Serbia: Faces & Places

Serbia ... a nation vilified for the past 15 years introduces the international community to the other Serbia, the one carefully kept hidden from public view by the partisan press. Like eye-candy, the book's 272 pages are intoxicating for those who have already explored her beauty or those who may be intrigued with Balkan travel to discover Serbia's many secrets.

There have been numerous books inspired by malice of Serbia, however, Faces & Places was inspired by the love of a nation and her people. With few words and over 500 fabulous photographs, the authors explored nature's wonders, the family farm, museums, the royal palace, the performing arts in Belgrade, historic places and statues as well as important churches and monasteries whose frescoes from the 12th and 13th centuries are considered World Treasures. The book also contains close-up and personal presentations of Serbians in various walks of life, revealing the reasons Serbs have managed to overcome centuries of difficulties brought on by both friend and foe. Serbia's spirit of optimism, her work ethic, a 1,000 years of Orthodox Christianity and her tenacity for freedom is a reminder that Belgrade's citizens, in the 20th century alone, endured 5 separate, lethal, organized and sustained aerial bombing attacks at the hands of foreign aggressors. Alex Machaskee, retired President and Publisher of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio sums up the book by saying: "The pages exude the soul and heartbeat of Serbia." Gregory Copley, President of the International Strategic Studies Association and Editor of Defense & Foreign Affairs publications says, Vladeta Rajić and Bill Dorich have, with Serbia: Faces & Places, done something far more important and exciting than to document the exquisite beauty of Serbia's landscape, structures and people. They have created an iconically-important historical document which will change the minds of people who have only known Serbia through recent media reporting. It was written with the Serbian global diaspora audience in mind, but it is a book which can be enjoyed by all. I found that this photographic and journalistic essay was wonderfully satisfying to the aesthetic senses, while it also was profoundly educational—even to a non-Serbian writer such as myself, who had spent years covering the changing landscape of the Balkans. I was enriched by the book, which makes the reader at home with the warmth of Serbia's people and places. James George Jatras, Director, American Council for Kosovo. Former Senior Analyst, Republican Policy Committee U.S. Senate, former US Foreign Service officer, J.D. Georgetown Law Center write: Serbia: Faces & Places will join the proud ranks of Bill Dorich's lifetime of unique achievement in bringing to the world the unique beauty of the Serbian land and her people. For those of us who have come to love both, this book with co-author Vladeta Rajić is tinged with a precious sadness, the appreciation of the glorious reality compared to the monstrous edifice of lies that has been presented to the world for so many years. Lies, by their nature, have short legs and will not last forever, however omnipresent and oppressive they seem during their insolent reign. But when in the fullness of time the truth shines forth, this book, Serbia: Faces & Places, will be among its most brilliant jewels. Axios! Come... Discover Serbia, The Best-Kept Travel Secret In The Balkans.

Vladeta (Val) Rajić was born in Serbia. He started his elementary school education in Serbia but soon thereafter his family immigrated to the United States, settling in Chicago, Illinois. He completed his university undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois, earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Accounting. Mr. Rajić also holds a Masters of Business Administration degree in Corporate Finance from the University of Dallas and is a Certified Public Accountant. He has spent virtually his entire career in the financial services industry with leading firms in the insurance and banking sectors. Mr. Rajić has traveled extensively through Europe, including many visits to his native Serbia. These visits were for him, and continue to be, an opportunity to be a student of his native culture and its people rather than as mere tourist. Bill Dorich is a first generation American, his father was born in the Krajina. Bill was a correspondent for The American Srbobran for over a decade. As the founder of GM Books in 1984, he was considered a pioneer in self-publishing and has produced and published over 200 titles including Witness to War: Images of the Persian Gulf War for the Los Angeles Times that won a Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Dorich is author of 6 books on Balkan history including his 1992 book Kovovo that raised over $200,000 to aid Serbian orphans in the recent Civil Wars in former Yugoslavia. He is the recipient of The Order of St. Sava bestowed on him by the Holy Synod of Serbian Orthodox bishops, an Award of Merit from the Serbian Bar Association of America and a Humanitarian Award from RAS the International Serbian Organization. His newest books include: Defeat Foreclosure, The Nursing Home Crisis and Sleep Seekers in addition to his work on Serbia: Faces & Places.