Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Jozo Tomasevich

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

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Article promoted by Donner60 (talk) via MilHistBot (talk) 06:20, 30 April 2024 (UTC) « Return to A-Class review list

Jozo Tomasevich

Instructions for nominators and reviewers

Nominator(s): Peacemaker67 (talk)

Jozo Tomasevich (edit | talk | history | links | watch | logs)

• Featured article candidates/Jozo Tomasevich/archive1

Jozo Tomasevich was a Yugoslav-American economist and historian whose works on Yugoslavia in WWII continue to be widely cited today despite his first book on the Chetniks being published nearly fifty years ago. It is a tragedy that he died before completing the third volume of his planned series on Yugoslavia in WWII which was to be focussed on the Partisans. Even his second volume had to be published posthumously in 2001, with editing by his daughter. I have used his works right across my WP contributions on WWII on Yugoslavia, and his work forms the foundation on which many more recent historians have built. This is my second nom of a historian of WWII in Yugoslavia after Radoje Pajović which is now an FA. Have at it. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 01:02, 20 January 2024 (UTC)

Support by Nick-D

I'm surprised that this interesting and accessible article hasn't attracted any reviews so far: here's mine:

• The first sentence of the lead is rather long - do we need "and after his retirement was appointed professor emeritus of economics at San Francisco State University" in this sentence given that it already establishes that he was an academic?

Excellent point, moved down to near the end of the second para. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

• The sentence starting with " Positively reviewed by scholars such as " would probably work better as two sentences

Sure, done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

• More broadly, the material in the lead noting reviews of the books seems out of place: just say it was well reviewed or similar

The reason I have included this is the ongoing rejection of Tomasevich's conclusions about the Chetniks by some prominent Serb historians, so I have included some non-Serb reviewers, a Serb historian's review, and a longer-term view for an accurate indication of the appropriate weight for each. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

I really don't think it's necessary for the lead, as it's meant to summarise the article. The details on who said what are best covered in the body of the article. Nick-D (talk) 03:39, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

OK, done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:59, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• "He became an American citizen" - do we know when?

I have looked and looked, even finding a reliable source for him being American was hard, so no. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

• The 'Scholarship' section would benefit by being broken up into sub-sections

OK, I've had a crack at this, see what you think? Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

• It would be interesting to know how Tomasevich conducted research into Yugoslavia from California: I imagine accessing resources would have been challenging.

He was able to visit Yugoslavia and London to access archives, and both books on WWII have massive bibliographies including captured German and Italian documents held by the US on microfilm. He had great access to the huge Yugoslav archives, and they include a lot of German documents captured by the Partisans late in the war when large numbers of other German documents were lost or destroyed. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

• "and as of 2024, remains unpublished" - it's tricky citing statements like this, but the reference here dates from 2003. Nick-D (talk) 02:29, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

Have taken out 2024, but it is really WP:BLUE as anyone can search Worldcat for Tomasevich and find it hasn't been published. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

Sorry Nick, will get onto your comments asap. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 08:45, 31 March 2024 (UTC)

Thanks so much Nick-D. See what you think of my edits? Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:19, 5 April 2024 (UTC)

G'day Nick-D, lead reviews dropped and summarised per your comment above. See what you think? Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:59, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Those changes look good, and I'm happy to support this nomination. Nick-D (talk) 04:15, 27 April 2024 (UTC)

Support from Pendright

Placeholder - I'll start when the above review is completed. Pendright (talk) 00:09, 17 March 2024 (UTC)

PM - I'm reversing myself and posting my comments at this time. If some overlapping occurs, you have my apology. Regards! Pendright (talk) 19:29, 29 March 2024 (UTC)

Lead

• Josip "Jozo" Tomasevich (1908 – October 15, 1994; Serbo-Croatian: Josip Tomašević) was an American economist and historian who was a leading expert on the economic and social history of the former Yugoslavia, and after his retirement was appointed professor emeritus of economics at San Francisco State University.

• was an American economist and historian -> how is this specifically exemplified in the body of the article?

