“ . . . through this beautiful book, written in English, we provide a human and sincere glimpse of how punk music accompanied a period of intense moments in European and world political history. Fingers crossed for an Italian translation!””

“As can be concluded from this review and the story about the book In Search of Tito’s Punkers, Barry Phillips put in the effort and learned a lot of important things from relevant participants. There were others, but that is not at all important for the exceptional benefit of the book not only for ex-Yugoslav punk but also for rock in general.””

“It’s a terrific read, equal parts travel memoir, rock’n’roll history, and bittersweet recollection of a country fractured and dismantled, seamlessly integrating past and present, politics and culture, and the alternating voices of the author and a variety of fascinating characters he meets on the way. Musicians and businessmen, artists and thugs, Bosnians, Serbs, Croats, and all the rest, thrown together and then torn apart, each with their own story to tell, by turns hilarious, inspiring, and tragic. Engaging, thoughtful, and shot through with a certain melancholy, much too sharp to be dismissed as mere nostalgia, for a time and place seeming lost forever. *In Search of Tito’s Punks* is one of the more interesting and original rock books to come along in some time.””

“Barry Phillips really paid attention to every detail in this travelogue-cum-interview-guide of his . . . very informed and unbiased, he gives context - both when he writes about the breakup of Yugoslavia and when he analyzes how progressive Yugoslav society in the 70s and 80s was actually with all those possibilities . . . He mentions various smaller and larger phenomena that happened in punk, post-punk and new wave, all the while drawing parallels and comparisons with phenomena in the West (whenever it was possible). There is no pretentiousness to cover everything encyclopaedically, nor any cold academic methodology to derive theses. But there is no banality, narrow-mindedness and bad style either (which, frankly, we often see when rockers pick up a pen).””

“In Search of Tito’s Punks manages to simultaneously get under the skin of punk rock in the former Yugoslavia, while covering recent history and providing a travel guide cum road trip narrative while still being an enjoyable read.””

“In Search of Tito’s Punks: On the road in a country that no longer exists (Intellect Books, 2023) is part of the Punk Scholars’ Network’s Global Punk series. It is a significant contribution to the study of punk as a global subcultural phenomenon.””

“Barry Phillips has published a beautifully written book, In Search of Tito’s Punks, about the history of punk in Yugoslavia. It’s available from https://www.intellectbooks.com/in-search-of-titos-punks and I can’t recommend it enough!””