Vaclav Havel And The Velvet Revolution

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A Velvet Revolution

John Duberstein
A Velvet Revolution Book PDF

Author : John Duberstein
Publisher : Morgan Reynolds Publishing
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2006
Category : Czech Republic
ISBN : 1931798850

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A Velvet Revolution by John Duberstein Pdf

Vaclav Havel spent most of his life as a dissident playwright in Communist-controlled Czechoslovakia. Born in 1936, Havel was a young child during World War II, as the Nazis occupied and brutalized Czechoslovakia. After the war, his country, along with the rest of Eastern Europe, fell under the control of the Soviet Union. A short period of liberalization in 1968, which came to be called the Prague Spring, was quickly ended by a brutal military crackdown. Havel's works, which were mostly protests against totalitarianism written in the form of absurdist drama, were officially banned in 1971. Frustrated by restrictions on his writing, Havel began to direct his anger toward political action. Then, in a climactic event that shocked the world, Czechoslovakia's Communist dictatorship collapsed in 1989 in what became known as the Velvet Revolution, and Havel, the country's most famous dissident, was made president. During a sometimes rocky tenure, Havel worked to bring stability to his country and presided over the peaceful division of Czechoslovakia into two democratic republics. Detailing one of the twentieth century's most unusual but dynamic political figures, this new biography of Vaclav Havel tells his intriguing and inspiring story for a new generation of readers. Book jacket.

Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution

Jeffrey Symynkywicz
Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution Book PDF

Author : Jeffrey Symynkywicz
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 53,8 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 0875186076

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Vaclav Havel and the Velvet Revolution by Jeffrey Symynkywicz Pdf

A biography of Vaclav Havel, the dissident Czechoslovak playwright who spent years fighting for freedom of expression and eventually was elected president of a free and independent Czechoslovak republic.

Velvet Revolutions

Miroslav Vanek,Pavel Mücke
Velvet Revolutions Book PDF

Author : Miroslav Vanek,Pavel Mücke
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 264 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2016-01-04
Category : History
ISBN : 9780199342747

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Velvet Revolutions by Miroslav Vanek,Pavel Mücke Pdf

The Velvet Revolution in November 1989 brought about the collapse of the authoritarian communist regime in what was then Czechoslovakia, marking the beginning of the country's journey towards democracy. Though members of the elite have spoken about the transition to democracy, the experiences of ordinary people have largely gone untold. In Velvet Revolutions, Miroslav Vanek and Pavel Mücke examine the values of everyday citizens who lived under so-called real socialism, as well as how their values changed after the 1989 collapse. Based on 300 interviews, Vanek and Mücke give voice to everyone from farmers to managers, service workers to marketing personnel, manual laborers to members of the armed forces. Compelling and diverse, the oral histories touch upon the experience - and absence - of freedom, the value of family and friends, the experience of free time, and perceptions of foreign nations. Data from opinion polls conducted between 1970 and 2013 factor into the book's analysis, creating a well-rounded view of the ways in which popular thoughts, trends, and attitudes changed as Czech society transitioned from communism to democracy. From this rich foundation, Velvet Revolutions builds a multi-layered view of Czech history before 1989 and during the subsequent period of democratic transformation.

Czechoslovakia

NA NA
Czechoslovakia Book PDF

Author : NA NA
Publisher : Springer
Page : 207 pages
File Size : 40,9 Mb
Release : 2016-04-30
Category : Science
ISBN : 9781137079756

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Czechoslovakia by NA NA Pdf

A decade ago, playwright dissident Václav Havel led an almost bloodless revolution against Czechoslovakia's hardline communist regime. In the years that followed, the country split apart into two independent Czech and Slovak states, each taking radically different paths to reform. This book examines the core issues at work in the last decade, focusing on the political, economic, and philosophical underpinnings of the reform process.

The Czech Republic

Robert C. Cottrell
The Czech Republic Book PDF

Author : Robert C. Cottrell
Publisher : Infobase Publishing
Page : 157 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2005
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN : 9780791082553

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The Czech Republic by Robert C. Cottrell Pdf

Looks at the history of the borders in the Czech Republic as a result of political, territorial, and economic disputes, and discusses the Velvet Revolution.

After the Velvet Revolution

Tim D. Whipple
After the Velvet Revolution Book PDF

Author : Tim D. Whipple
Publisher : University Press of America
Page : 356 pages
File Size : 42,6 Mb
Release : 1991
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : UOM:39015021870756

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After the Velvet Revolution by Tim D. Whipple Pdf

Contains primary source material.

Resistance and Revolution

Rob McRae
Resistance and Revolution Book PDF

Author : Rob McRae
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 345 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 1997-06-15
Category : History
ISBN : 9780773574045

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Resistance and Revolution by Rob McRae Pdf

Under constant pressure from the regime, and frequently jailed or imprisoned for their efforts, the signatories of Charter 77 went on to lead the resistance and spearhead a revolution: the Velvet Revolution of 1989. For a time it seemed as if a philosopher-king had overturned the forces of totalitarianism, with the future of Czechoslovakia there for the making.

