• Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire

  • The Inside Story of Europe's Last War
  • By: Tim Marshall
  • Narrated by: Tim Marshall
  • Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (57 ratings)

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Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire  By  cover art

Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire

By: Tim Marshall
Narrated by: Tim Marshall
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What listeners say about Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Hardly worth the time, nothing terribly insightful

My advice is to look closely at the summary, and don't make the mistake I made, thinking this was going to be a comprehensive account of the Yugoslav wars in the '90s. As became apparent listening (and fairly presented in the summary), it is primarily about the latter part of the conflicts, Kosovo and the subsequent political fall of Slobodan Milosevic. I had expected more about Croatia and Bosnia.

But the real problem is that there is very little of interest in the accounts. There are some inside stories and rivalries of journalists, none particularly salacious, self-aggrandizing stories of the rigors of being a war correspondent, and cynical decision-making of military and intelligence officers. But nothing terribly new or illuminating. All of which made the heavy breathing and lip-smacking of an author reading their own material less tolerable than it might have been.

6 people found this helpful

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Great listen :)

This audiobook kept my interest throughout the entire listen! Great entry way of learning the political history of the Balkans!

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Interesting topic, written for the writer

The book is interesting but it appears to be an effort of self-satisfied eloquence. Too many witty quips, supposedly to be funny, get in the way of the narration.
Personal opinion of course, but I found it a missed opportunity to chronicle your this dark and interesting part of our history in a more up-tempo way.

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  • RT
  • 05-25-22

Excellent Book

If you want to understand geopolitics and relationships between countries Tim Marshall is the best, and this book did not disappoint. None of my history classes ever mentioned the Balkans so all of this was new to me. Perhaps Tim Marshalls books should be history textbooks, they are more interesting and more informative.

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Very interesting story, great narration.

Very interesting story, great narration. a great view into the experiences of a wartime correspondent.

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    4 out of 5 stars

bad articulators

should have gotten a professional to narrate
this guy's vocal noises are nauseating
like listening to someone with bad table manners eat

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  • DW2000q
  • 12-01-19

Edge of your seat tension with a very human angle

I love that Tim Marshall's actual voice is the one taking listeners back to this compelling time in history. If you're fascinated by Balkan history and if you work, live, go to school alongside Serbian, Kosovar Albanians, Macedonians, and Croats, you must listen to/read this book to understand their story and what they've been through historically. It's a fantastic book. I was a young woman during the break-up of Yugoslavia and its 'civil war' as we referred to it. My prom date in high school was a Croatian Yugoslavian who was returning to fight. I recall vividly how suddenly, my Yugoslavian friends dispersed as they became solely Serbs and Croats (the two predominant cultures in my local Californian community) and no longer spoke to one another or ate at the same lunch tables. This was 6400 miles away from the bombs and the unravelling of this region, steeped in pride, bad blood, and old traditions, held together for a short time by that binding but fragile notion of 'being Yugoslavian'. How easily and violently that ideal broke apart. There were so many moments during my listen to Shadowplay where I literally let out small gasps, so taken in was I by the various stories, gripping situations, and especially by Tim Marshall's delivery of his experiences as a journalist on the ground during the bombing campaigns. Gripping doesn't begin to describe it! I really appreciated the friendships he formed in this fraught region. Everyone he encounters is a real character. I found myself worrying about the fate of every friend Tim encountered. And you get the sense that, despite the trauma and the fear, a real sense of brotherhood saw Tim and his wingmen through this trial by fire. You are made acutely aware that many civilians did not get to celebrate the end of such dark days.

8 people found this helpful

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  • M. Zubair
  • 07-22-21

I thought it’s history of the conflict

It’s just chronicles when the author was a journalist. The title is misleading. The title portray that it’s the history of the conflict. I was so looking forward to listen the book.

