Published in Germany in 1996, A Journey to the Rivers created a firestorm of controversy, being likened, by some, to revisionist writings mitigating Nazi guilt for World War II. But that is a grave misreading of the book, for Peter Handke proffers no justification or explanations for Serbian atrocities in the Balkan conflict.

A Journey to the Rivers is, rather, both a scathing criticism of Western war reporting, which Peter Handke describes as lazy and mendacious, and a wonderfully sensitive and nuanced travelogue through Serbia.