Havel

Michael Zantovsky
Havel Book PDF

Author : Michael Zantovsky
Publisher : Open Road + Grove/Atlantic
Page : 570 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2014-11-04
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780802192394

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Havel by Michael Zantovsky Pdf

The “definitive biography” of the poet and political dissident who became the last president of Czechoslovakia—and first president of the Czech Republic (Walter Isaacson). This portrait of Vaclav Havel, iconoclast and intellectual, renowned playwright turned political dissident, president of a united then divided nation, and dedicated human rights activist, is written by his former press secretary, advisor, and longtime friend—and recounts the turbulent twentieth-century era through which he prevailed. Havel’s lifelong perspective as an outsider began with his privileged childhood in Prague and his family’s blacklisted status following the Communist coup of 1948. This feeling of being outcast fueled his career as an essayist and a dramatist writing absurdist plays as social commentary. His involvement during the Prague Spring and his leadership of Charter 77, his unflagging belief in the power of the powerless, and his galvanizing personality catapulted Havel into a pivotal role as the leader of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Although Havel was a courageous visionary, he was also a man of great contradictions, wracked with doubt and self-criticism. But he always remained true to himself. This “smart and exciting” biography is “both inspiring and filled with lessons for our time” (Walter Isaacson). “Havel was one of the most important intellectual-troublemaking statesmen of his time—a nonconformist, determined to live in truth, who questioned the system, his countrymen and himself constantly. No one is better suited than Michael Zantovsky to describe, interpret, and analyze this moral giant . . . A brilliantly informed intellectual and political history.” —Madeleine Albright “Entertaining, intimate, and moving . . . Zantovsky’s voice—that of a natural storyteller with an eye for the memorable anecdote, a mischievous wit, an easy intelligence, and keen sense of balance and fairness—is so engaging.” —Paul Wilson, The New York Review of Books

The Velvet Revolution

Bernard Wheaton
The Velvet Revolution Book PDF

Author : Bernard Wheaton
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 272 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2018-02-06
Category : History
ISBN : 9780429964312

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The Velvet Revolution by Bernard Wheaton Pdf

The vivid portratal of the "Velvet Revolution" describes the dramatic social and political changes that heralded the downfall of the Communist leadership in Czechoslavakia. Bernard Wheaton, one of the few Western observers in the country during the nonviolent change of government in November 1989, and Zdenek Kavan, himself a Czech, interweave firsthand description with interviews of student leaders, press accounts, and scholarly analysis of the historical antecedents of the revolution to bring the extraordinary events of 1989 to life. The authors also trace the evolution of change in Czechoslovakia, weighing the importance of the May 1990 elections and assessing political and social prospects for the future. The narrative is enriched with political cartoons and photographs.

To the Castle and Back

Vaclav Havel
To the Castle and Back Book PDF

Author : Vaclav Havel
Publisher : Vintage Canada
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 44,5 Mb
Release : 2011-03-11
Category : Biography & Autobiography
ISBN : 9780307369420

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To the Castle and Back by Vaclav Havel Pdf

An astonishingly candid memoir from the acclaimed, dissident playwright elected President after the dramatic Czechoslovakian Velvet Revolution — one of the most respected political figures of our time. As writer and statesman, Václav Havel played an essential part in the profound changes that occurred in Central Europe in the last decades of the twentieth century. In this most intimate memoir, he writes about his transition from outspoken dissident and political prisoner to a player on the international stage in 1989 as newly elected president of Czechoslovakia after the ousting of the Soviet Union, and, in l993, as president of the newly formed Czech Republic. Havel gives full rein to his impassioned stance against the devastation wrought by communism, but the scope of his concern in this engrossing memoir extends far beyond the circumstances he faced in his own country. The book is full of anecdotes of his interactions with world figures: offering a peace pipe to Mikhail Gorbachev, meditating with the Dali Lama, confessing to Pope John Paul II and partying with Bill and Hilary Clinton. Havel shares his thoughts on the future of the European Union and the role of national identity in today’s world. He explains why he has come to change his mind about the war in Iraq, and he discusses the political and personal reverberations he faces because of his initial support of the invasion. He writes with equal intelligence and candour about subjects as diverse as the arrogance of western power politics, the death of his first wife and his own battle with lung cancer. Woven through are internal memos he wrote during his presidency that take us behind the scenes of the Prague Castle – the government’s seat of power – showing the internal workings of the office and revealing Havel’s mission to act as his country’s conscience, and even, at times, its chief social convenor. Written with characteristic eloquence, wit and well-honed irony combined with an unfailing sense of wonder at the course his life has taken, To the Castle and Back is a revelation of one of the most important political figures of our time.

