Announcement of the book Bože Skoka

Mostar Spring 2025. Croatia in 30 Stories, the most popular book about Croatia and Croats, in front of the Mostar audience When Božo Skoko and Zvonimir Frka-Petešić join forces, Croatia in 30 Stories, the most popular book about Croatia and Croats, is born. The presentation of this best-selling work of journalism in Croatia, namely its second edition, will close the rich program of Mostar Spring 2025, which has brought a series of top-notch art, music, theater and literary events to the city on the Neretva River in the past month and a half. The book “Croatia in 30 Stories” will be presented on Saturday, June 14, starting at 8 p.m. in the Queen Catherine Gallery in the Croatian House of Herceg Stjepan Kosača in Mostar. It has already been published in Croatian, English and French, and a German edition is in preparation, and for the second year in a row it has not left the list of the most read books related to the identity and image and uniqueness of Croatia. The book, or rather its authors, were awarded the prestigious Grand Prix Marco Polo award by the World Association of Travel Journalists last year as the most useful book about a country. It is, as it is emphasized, a unique book that speaks about Croatia and Croatians in a journalistic manner and from a completely different perspective about Croatian history and present, contributions and great people, mentality and tradition, flaws and virtues... - Each of the thirty selected stories about Croatia is supported by facts and a multitude of interesting facts, which many are discovering for the first time. They are processed in an interesting and digestible way, with beautiful illustrations by the Sarajevo-born, and currently one of the leading Croatian illustrators, Vedran Klemens - it is stated. In addition to the authors Skoka and Frko-Petešić, the Mostar audience will also be told about the book by Prof. Dr. Vanda Babić Galić, university professor and scientific advisor to the Institute for Migration in Zagreb and special advisor to the Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, and Prof. Dr. Nevenko Herceg, full professor at the University of Mostar, while the Secretary General of Matica Hrvatska Mostar Misijana Brkić-Milinković will moderate this event. The evening, sponsored by Croatia osiguranje, will be musically enriched by the participants of the Belcanto Singing School Josipa Medić and Karla Kraljević, along with mentor Darija Ramljak. The book is reportedly extremely popular among the global elite, so a copy was received and then commented on with the authors, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, French President Emanuel Macron, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, chess legend Gari Kasparov... A WORD OR TWO ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Božo Skoko, born Ljubušak, is a full professor of strategic communication at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb and a visiting professor at Algebra Bernays University and at the University of Mostar, as well as a well-known publicist, commentator and communications expert. Zvonimir Frka-Petešić, born in Paris, is a long-time Croatian diplomat and ambassador, who has served as Head of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia since 2017 and is one of the closest associates of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.