In the 1980s. Robert Kaplan spent several years in Greece as a correspondent. During this time, he traveled throughout the Balkan Peninsula, studied its history and made friends among the local residents. This is how the travel book “Balkan Ghosts” was written, and the author became convinced that ineradicable ethnic strife, the result of a difficult historical legacy and multiplied by countless modern problems, would inevitably lead to bloody conflicts in this region. Soon his predictions came true. A poetic travelogue, imbued with love for the beautiful nature of the Balkans, aching pain and warm sympathy for people who find themselves hostage to their own history, led the author to thoughts that are excitingly interesting and significant for all humanity.