It is from his obituary by Vucinich, in the Legacy section. But I thought it was pretty clear from the descriptions of his work. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

<>Thanks for your response. I did not phrase my comment well, so let me try again. He is introduced as an American economist and historian, but all of his works relate to Yugoslavia. In which case-as I see it-Jozo" Tomasevich was an American economist and historian whose specialty was the economic and social history of the former Yugoslavia. I leave this-quibble-to your good judgement? Pendright (talk) 00:37, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Ah, I see. Done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 03:06, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

• and after his retirement "he" was

Done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• Tomasevich was born in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, part of Austria-Hungary, and after completing his schooling, gained a doctorate in economics at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

"he" "earned"

Sure, done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• In the mid-1930s, he worked at the National Bank of Yugoslavia in Belgrade and published three well-received books on Yugoslav national debt, fiscal policy, and money and credit, respectively.

• Should it be "Yugoslav's" national debt...?

Yugoslavia's, done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• Drop the comma after credit

Done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• In 1938, he moved to the US as the recipient of a two-year Rockefeller fellowship and conducted research at Harvard University before joining the academic staff of Stanford University.

US -> first use?

Okay, done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• He combined research and teaching there for twenty-five years until his retirement in 1973, broken by a year teaching at Columbia University in 1954.

"which was" broken by a year "of" teaching at

Done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• Between 1943 and 1955, Tomasevich published two books on economic matters, one focused on marine resources and the other on the peasant economy of Yugoslavia, both of which were positively reviewed.

Look this version over: Between 1943 and 1955, Tomasevich had two books published on economic matters; one focused on marine resources and the other on the economy of Yugoslavia at the time and both of them received positive reviews.

Yes, almost. Changed slightly. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 09:10, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• Positively reviewed by scholars such as Phyllis Auty, Alexander Vucinich and John C. Campbell of the Council on Foreign Relations, it was also criticised for bias against Serbs, its length and repetition, by the political scientist Alex N. Dragnich.

• What was "Positively reviewed"?
• [but[ it was
• Drop the comma after repetition

These have been addressed by a suggested change from Nick. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 10:50, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• Tomasevich died in California in 1994.

Might this sentence be better placed before the sentence begining with 2002?

Sure, done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 10:50, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

• It focused on [the] collaboration and the quisling governments in Yugoslavia during the war , with a strong emphasis on the Axis puppet state , [and] the so-called Independent State of Croatia.

Look this over

I think this would change the meaning. the focus on collaborations was across the board, not just the Independent State of Croatia, and that state was the only Axis puppet state, the rest were puppet governments and other collaborationist factions. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 10:50, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

Early life

• Josip "Jozo" Tomašević was born in 1908 in the village of Košarni Do on the Pelješac peninsula in the Kingdom of Dalmatia, part of Austria-Hungary.

"which was" part of

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:35, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• Košarni Do is near the village of Donja Banda and is today part of the Orebić municipality within the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia.

"in 2023 was"

I've just gone with dropping "today". This is essentially a WP:BLUE assertion which could change one day, but is unlikely to. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:35, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• He [Nado] returned to the village in 1894, [and he] married the daughter of his first cousin and worked as a farmer.

Look this over

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:35, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• In 1938, he was the recipient of a two-year Rockefeller fellowship and moved to the US,[3] "availing himself of the rich resources of Harvard University".[1]

"and" availing himself

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:35, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• The other brother living in Košarni Do received the share of the fourth brother , who [,] by then[,] was a merchant mariner living in New Zealand.[4]

Look this over

done, thanks, much better. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:35, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• His preference was for a position combining teaching and research, so in 1948, he joined the San Francisco State College (later San Francisco State University).

Drop the comma after 1948

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:35, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• He taught there for twenty-five years until he retired in 1973 – except in 1954 when he taught at Columbia University.[1]

Replace the first he with his name

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:35, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Scholarship

• According to Vucinich, from when Tomasevich was 25 until his death at 86, he engaged himself in a succession of research projects , some of which [some] were very extensive.

Look this over

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• Between 1934 and 1938, Tomasevich published three books.

Suggest -> Tomasevich had three books published?

