that no one can deny that genocide was committed.' - The Independent

'[A] vivid, page-turning account...A well-organized, deeply researched work that ably digests the Balkan war, the criminals, the criminal court, and its legacy.' Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

'Presented in captivating detail [and] often playing out like a true-life spy novel... fascinating.' Library Journal

'Vivid... well-researched.' Publishers Weekly

'The Butcher's Trail reads like a cross between a John le Carre novel and the latest Bourne instalment. Except this fine book is true. At a time when Europe's ugly nationalisms are resurgent, Borger's account of war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and the pursuit of justice could not be more important.' Eric Schlosser, author of Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus accident, and the Illusion of Safety

'Julian Borger reveals in riveting new detail exactly how a daring team secretly tracked down some of the worst war criminals of our time, and in doing, he shows us what it takes for justice to win. This book is brilliantly researched, beautifully written and important.' Ann Curry

'Julian Borger's thrilling history of the hunt for the infamous Balkan war criminals Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic among them euphemisms for late 20th Century evil - and the torturous path to creating and empowering the International Criminal Tribunal is not just masterfully told, but devastating in its revelations of complacency in the face of ethnic cleansing.' Hooman Majd, author of NY Times bestseller The Ayatollah Begs to Differ

'Julian Borger has written the definitive account of the hunt for the war criminals of the former Yugoslavia. The Butcher's Trail is wonderfully well written and deeply reported and it raises important questions about how to bring to justice those that have committed wars against humanity.' Peter Bergen, author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad

'Julian Borger has unlocked the hidden stories of a historic manhunt. This book is a powerful page turner that catapults you through two decades of political intrigue, deceit, and erratic leadership, competing intelligence agencies, botched operations with fugitive deaths, and then a steady surge of successful snatches on remote mountain roads and in sleepy villages, in warm apartments stocked with weaponry, and unawares at a Spanish restaurant with barely sipped wine. Borger proves the worth of the tribunal and those who delivered the agents of evil to its doorstep.' --David Scheffer, U.S. Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues (1997-2001) and law professor at Northwestern University

"What Julian Borger has achieved in this superb account of the tribunal's manhunt is much more than a litany of these crimes. It is an elegantly written, powerfully convincing reckoning of how the world stumblingly faced up to a reality that should not have been: war crimes in modern Europe." --The Guardian

"Julian Borger's detailed and careful narrative illustrates how dedicated politicians, diplomats, prosecutors and military personnel can persevere to track down the people who have committed such profound crimes against humanity, restoring some sense of justice and order to a traumatized land." --The TLS

About the Author:

Julian Borger is the diplomatic editor for The Guardian. He covered the Bosnian War for the BBC and The Guardian, and returned to the Balkans to report on the Kosovo conflict in 1999. He has also served as The Guardian's Middle East correspondent and its Washington bureau chief. Borger was part of the Guardian team that won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism for its coverage of the Snowden files on mass surveillance. He was also on the team awarded the 2013 Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) medal and the Paul Foot Special Investigation Award in the UK.

About this edition

• Publisher: Other Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1590516052
• ISBN 13: 9781590516058
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224