In the introductory statement of Tito's Yugoslavia, Sir Duncan Wilson states that "(the author's) hope is rather that this book will provide historical material from which readers can draw their own conclusions."

Authors Avatar

Sir Duncan Wilson, author of Tito’s Yugoslavia, is master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and was the Ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1964 to 1968. He used his experience in Yugoslavia to write a more detailed synapsis of the event that took place during Tito’s reign. In Tito’s Yugoslavia, Wilson argues that Tito’s policies not only influenced domestic relations, but also significantly affected the Soviet Union and East-West relations as a whole. He attempts to prove his arguments with documents that he was able to receive through his connections with the Yugoslav Embassy. In this work, Duncan Wilson covers the events that dominated Yugoslavia from 1948 to 1979 by using a wide range of documents as well as his personal experience. He, nevertheless considers evidence which may oppose his arguments, although his wish is to present raw facts and allow the readers to draw their own conclusions.

         In the introductory statement of Tito’s Yugoslavia, Sir Duncan Wilson states that “(the author’s) hope is rather that this book will provide historical material from which readers can draw their own conclusions.” (4). By inserting this statement within his work, the author is trying to provide the reader with a purely historical work that is freed from any biased feelings. It is, however, difficult not to consider the author’s personal experiences with Yugoslavia. In a footnote, the following statement is made: “The author must confess too that in 1967-8 when many of the same inducements to passivity were present, he underestimated the immediacy of the nationalist danger in Yugoslavia.” (254). It is apparent through his quote that the author had some predetermined ideas about the issues that he is exploring and discussing in his novel. Although he does admit to having the wrong impressions of the events in the past, he corrects himself through the use of newly studied documents and evidence, which he attempt to study thoroughly and with the outmost attention.

Join now!

Throughout his work, Duncan Wilson presents the story of Tito, who was once known as Josip Broz. He explains that Tito, a veteran of World War I and a committed revolutionary in his early years, earned his rank as a distinguished member of the Yugoslav party's Politburo and by 1937 became its secretary general. The young leader's insistence on operating politically within the boundaries of Yugoslavia brought him success in organizing the Communist Party on a national basis and increasing its membership to 12,000 by the outbreak of World War II. When Nazi forces occupied Yugoslavian soil in 1941, Tito ...

This is a preview of the whole essay