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Since Albania has just started to become a popular travel destination and opened its borders to everyone, you might want to get a quick glance at what it has been through over the years of total lockdown and how people lived and fought for their freedom. Hopefully, this list of books will be helpful while you prepare for your trip to the "land of eagles" or you just want to know about the country.
Antonia Young - Women who become men: Albanian sworn virgins (Dress, Body, Culture)
Certain women in remote regions of Albania elect to 'become' men simply for the
advantages that accrue to them as a result. They crop their hair, wear men's
clothes, roll their own cigarettes, drink brandy and carry guns. In short,
their lives are much freer and less regimented than other members of their sex
- but at a cost. These women must foreswear sexual relationships, marriage, and
children. They have been dubbed 'Sworn Virgins'.What is interesting is that in
this region of the Balkans, simply to dress as a man and to behave as a man
will earn these women the same respect accorded a man.
Bashkim Shehu - The
Last Journey of Ago Ymeri
With echoes of The
Return of Martin Guerre and Kafka's The Trial, with allusions to The Odyssey and the Albanian folktale of Ago Ymeri, a
legendary hero released from the underworld for one day, Shehu's novel blends
the autobiographical and the historical, the personal and the political into a
powerful tale--a story that conveys the terrors, small and large, of a
totalitarian state while capturing all that is surreal and even lyrical in life
in such a deeply distorted world.
Blendi Fevziu - Enver Hoxha: The Iron Fist of Albania
The regime that the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha led from
1944 until his death in 1985 was incomparably severe. Such was the reign of the terror that no audible voice of opposition or dissent ever arose in the Balkan
state and Albania became isolated from the rest of the world and utterly
inward-looking. Three decades after his death, the specter of Hoxha still
lingers over the country, yet many people - inside and outside Albania - know
little about the man who ruled the country with an iron fist for so many
decades.
Edith Durham - High Albania: A Victorian Traveller's Balkan Odyssey
Edith Durham began her travels late in life on her doctor's
orders. She sailed to Montenegro and began a love affair with the Balkans that
lasted the rest of her life. This is her passionate account of life in the
formidable mountainous terrain of Northern Albania.
Edmund Keeley - Albanian Journal
While traveling the road to Elbasan, Keeley and his
companions seek to learn about the terrible fifty years of physical and
spiritual drought brought on by the Stalinist regime of Enver Hoxha and to see
the first steps in Albania has taken toward a more democratic government. Along
the way, Keeley's records are sometimes lyrical and humorous detail their meetings
with people rejoicing in their newfound freedoms.
Edward Lear -
Edward Lear in Albania: Journals of a Landscape Painter
in the Balkans
Edward Lear's travels through Albania and Macedonia in 1848
came about when an outbreak of cholera closed off all other routes out of
Salonica - the port in which he arrives as these journals begin - setting him
off on this unusual adventure. His meticulous journals offer a unique insight
into the Balkans in this period; the difficulties and romance of traveling in
Albania - especially as an Englishman, visiting places never previously seen by
foreigners; and the profound effect of the landscape and its people on an
artist's mind.
Edwin E. Jacques - The Albanians: An Ethnic History from Prehistoric Times to
Present-day Albania is located between the former Yugoslavia and Greece on the western shore of the Balkan peninsula, and is the least known European country. As the last Turkish province in Europe, it was tightly closed to foreigners over the centuries, and until recently the country was even more isolated by its postwar Communist regime. Historically described as mysterious and xenophobic, the people and the country are both little known to most westerners-but are destined to enter the world's consciousness situated as they are in the midst of explosive Balkan conflicts.
Fred Abrahams - Modern Albania: From Dictatorship to Democracy in Europe
Modern Albania offers a vivid history of the Albanian Communist regime’s fall and the trials and tribulations that led the country to become the state it is today. The book provides an in-depth look at the Communists' last Politburo meetings and the first student revolts, the fall of the Stalinist regime, the outflows of refugees, the crash of the massive pyramid-loan schemes, the war in neighboring Kosovo, and Albania’s relationship with the United States.
George Walter Gawrych - The crescent and the eagle
The Crescent and the Eagle examines the awakening
of Albanian national identity from the end of the 19th century to the outbreak
of the First World War - a period of intense nationalism in the Balkans - from
an Ottoman perspective. Drawing on Ottoman and European archival material, the
book undermines the customary negative stereotypes of Ottoman rule, offering a
more nuanced interpretation.
Gillian Gloyer - Albania: The Bradt Travel Guide
Albania is perhaps the last hidden corner of eastern Europe, newly opening its frontiers to travelers after decades of tyranny and instability. Albania boasts breathtaking natural beauty, splendid and empty beaches, excellent local wines, a Mediterranean climate, and a tradition of hospitality making it a potentially prime vacation destination easily accessible by air, ferry via the Greek islands and Italy, or even by road via mainland Greece, Montenegro, or Kosovo.
From the moment that Gjorg's brother is killed by a
neighbor, his own life is forfeit: for the code of Kanun requires Gjorg to
kill his brother's murderer and then in turn be hunted down. After shooting his
brother's killer, young Gjorg is entitled to thirty days' grace - not enough to
see out the month of April. Then a visiting honeymoon couple crosses the path of
the fugitive. The bride's heart goes out to Gjorg, and even these 'civilized'
strangers from the city risk becoming embroiled in the fatal mechanism of
vendetta.
