Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History (Studies of Nationalities)

No other book in English (and possibly any language) will give the reader a more detailed understanding of how educated, moderate (and some not-so-moderate) North Macedonian patriots and nationalists view their history. Is the book overly simplistic and nationalistic? To some degree, it is. However, neither a Serbian, nor a Greek, nor a Bulgarian, nor a North Macedonian nationalist perspective will be completely accurate. All such nationalist perspectives are prejudiced. The problem is that people often know of only one or two perspectives. Those who are familiar with a Serb, Greek, or Bulgarian perspective almost exclusively, need to read this book. This is the book to start with for most readers on North Macedonian nationalism.

This is the only popular history of Macedonia of which I am aware. Whether you consider the North Macedonian nationality ancient or invented, it's worth reading.

I do have medium sized women’s hands. They fit well and cut much better than the cheaper ones made in China.

In the book Macedonia and the Macedonians, Prof. Rossos has a political agenda. He attempts against all odds to prove that the Slavic people of the newly-forged Republic of Macedonia have a long established national identity that even stretches into the ancient world. Unfortunately for prof Rossos, universally accepted history abounds with overwhelming evidence that these propositions are fanciful at best and transparently devious in intent. For the knowledgeable, this is a fun book to take apart and expose as highly selective writing in the service of Balkan nationalism (Prof Rossos even uses the word "Balkan" when talking about the ancient world, an inexcusable anachronism in a professional academic). Those uninformed about this complex subject will end up as confused as Prof Rossos becomes in his convoluted references and historical meanderings (he even creates a non-existent "Byzantine Commonwealth" in support of the non-Greekness of the ancient Macedonians who spread the Greek language and established Greek culture throughout the eastern Mediterranean and Middle east in what is called "The Hellenistic Age").Prof Rossos quotes Eugene Borza, the late specialist on Macedonian history, attempting to support his unsupportable thesis.Here is one Eugene Borza quote, however, that Rossos avoids for obvious reasons: "Modern Slavs, both Bulgarians and Macedonians, cannot establish a link with antiquity, as the Slavs entered the Balkans centuries after the demise of the ancient Macedonian kingdom. Only the most radical Slavic factions--mostly émigrés in the United States, Canada, and Australia--even attempt to establish a connection to antiquity [...] The twentieth-century development of a Macedonian ethnicity, and its recent evolution into independent statehood following the collapse of the Yugoslav state in 1991, has followed a rocky road. In order to survive the vicissitudes of Balkan history and politics, the Macedonians, who have had no history, need one...Their own so-called Macedonian ethnicity had evolved for more than a century, and thus it seemed natural and appropriate for them to call the new nation "Macedonia" and to attempt to provide some cultural references to bolster ethnic survival..."Eugene Borza, Macedonia Redux (7)

Finally a book that is not based on propaganda or political positions. Worth a read for anyone that has an interest in understanding a very complicated part of the world.

Well written. Historically correct. Anyone that what's to learn about Macedonia and its people should definitely read this book. Unbiased.

I loved learning more about Macedonia.

Rossos takes a distinctly minority perspective on Macedonia's borders, essentially arguing that Macedonia rightfully should contain all the Ottoman territory in the Balkans at the time of the 1913 partition, in which substantial lands went to Bulgaria in the east and to Greece in the south. In fact, the book cover says Rossos "was born in Greek (Aegean) Macedonia." In fact, this greater Macedonia never existed as a country and it didn't have the characteristics of a nation -- ethnic cohesion, common language, established borders -- and few Macedonians I have talked with accept this perspective. With that caveat in mind, however, the reader can gain a good sense of Balkan history from this volume.

Author quotes documents and materials giving very onesided picture of the area called Macedonia. There are some interesting facts but as whole the book is very biased. The author doesn't use important diplomatic dociments from 19th Century that give a very different ethnic picture of Macedonia during the Ottoman Empire. Obviously he supports the fake view of the contemporary North Macedonian historians about the country's past. Ne never mentions the simple fact that there was no Macedonian state in the area after it was conquered by the Romans. Macedonia appears on the map only in 1944 after the decision of the Yugoslav Communists and their leader Josip Broz Tito.

Finally, an historically accurate account of the history of Macedonians. Whether contemporary Macedonians are descended from Alexander the Great or not does not matter - they are a culturally unique people that have inhabited a region once known as Macedonians for hundreds of years. If you want to know the truth about Macedonian history without being mislead by Greek, Bulgarian and Serbian nationalist propaganda, Rossos is a great source of this information. Bit of a dry read, admittedly, but the content at hand is difficult to find online, due to a wealth of misinformation and nationalistic arguing.

Nice to see such a book rich in comprehensive and non biased opinions. Shines a light on Macedonians as a nation and their struggle for their national rights and state over so many centuries

I bought this book for dad for his birthday. He was born in modern day "Greece" which was once part of Macedonia, as this book will explain. Upon reading this book, he was amazed at how accurate the information was, exactly the way it happened to his family. This is the real untold history of Macedonia. Praise to all the research that went into it's making!