5 people found this helpful

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  • Kendo nagassaki
  • 02-02-20

Juvenile.. don’t bother

A juvenile account .. I suppose what you would expect from a sky reporter.. look for a more intelligent analysis

4 people found this helpful

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  • Paul B
  • 10-13-19

A bit dull

I’ve loved some of the other books by Tim Marshall but this was really dull and didn’t enjoy him narrating the book. Wouldn’t recommend.

3 people found this helpful

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  • Mrs. A. Kaye
  • 10-13-19

Fascinating

i simply had to go on and on. will go back now and take it all pm board more slowly.

3 people found this helpful

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  • tony keane
  • 11-08-20

Tim Marshalls ego trip.

10 maps that shaped the world was the best geo political book I ever read . outstanding and one of my top 10 books ever. I immediately looked up the author and downloaded the rest of his work first listening to 'worth dying for' which was learned and an ok read. But this was atrocious. Petty digs at other people in his trade , petty squabbles and arrogant bigging yourself up at every opportunity was so annoying and id bet his an arrogant person cause this book stank of me me me. its a book about the author saying how smart n great he is. skip to the conclusion if u wanna learn some bit about inside the times and about the people of this war

2 people found this helpful

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  • Charles King-Tenison
  • 10-10-19

Amusing and informative

While Marshall’s other books are good this is absolutely fantastic. The human touch of Marshall’s self deprecating humour is brilliant! It makes the book real and interesting, while also having fantastic content!

2 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 02-17-20

Fantastic insight

Marshall manages the impressive feat of providing an account of Europe's last war that is at times particularly personal, but always detailed and informative. The narration by Marshall also helps, delivered with his usual gusto. Thoroughly enjoyable, 5 star.

1 person found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 03-14-23

Extremely interesting account from someone who was there.

Disclaimer: some of the negative reviews are due to having incorrect expectations so let me try put that right. This is not a book about the Kosovo war. It is a book about a foreign correspondents experiences whilst on the ground in both Kosovo and Serbia during the war. Of course he discusses the war at length and potential reasons. But ideally you want to research the war before or during reading the book as well.

That being said I absolutely love this audiobook as it is lived experiences, narrated passionately by the person who lived them.

I’ve never read something that gives such a feel for a modern war and this book changed my preconceptions of what war was like on the ground. This audiobook is unique in that sense for me and I am yet to find another book or audiobook in that style.

The author provides lots of information on the war and focuses heavily on Milosevic personally and discusses his character, motives etc and then specifically on his stubborn denial in the face of the obvious.

I would say the book leans towards being pro Kosovo but all in all really good book and having read his other books I was pleasantly surprised at this less popular one being so good. Highly recommend.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 10-16-22

Exceptional!

Exceptionally well balanced in terms of intimate detail and geopolitical context. Told in a sensitive but good-humoured way. Very hard to do and perfectly executed!

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  • Anonymous User
  • 10-21-22

This book illuminates why we are so lucky in Australia

A vibrant easy to listen to account of a terrible time in what could be a beautiful country.
I need to remind myself that if I was born and grew up in Serbia I would most likely think of and relate to my close neighbouring countrys like most Serbs.
Hard to escape this truth.
No one chooses where they are born and to some extent how they think.
Tim is a compassionate man who clearly is committed to present the reality of the areas he has studied and leaves me with an appreciation of the safety we take for granted in Australia.
It’s just not like that in so many other parts of the word.
Tim’s books have excited a new strong interest in learning more about the struggle other cultures have in their basic daily existence.
Thank you Tim for gifting your experience to us in these books.
Well done Sir.

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  • Adam
  • 12-27-21

Great storytelling and introduction to the Yugoslav conflicts, but no maps!

I think to make this book work for someone like myself who knows absolutely nothing about the forma yougoslavia there needs to be an accompanying pdf with maps to show where certain ethnic groups live, where wars had been, where states (of a country and in the UN recognised sense) have been drawn up and where the author was at different points in relation to enemy lines etc.

Overall, this was a very engaging book that I highly recommend listening to!