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Through the heart of Sarajevo and the soul of Pyongyang, Barbara Demick has documented the unfortunate atrocities of a land stricken by war within a decade and the supernatural subservience of a people impoverished by subsequent despots for nearly a century.  I came across Logavina Street: Life And Death In A Sarajevo Neighborhood earlier last year and was not disappointed in the content and emotion shared within the context, so ‘Nothing to Envy� was easily a definite read and with each characters stories, I was astounded to how little information people in the West know about what these people have went through for years; oftentimes, we only see what the media wants us to see, a strange little man with a flowing flat-top hair-do smiling and chuckling and giving you the evil eye while he threatens war and proclaims his country as the best in the world (hmm, sounds somewhat familiar?).  The truth of the matter is that people are suffering in the socialist republic North, while people are flourishing in the South.  How such a divide can happen is hard to fathom.  It reminds you of East and West Germany during the Cold War, but on steroids; time has passed, technology has changed, knowledge is realized, fear is gone and everyone is going along with their lives in a different way…except for North Korea where time stands still.

Demick’s landmark work about the ins and outs of North Korea has put her in the upper echelon of reporters in my mind as she shares information that can be mysterious and perhaps forgotten to many.  Recommended to all.