Czechoslovakia

Robin H. E. Shepherd
Czechoslovakia Book PDF

Author : Robin H. E. Shepherd
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 204 pages
File Size : 49,9 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Czech Republic
ISBN : 0333920481

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Czechoslovakia by Robin H. E. Shepherd Pdf

Czechoslovakia started the transition from communism with high hopes. This book looks at the political and economic changes of two countries in transition and argues that much remains to be done before they have shaken off the legacy of a particularly harsh communist past.

The Czech Republic

Rick Fawn
The Czech Republic Book PDF

Author : Rick Fawn
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 315 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2004-08-02
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781135287290

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The Czech Republic by Rick Fawn Pdf

Czechoslovakia has captured the nation's imagination throughout the twentieth century. The Allied betrayal of the country to Nazi Germany in 1938 was to demonstrate the appalling consequences of naive appeasement of aggression. The wholesale reform of Soviet communism in the Prague Spring of 1968 won western support, and sympathy when it was crushed by Warsaw Pact tanks. The fierce communist regime thereafter was brought down almost magically in 1989. Czechoslovakia added to the international political vocabulary the term, 'Velvet Revolution', and the velvet metaphor has characterised much of the country's path-breaking postcommunist transformation and its peaceful break-up in 1993. In separate chapters on history, politics, economics, foreign relations and the new Czech identity, this book not only applauds the successes of the Czech Republic since 1993, but also uncovers the frayed edges of the velvet nation.

An Uncanny Era

Anonim
An Uncanny Era Book PDF

Author : Anonim
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 255 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2014-05-28
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780300207033

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An Uncanny Era by Anonim Pdf

Czech playwright and dissident Vaclav Havel first encountered Polish historian and dissident Adam Michnik in 1978 at a clandestine meeting on a mountaintop along the Polish-Czechoslovak border. This initial meeting of two extraordinary thinkers who “plotted” democracy, and designed an effective peaceful strategy for dismantling authoritarian regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, resulted in a lifelong friendship and an extraordinary set of bold conversations conducted over the next two postrevolutionary decades. Havel, president of Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic, and Michnik, editor-in-chief of the largest daily newspaper in the region, provide rare insights into the post-1989 challenges to building new democratic institutions and new habits in the context of an increasingly unsettling political culture. With both dismay and humor, their fascinating exchanges wrestle with the essential question of postrevolutionary life: How does one preserve the revolution’s ideals in the real world? At once historically immediate and politically universal, the Havel-Michnik conversations have never before been collected in a single volume in any language.

Democracy's Defenders

Norman L. Eisen
Democracy s Defenders Book PDF

Author : Norman L. Eisen
Publisher : Brookings Institution Press
Page : 250 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2020-04-07
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9780815738220

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Democracy's Defenders by Norman L. Eisen Pdf

A behind-the-scenes look at how the United States aided the Velvet Revolution Democracy's Defenders offers a behind-the-scenes account of the little-known role played by the U.S. embassy in Prague in the collapse of communism in what was then Czechoslovakia. Featuring fifty-two newly declassified diplomatic cables, the book shows how the staff of the embassy led by U.S. Ambassador Shirley Temple Black worked with dissident groups and negotiated with the communist government during a key period of the Velvet Revolution that freed Czechoslovakia from Soviet rule. In the vivid reporting of these cables, Black and other members of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Prague describe student demonstrations and their meetings with anti-government activists. The embassy also worked to forestall a violent crackdown by the communist regime during its final months in power. Edited by Norman L. Eisen, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011 to 2014, Democracy's Defenders contributes fresh evidence to the literature on U.S. diplomatic history, the cold war era, and American promotion of democracy overseas. In an introductory essay, Eisen places the diplomatic cables in context and analyzes their main themes. In an afterword, Eisen, Czech historian Dr. Mikuláš Pešta, and Brookings researcher Kelsey Landau explain how the seeds of democracy that the United States helped plant have grown in the decades since the Velvet Revolution. The authors trace a line from U.S. efforts to promote democracy and economic liberalization after the Velvet Revolution to the contemporary situations of what are now the separate nations of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Making History

Michael Long
Making History Book PDF

Author : Michael Long
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Page : 208 pages
File Size : 49,7 Mb
Release : 2005-02-02
Category : History
ISBN : 9781461639916

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Making History by Michael Long Pdf

In December 1989, Václav Havel and a relatively small group of intellectuals and students brought about the collapse of the communist regime of Czechoslovakia in what is now known as the Velvet Revolution. Making History: Czech Voices of Dissent and the Revolution of 1989 brings together the personal narratives of eleven former dissidents who, though close associates of Havel, operated without his international celebrity. The narratives, based on interviews conducted by the author in Prague and Berlin, relate each individual's personal experiences on topics such as growing up in Czechoslovakia, life as a dissident, the Velvet Revolution, and the achievements and failures of the Czech Republic since 1989. Through their many voices we come to understand that the life of a dissident is one of hardship, uncertainty, and constant surveillance; yet at the same time life in the underground allows a certain degree of freedom unattainable in official society. For more information about the book, please visit Michael Long's website.