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• The following year, he published Financijska politika Jugoslavije, 1929–1934 (Fiscal Policy of Yugoslavia, 1929–1934) in Serbo-Croatian, covering much of the same material but more accessible to Yugoslavs.[1]

he "had" published?

tweaked, but done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• A 1940 review of the book in Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, by Professor Mirko Lamer – who later served with the United Nations as an expert at the Food and Agriculture Organization – described Novac i kredit as an important work that filled a large gap in Yugoslav economic literature, and gave a vivid picture of then-current economic theory.[9]

and "it" gave

tweaked in a similar way. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• Irwin T. Sanders of the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky reviewed the book in 1956 and stated that it was "the best book available for anyone wishing to understand the socio-economic pre-Communist background of Yugoslavia", contained realistic evaluations of the peasant political parties, and concluded that "there is little question about the soundness of his economic analysis or his description of the participation of the peasant in national life".

Think about splitting this 72 word sentence?

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• The first volume focused on the Chetnik movement led by Draža Mihailović, and [which was] subtitled The Chetniks , [and] appeared in 1975.

Look this over

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• Auty praised Tomasevich's detachment from the subject, and stated that it was "likely to remain the standard book on this subject for a long time."

and "she" stated

done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• The second volume of his planned trilogy – War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration – concentrated on collaboration and the quisling governments in Yugoslavia during the war,[1] with a strong emphasis on the Axis puppet state, the so-called Independent State of Croatia led by Ante Pavelić, the head of the fascist Ustaše movement, and was published posthumously in 2001 with editing from his daughter Neda.

Could you split this 67 word sentence?

Yes, definitely. Done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• In a review of the book published the following year, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst lecturer and German historian Klaus Schmider described Tomasevich's grasp of the sources in five languages as "stupendous",[19] and [they] observed that the result was well worth the twenty-six-year wait between the volumes.

Add "they"

he, but done. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• The third volume in the planned trilogy, which was to cover the Partisans, was 75 per cent complete at the time of his death,[1] and as of 2024 , [it] remains unpublished.[19]

Suggest the above change

This was changed by a response to an earlier review comment. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

This is it for now! Pendright (talk) 19:29, 29 March 2024 (UTC)

Thanks once again, Pendright! Your reviews always result in improvements to the grammar and clarity of articles I have worked on. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 05:51, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

Supporting - Thanks! BTW, I left one quibble

Image review - pass

All images are appropriately licenced, positioned and captioned.

• Consider adding alt text. Gog the Mild (talk) 18:51, 1 April 2024 (UTC)

Source review - pass

• The article/list is consistently referenced with an appropriate citation style
• All claims are verifiable against reputable sources, accurately represent the relevant body of published knowledge, and are supported with specific evidence and external citations as appropriate.
• Formatting is fine
• Spot checks: 1a, 2, 12a, 12b, 18 - okay.

Hawkeye7 (discuss) 20:24, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

HF

I will review this soon. Hog Farm _Talk 23:18, 26 April 2024 (UTC)

• "In 1938, he was the recipient of a two-year Rockefeller fellowship and moved to the US,[3] and "availing himself of the rich resources of Harvard University"." - I don't know that this is quite grammatical

Absolutely. Fixed. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 03:08, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

• Do we know why he moved all the way across the country in '54 to teach for a year at Columbia?

No, I have seen nothing in any sources that mentions his motive. Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 03:08, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

• Is there a more recent source to support that the work is still unpublished? I imagine that there probably isn't, but its worth asking I guess

Other than a link to a search page on Worldcat, I don't think so (and I'm not sure that would work anyway). Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 06:25, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

Excellent work as usual; I anticipate supporting. Hog Farm _Talk 00:22, 29 April 2024 (UTC)

Thanks for taking a look, Hog Farm! See what you think about the last point. Cheers, Peacemaker67 (click to talk to me) 03:08, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

I think the current status quo is better than a worldcat link. Supporting, with the caveat that I'm not familiar at all with the scholarship of this area and that I don't read any languages other than English. Hog Farm _Talk 03:51, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

Donner60: A class pass

Promoted article to A class. Donner60 (talk) 06:14, 30 April 2024 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.