The word ‘arctic’ comes from the Greek artikos, which means ‘near the bear’, and is a reference to the Ursa Major constellation whose last two stars point towards the North Star. The Arctic Ocean is 5.4 million square miles; this might make it the world’s smallest ocean but it is still almost as big as Russia, and one and a half times the size of the USA.” A somewhat cheeky republished book (originally written in 2002), no doubt to capitalise on Marshall's success with his recent geo-political work. It is however a decent read. The author, Tim Marshall, was a reporter for Sky News. He tells us that this book was first published in 2002 but in Serbo-Croat but now it has been translated. If you're looking for an overview of the who/what/why of the Balkans War this probably isn't the book for you, however, if you're after an 'on the ground' look at what went on with regards to civilians, military and media, this is the book for you. When getting into that diplomatic territory, Marshall begins to quote a lot of unnamed inside sources, which may be unavoidable- but in fact he barely provides any sources at all, with a feeble bibliography. Another of his digressions from his own experience is his coverage of the ‘Bulldozer Revolution’, and though one can’t fault him for discussing the event despite his absence, he seems to draw everything all from one source.

Shadowplay - The Book Trail Shadowplay - The Book Trail

Twenty years on from the war's end, with the rise of Russian power, a weakened NATO and stalled EU expansion, this story is more relevant than ever, as questions remain about the possibility of conflict on European soil. Utterly compelling, this is Tim Marshall at his very best: behind the lines, under fire and full of the insight that has made him one of Britain's foremost writers on geopolitics. Sometimes you will hear leaders say, “I’m the only person who can hold this nation together.” If that’s true then that leader has truly failed to build their nation.’ That” This book is a memoir of the author’s experience as a journalist in the Kosovo war, but it also tries to be a lot more and fails pretty badly. He is esteemed for his unique capacity to contextualise current affairs. He has extensively analysed, for instance, how geography influences the ways states behave and interact with one another. In his writing on Russian foreign policy, for example, he discusses how the flatland between the Baltic Sea and Carpathian Mountains – modern-day Poland – has for centuries made Russia vulnerable to invasion from Western armies. This has fuelled a historical view amongst Russian leaders of Belarus and Ukraine as buffer zones between Western forces and Moscow, and we can see this view rearing its head in the recent invasion of Ukraine.

This book was originally published in Serbo-Croat in 2002 but was more recently republished, adding an epilogue as so why we hear so little about the region these days. I found this quite a simple but effective way of tying things up and it was then that I noticed the evolution in his writing style.

Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire - libro.fm Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire - libro.fm

It is Oct-1998 and the Kosovo War is in full swing. I was really looking forward to the boots on the ground war reporting, but that was not really the case, and this was not really that kind of war. It was not like he could embed himself in a platoon of British soldiers on the ground as there were none.

This would be more interesting if Tim Marshall had written a history of the war and put it into the sweeping historical context as he does in Prisoners of Geography, instead this is an OK war reporters memoir with the bare bones of what happened. It feels like you have been dropped into the middle of the book rather than at the beginning. A lot of information and names are thrown at you without any context or summation of what is going on and why we are where we are. From the British strategy to NATO to the Serbs to the KLA it all feels a bit of complex mess. Hang in there. I made a list of names and positions as I went. Essentially the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) ‘intend to liberate Kosovo from Serbian rule’. They want independence. They see the Serbs as the oppressor. There are fifty American states, but they add up to one nation in a way the twenty-eight sovereign states of the European Union never can. Most of the EU states have a national identity far stronger, more defined, than any American state. It is easy to find a French person who is French first, European second, or one who pays little allegiance to the idea of Europe, but an American identifies with their Union in a way few Europeans do theirs. This is explained by the geography, and the history of the unification of the United States.” These diverse experts inspire audiences globally, creating a long-lasting impact on the people they engage with.… View more. The bulk of the book was written in the early 2000s, and so a short introduction and conclusion seek to bring it up to the present; unfortunately the latter is mostly focused on Russia.

Shadowplay: A Memoir From Behind the Lines and Under Fire

A gripping eyewitness account of a major 20th-century military conflict by the UK's most popular writer on geopolitics The shattering of Yugoslavia shattered my naive belief that war in Europe was over. During my later journeys, the events and realities I confronted led me to develop a hard realist view of the world.” An engaging and very vivid account of the Kosovo War. In this book Tim Marshall gives a full account of his time as a war correspondent for Sky News in late 1990's Yugoslavia. New & useful information: (4/5)
I really appreciate that this book exists. Much has been written about the Yugoslav wars leading up to Dayton, but there are far fewer books on the subsequent ongoing conflict in Kosovo. Kosovo doesn’t seem to have received the attention it is due, so I’m glad when a book published in 2019 is focused on it. Marshall also documented some of the political machinations happening in Serbia and among the NATO-allied countries that I hadn’t heard before. He sort of yada-yada-yada’d the last 18-or-so years of Balkan history, but I don’t blame him. As he put it, the rest of the world has been distracted from the Balkans, perhaps justifiably so. I would love it if his next book examined the political landscape of the Balkans in the 21st century.The routine expression of hatred for others is so common in the Arab world that it barely draws comment other than from the region’s often Western-educated liberal minority who have limited access to the platform of mass media.” Tim also draws from his insights into international relations to predict future affairs and crises, and his work increasingly comments on the intersection of technological advances with political developments. His upcoming book Space explores the geopolitics of space. He highlights that with sky satellites maintaining the world’s economy; space metals being worth more than most countries’ GDP; and people expected on Mars in the next decade, space will increasingly dominate military thinking. The leading superpowers of Russia, America, and China all have space commands and are developing warfighting capabilities for space.

Tim Marshall (journalist) - Wikipedia Tim Marshall (journalist) - Wikipedia

Technology may seem to overcome the distances between us in both mental and physical space, but it is easy to forget that the land where we live, work and raise our children is hugely important, and that the choices of those who lead the seven billion inhabitants of this planet will to some degree always be shaped by the rivers, mountains, deserts, lakes and seas that constrain us all – as they always have.” Tim Marshall, then diplomatic editor at Sky News, was on the ground covering the Kosovo War. This is his illuminating account of how events unfolded, a thrilling journalistic memoir drawing on personal experience, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with intelligence officials from five countries. The cover, showing all Yugoslavia, suggests that the book will examine a lot more than just Kosovo- in practice it’s focused on the author’s experience in Kosovo, though he was also present in the Bosnian war. Even still, it’s focus is narrow; Marshall was based in Serbia proper for most of this time and so the book covers only this perspective, focusing more on NATO bombings of Serbia and discussing remarkably little about events in Kosovo. In fact individual Kosovo Albanians are only mentioned four times total in the entire book; if you’re looking to learn anything about Kosovo beyond the very basics you won’t find it here. Equally important, anyone stupid enough to contemplate invading America would soon reflect on the fact that it contains hundreds of millions of guns, which are available to a population that takes its life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness very seriously.” In Russia we see the influence of the Arctic, and how its freezing climate limits Russia’s ability to be a truly global power. In China we see the limitations of power without a global navy, and now the speed at which China is seeking to change this is becoming apparent.”

Tim Marshall was Diplomatic Editor and foreign correspondent for Sky News. After thirty years’ experience in news reporting and presenting, he left full time news journalism to concentrate on writing and analysis.