Professor Emeritus James D. Tracy established himself at the start of his career as an expert in the study of Erasmus and sixteenth-century Dutch politics and finance. In 1978 he published his well-received book Politics of Erasmus (Toronto, 1977), followed thereafter by his book A Financial Revolution in the Habsburg Netherlands (Berkley, 1985). During the next two decades Tracy solidified his place as one of the outstanding experts of sixteenth-century Holland by publishing three additional books on Holland under Habsburg Rule (Berkeley, 1900), Erasmus in the Low Country (Berkeley, 1996), and The Founding of the Dutch Republic (Oxford, 2008). In addition, Tracy has a monograph on Emperor Charles V, a book on the Reformation in Europe, and almost a half-dozen edited books. In this most recent book, however, Tracy ventures into a new terrain by exploring the history of the Balkans during one of its most turbulent and violent periods. Balkan Wars traces the history of Bosnia, Croatia, and Dalmatia and its neighboring territories from 1499 to 1617. This was the period when the Ottomans were able to break through the Hungarian defenses, expanding all the way into central Hungary, and establish the borders separating Christian Europe and Ottoman rule up to the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. Tracy's unique approach to this epoch is to look at the Balkans as having a shared history as a border region between three mega-states. Referring to the work of Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Tracy says his work aims to show how Dalmatia, Bosnia, and Croatia share a joint history by having experienced important “conjectural moments.” His goal is therefore to describe how border regions between mega-states share a common past and in the process develop a shared imagined community. While the book focuses mostly on military and diplomatic history, it will appeal to a broader audience that is interested in sixteenth-century studies, early modern state building, comparative history, the clash of civilizations, Renaissance studies, and frontier studies.

Balkan Wars provides a fast-moving and action-filled narrative. While the book focuses on the long sixteenth century, it gives a detailed background to how the borders between Christendom and the Ottoman Empire looked in 1462. The book then goes through a series of critical events that transformed the Balkans and forever altered its fate, from the collapse of the Hungarian Kingdom, to the military victories of Suleyman the Magnificent, to the struggles of the Venetian Republic to maintain control of the Dalmatian towns, to peasant revolts, Ottoman Palace intrigues, the impacts of the Reformation, and the challenges the Habsburg state had in collecting taxes from their nobles. What makes the book such a great read is, throughout this eventful chronicle, the author keeps the narrative together by focusing on the triangular struggle of power between the two rising powers in the Habsburg and Ottoman empires and the mega-state of the Republic of Venice. And as the author notes on numerous occasions, what made the situation so unique was how different these mega-states were from one another, both in terms of the types of culture and social structures they represented and how the different mega-states established their political and military legitimacy. Within this action-filled narrative, two aspects of the book stand out prominently: first, the author's ability to navigate the differences between the Venetian Republic and the Habsburg and Ottoman states, and, second, between what is happening at the provincial level versus what is happening at court. Indeed, it is Tracy's ability to explain the struggles at the village and castle level that gives this book its deep sense of meaning and significance. While at one moment Tracy allows us to peer into the life of a Croatian peasant trying to make the difficult choice to take up arms or not against the invading Ottomans, he then quickly changes the perspective and allows us to view the same event from the larger European political and military landscape.

Similar to all the books published by Tracy, Balkan Wars is meticulously researched. Each chapter has from two hundred to three hundred endnotes. Furthermore, the book is a great example of how to combine vast knowledge of secondary sources with archival sources. It is based on archival research in the Dubrovnik Archive, the Republic of Slovenia Archive, the State Archive of Venice, and the Viennese State Archives. In addition to this, material in the forms of correspondences, diaries, and official documents are included from more than thirty different primary sources. There also is a seven-page glossary of terms that is essential to understanding the text and a twenty-page glossary of persons and places that is equally vital. Nothing captures the complexity of this book better than glancing at the glossary of terms. Words like venturini, Zonta, uskoks, serdar, Sabor, harac, and galleass may come naturally to specialist in the field, but for those not immersed in this field, the book can present challenges and needs time and patience to comprehend in its totality.

In conclusion, I would strongly recommend the The Balkan Wars for those interested in comparative politics, state building, and diplomacy in Renaissance Europe, and for those looking at how historians are constructing alternative histories to national narratives. The book rewrites Bosnia's role from that of being seen as primarily a military border zone between Latin Christendom and Islam, to that of a frontier that saw a vibrant exchange of goods and individuals. It gives brilliant insight on how the strategy of Venice was to improve commercial relations with the Ottomans as much as follow a policy of continuous war. It highlights how vastly different forms of state building existed concurrently and how diverse and rich sixteenth-century Balkan society was. One hopes this book inspires further research on the society, economy, and culture of this fascinating part of the world during this turbulent and revolutionary period.