Ismail Kadare - Chronicle in stone
Chronicle in Stone is
a touching coming-of-age story and a testament to the perseverance of the human
spirit. Surrounded by the magic of beautiful women and literature, a boy must
endure the deprivations of war as he suffers the hardships of growing up. His sleepy country has just thrown off centuries of tyranny, but new waves of
domination inundate his city. Through the boy’s eyes, we see the terrors of
World War II as he witnesses fascist invasions, allied bombings, partisan
infighting, and the many faces of human cruelty—as well as the simple pleasures
of life.
Ismail Kadare - The Fall of the Stone City
In September 1943, Nazi troops advance on the ancient gates
of Gjirokastër, Albania. The very next day, the Germans vanish without a trace.
As the townsfolk wonder if they might have dreamt the events of the previous
night, rumors circulate of a childhood friendship between a local dignitary
and the invading Nazi Colonel, a reunion in the town square, and a fateful
dinner party that would transform twentieth-century Europe. A captivating novel
of resistance in a dictatorship, and steeped in Albanian folklore
In the early fifteenth century, as winter falls away, the
people of Albania know that their fate is sealed. They have refused to
negotiate with the Ottoman Empire, and war is now inevitable. The Siege tells
the enthralling story of the weeks and months that follow – of the exhilaration
and despair of the battlefield, the constantly shifting strategies of war, and
those whose lives are held in the balance, from the Pasha himself to the
artillerymen, astrologer, blind poet, and harem of women who accompany him.
James Pettifer and Miranda Vickers - The Albanian Question: Reshaping the Balkans
Since 1997, the Albanian region has been forced simultaneously to come to terms with the realities of a post-Communist world and the threat of Slobodan Milosevic's Greater Serbia' project. Its people, the authors, argue are involved in the process of national self-emancipation: the re-establishment of free markets and ending of Communist border controls have renewed long-dormant cultural and economic links between the Albanian people and the wider region.
Jason Tomes - King Zog: Self-Made Monarch of Albania
Zog I was a crucial figure in modern Albanian history, creating - or attempting to create - national and cultural identity for a country that had known little stability or sense of identity since the middle ages.
Hahn's interests were broad, but he was especially interested in the tribes of Albania and Kosovo and made several ethnographic studies of the cultures and traditions of the tribes he encountered on his travels - including the Kelmendi, Hoti, and Kastrati tribes.
Marcus Tanner -
Albania's Mountain Queen: Edith Durham and the Balkans
In 1900, at the age of 37, Durham set sail for the
Balkans for the first time. Her experiences on this trip were to change the
course of her life, kindling a profound love for the region which saw her
return frequently in the following decades. She became a confidante of the King
of Montenegro, ran a hospital in Macedonia, and, following the outbreak of the
First Balkan War in 1912, became one of the world's first female war
correspondents. Back in England, she was renowned as an expert in the region.
Miranda Vickers - The Albanians: A Modern History
Miranda Vickers' book traces the history of the Albanian
people from the Ottoman period to the formation of the Albanian Communist
Party. She considers the formation of the Albanian Communist Party, the charismatic leadership of Enver Hoxha; Albania's relationship with Tito and the
alliance with the Soviet Union and then China; and the long period of
isolation.
Robert Carver - The Accursed Mountains: Journeys in Albania
Traveling by bus, on foot, by mule and horse, staying with
Albanians in their houses and crumbling Stalinist tower blocks, Robert Carver
meets Vlach shepherds and village intellectuals, ex-Communist Special Forces
officers and juvenile heroin smugglers, missionaries with jeeps and light
planes, and ex-prisoners of Enver Hoxha who have spent 45 years in the Albanian
gulag.
Robert Elsie - Early Albania: A reader of historical texts, 11th-17th centuries
The book is not a history of early Albania, but rather
a collection of important historical documents and texts from the 11th to the
17th centuries, which will add to an understanding of the early history and
development of Albania and its people.
Robert Elsie - The Tribes of Albania: History, Society and Culture
Northern Albania and Montenegro are the only regions in
Europe to have retained a truly tribal society up to the mid-twentieth century.
This book provides the first scholarly investigation of this tribal society, a
pioneer work that offers a detailed survey of all the major Albanian-speaking
tribes in Albania, Montenegro, and Kosovo.
Robin Hanbury-Tenison - Land of Eagles: Riding Through Europe's Forgotten Country
Determined to discover the Albanian that lies
behind so many stereotypes and preconceptions, Robin Hanbury-Tenison and his
wife Louella crossed the country on horseback, from Theth in the north to the
border with Greece in the south. Land of Eagles is the story of a lyrical and dramatic journey,
peppered with adventure and mishap, discovery and unexpected encounters.
Stavro Skëndi - The Albanian National Awakening, 1878-1912
Professor Skendi traces the progress and setbacks of
Albania's long struggle for national unity during this least-known period of
its intricate history. He discusses the heritage of its people and examines it in
detail the developments that led to Albanian independence: national resistance to
the decisions of the Congress of Berlin, later opposition to Turkey, and the
struggle between the Albanians and the Young Turks.
Tajar Zavalani - History of Albania
This
book is the first full-length history of
Albania to have been written in English. It covers the period from ancient
times to the mid-twentieth century and provides the reader with a good overview
of the historical development of a Balkan nation, which has to a large extent
been ignored, even by scholars and specialists in Southeast European history.
Retrieved after fifty years of oblivion, the fruits of Zavalani's imposing
projects are now available to the reading public for the first time.
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