End Game

In Endgame: The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica: Europe's Worst Massacre Since World War II, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Rohde follows the experiences of seven central characters -- three Muslims in Srebrenica, two Dutch peacekeepers charged with defending the surrounded town, and two Serb Army soldiers attacking it -- through the 10-day period that changed the course of the war in Bosnia and was arguably the darkest hour in United Nations history. Drawing on previously undisclosed accounts of top-level UN meetings, internal documents, and hundreds of interviews with participants on all sides, Rohde exposes how the United States, France, Great Britain, the United Nations, and the Bosnian government -- out of incompetence or cynicism -- allowed 40,000 Muslims to fall into the hands of their potential executioners. Part of an apparent Serb endgame to win the war, Srebrenica's fall ended up playing a crucial role in the Clinton administration's 'endgame strategy' that halted the conflict. The most comprehensive book to date on the subject, Endgame is a tale of cynical power politics in the post-Cold War era, a case study in genocide, and a disturbing testament to the power of propaganda and self-delusion.