Review: Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire: The Inside Story of Europe’s Last War, by Tim Marshall (2019)

 

I first came across Tim Marshall through Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics, his outstanding book on geopolitics. I enjoyed it so much, I quickly picked up his book on vexillology, Worth Dying For: The Power and Politics of Flags. What made these books so good was that they provided fresh perspectives on the contemporary world, which subsequently stuck with me long after I put them down. Whenever I saw a country’s flag, or read about an international conflict in the news, something that Marshall said in his books would pop into my head, providing useful context that helped me understand what I was seeing and reading. Shadowplay is a different sort of book, both in its subject matter and structure. There is no mention of flags, and references to geopolitics are relatively limited (notwithstanding an interesting discussion concerning a potential land swap between Kosovo and Serbia in the conclusion. Plus, fans of cartography will be glad to see a few maps on the first couple of pages). But like its predecessors, Shadowplay provides brilliant analysis that you will not soon forget.

In short, Shadowplay is a history of the Kosovo War (1998-99), updated from an earlier version. A considerable amount of the narrative is autobiographical, following Marshall’s own experiences as a war correspondent for Sky News during the conflict. This is then filled out by more traditional ‘history’ sections, which recount what the main players, such as NATO, the Serbian military and Slobodan Milosevic, the leader of Serbia (often referred to as “Slobo”), were doing and thinking at the time. These sections help the reader understand why exactly Marshall spent much of 1999 reporting from bombed out towns, roads and airfields. The book is divided into three chronological parts, each given brilliantly minimalist titles: ‘Before’ describes the situation in Serbia and Kosovo prior to the conflict, the failed attempt to negotiate peace, and the preparations for war; ‘During’ follows the conflict itself; ‘After’ largely focuses on Milosevic’s downfall. These sections are subdivided into chapters. There is also an ‘Introduction’ and a ‘Conclusion,’ which both consider the long-term legacy of the war and how it relates to contemporary issues, such as Russian expansionism and membership of the European Union.

Marshall’s own experience of the war was pretty wide-ranging, and goes a long way to explaining the story of the conflict. He didn't quite sup with kings and paupers alike, but by the end of the book he has met high ranking members of the Yugoslav government, paramilitary leaders, revolutionaries, Serbian policeman, British soldiers, spies, and many more eclectic individuals. On the media front, he describes the trials of reporting on a war, some of the “do nots” when it comes to dealing with Serbian officials (which many of his colleagues fall foul of), and a comedic interaction with our current Prime Minister. And interspersed throughout are the stories of ordinary people, both Serb and Kosovar, who were just trying to get by in extraordinary times.                

In many ways this book tells a very personal story. It follows the adventures of man doing his best to report on a war. You can’t help but root for Marshall as he tries to accomplish this task. He is humorous and intelligent in equal measure, making him a great protagonist. You cheer for him when he obtains permission to film in Serbia and Kosovo, or survives a dangerous encounter with an angry Serbian drunk. He even goes full hero at one point, helping a group of journalists evade sniper fire. Make no mistake though, Marshall is no Bear Grylls, and Shadowplay isn’t an Andy McNab book. Throughout the book Marshall references his aversion to gunfire and his considerable lack of military knowledge in a characteristically self-deprecating manner. Whilst these moments of humour might put you off using Shadowplay as a survival guide, they certainly endear you to Marshall, helping him come across as the sort of guy that it would be great to go for a pint with. Moreover, the points where he appears a bit “fish out of water” make the examples of genuine heroism all the sweeter.

But this isn’t just Marshall’s tale. The story of the Kosovo War belongs to the countless individuals involved in the conflict, and of all the stories that Shadowplay narrates, it is the accounts of those aforementioned ordinary people that hit the hardest. Before I read the book, I didn’t think much about the Kosovo War. When I did, I thought of it as a “good war.” It was short, sweet and legal. The bad guy was overthrown without too many of “our” boys dying. Fundamentally, Kosovo was not the Iraq. Seemingly the Iraq War, which dominated the news during my formative years, has both consciously and unconsciously shaped my interpretations of all other wars. Shadowplay rips apart this narrow-minded understanding of international conflicts, doing so most effectively in Chapter 9. Here Marshall details a selection of NATO bombs that hit Serbia and killed a considerable number of Serbian civilians. He generally lets his descriptions speak for themselves, describing, in a respectful but honest manner, ruined buildings and the human remains of people who sadly lost their lives. By naming the individuals who died, and including testimonies from their relatives, the human suffering caused by the war ceases to be abstract. This is not to say that NATO was wrong to bomb Serbia. As Marshall makes clear, Slobo was an awful man and his regime did awful things. The Balkans are well rid of him. However, war is never morally “pure”, and as Shadowplay shows, the Kosovo War was no exception.

The only issue I had with Shadowplay came from my own ignorance. I judged the book by the cover (a cardinal sin), and assumed, since it showed a map of all the Yugoslav successor states, that the book might investigate them all, and go into detail about how Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina et al. broke away from Yugoslavia. Alas, this is the story of the Kosovo War, and Serbia is the star. The surrounding states are mentioned, but do not have speaking roles. If, like me, you are new to the history of the Balkans, you might struggle to grasp how exactly this war relates to the earlier Yugoslav conflicts, at least for the first couple of chapters. Stick with it. Before long you’ll be thoroughly engrossed in Marshall’s narrative and excited to see where it goes next.

Perhaps, Shadowplay’s success is best demonstrated by my desire to pick up another book on the break up of Yugoslavia as soon as possible (open to suggestions). Furthermore, another book by Tim Marshall would not go amiss.    

(Find the book here, on the Waterstone's website: https://www.waterstones.com/book/shadowplay-behind-the-lines-and-under-fire/tim-marshall/9781783964451)