Belgrade, the Open City

This is not just another tourist guide! True, it introduces and describes all the "not to be missed" tourist attractions in Belgrade, but more importantly it goes beneath the surface, delving into the very soul of the city that has stood in one form or other on the confluence of the Sava into the Danube for more than two millennia.

In presenting today’s Belgrade, Dragana Božinović paints a picture of a Belgrade that can be no more – by painting a picture of the soul of Belgrade, she reaches the soul of the readers of "Belgrade", exposing feelings ofnostalgia and perhaps even regret, but also feelings of fascination, amazement and gratitude to all those people who have made Belgrade what it is today.

This is a book that should be read by all those who have not yet visited Belgrade but intend to do so, and equally by all those who are familiar with the city either through visiting it or living here. I have lived in Belgrade for 40 years and consider myself a Belgrader, but after reading and translating Dragana Božinović’s "Belgrade, the open city", I am beginning to realize how little I really know about my city.
- Timothy Byford