For Sarajevo, the problem, of course, was not that it was unknown, but the nature of its fame. Has a history test ever been drawn up anywhere in the world that did not require the answer: "The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo"? The people of Sarajevo have nonetheless stoically retained their fierce pride in a history rich--that is to say complicated--enough to explain even Princip. It is good, however, to have newer memories, though even recollections of the 1984 Winter Olympics touch on the subject of Princip.
"Have you noticed," asked Ahmed Karabegovic, secretary-general of the...