The Czech Reader brings together more than 150 primary texts and illustrations to convey the dramatic history of the Czechs, from the emergence of the Czech state in the tenth century, through the creation of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and the Czech Republic in 1993, into the twenty-first century. The Czechs have preserved their language, traditions, and customs, despite their incorporation into the Holy Roman Empire, the Habsburg Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Third Reich, and the Eastern Bloc. Organized chronologically, the selections in The Czech Reader include the letter to the Czech people written by the religious reformer and national hero Jan Hus in 1415, and Charter 77, the fundamental document of an influential anticommunist initiative launched in 1977 in reaction to the arrest of the Plastic People of the Universe, an underground rock band. There is a speech given in 1941 by Reinhard Heydrich, a senior Nazi official and Deputy Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as one written by Vaclav Havel in 1984 for an occasion abroad, but read by the Czech-born British dramatist Tom Stoppard, since Havel, the dissident playwright and future national leader, was not allowed to leave Czechoslovakia. Among the songs, poems, folklore, fiction, plays, paintings, and photographs of monuments and architectural landmarks are "Let Us Rejoice," the most famous chorus from Bedrich Smetana's comic opera The Bartered Bride; a letter the composer Antonin Dvorak sent from New York, where he directed the National Conservatory of Music in the 1890s; a story by Franz Kafka; and an excerpt from Milan Kundera's The Joke. Intended for travelers, students, and scholars alike, The Czech Reader is a rich introduction to the turbulent history and resilient culture of the Czech people.
Industry Reviews
"The Czech Reader is a collection of more than 60 texts, ranging from the tenth century to the twenty-first. The texts are in English, arranged chronologically, and broken down into 13 discrete periods. They are mostly by Czechs, but a number are about Czechs... It is a very well chosen, integrated set of texts and illustrations that shed light on Czech culture. It does show the importance of many Czechs in the wider history of Europe, and brings them to a new audience, in English." Michael Carter-Sinclair, European Review of History, July 2012 "The Czech Reader is a real gem, an immensely informative, balanced, and up-to-date compendium on Czech history and culture."--John Neubauer, University of Amsterdam "There is nothing comparable to The Czech Reader. It makes a unique and highly valuable contribution to understanding the Czech interpretation of their own history, of who they are, and what historical events constituted them as a nation and a people."--Silvia Tomaskova, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
