| Description |
xvi, 548, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps ; 24 cm. |
| Series |
The world readers |
|
World readers.
|
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [507]-527) and index. |
| Contents |
List of illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- guide to pronunciation -- Introduction -- Between Myth And History (The Premyslid Dynasty): -- Report on a journey to Prague in 965 / Ibrahim ibn Yaqub at-Turtushi -- Legend of saints Cyril, Methodius, Wenceslas and Ludmila / Kristian -- Bohemian chronicle / Cosmas of Prague -- Letter to Agnes of Prague / Clare of Assisi -- Navel Of The Earth (Charles IV - Vaclav IV): -- Chronicle of the Prague church / Benes Krabice of Veitmile -- Ointment seller / Anonymous -- Tkadlecek / Anonymous -- Against Everyone (The Hussite Revolution): -- Letter to the Czechs / Jan Hus -- Who are God's warriors? / Anonymous -- Letter to the Hussites / Joan of Arc -- Net of faith / Petr Chelcicky -- Struggles For court, city, country (Vladislav II Jagiellon-Rudolph II -- Dove and the painted tablet / Elizabeth Jane Weston -- To the memory of Tycho Brahe / Jan Campanus -- Description of Prague in the time of Rudolph II / Pierre Bergeron -- Letter of majesty / Rudolph II -- Defeated Protestants, Victorious Catholics (Ferdinand II - Charles VI) -- Labyrinth of the world and paradise of the heart / Jan Amos Komensky -- Jan of Nepomuk / Bohuslav Balbin -- Rakovnice Christmas play / Anonymous -- From The Enlightenment To Romantic Nationalism (Maric Theresa-Revolution of 1848: -- On Slav nations / Johann Gottfried Herder -- Manuscript of Zelena Hora / Anonymous -- Home cookery / Magdalena Dobromila Rettigova -- History of the Czech nation in Bohemia and Moravia / Frantisek Palacky -- May / Karel Hynek Macha -- Where is my home? / Josef Kajetan Tyl -- Defeated Politicians, Victorious Intellectuals (1848-1867) -- Water sprite / Karel J Erben -- Grandmother / Bozena Nemcova -- Let us rejoice, libretto / Karel Sabina music, Bedrich Smetana -- From National Self-Determination To Cosmopolitanism (1867-1918): Three lilies / Jan Neruda -- Ballad of Blanik / Jaroslav Vrchlicky -- Late towards morning / Karel Hlavacek -- Letter from the new world / Antonin Dvorak -- Golem / Alois Jirasek -- Report to an academy / Franz Kafka -- Sole work / Otokar Brezina -- Marycka Magdonova / Petr Bezruc -- First Czechoslovak Repubic (1918-1938): -- Fateful adventures of good soldier Svejk / Jaroslav Hasek -- RUR / Karel Capek -- Valerie and her week of wonders / Vitezslav Nezval -- Summer of caprice / Vladislav Vancura -- Between Hitler And Stalin (1938-1948): -- On the Munich agreement / British Parliamentary Debate -- At the tomb of Czech kings / Jaroslav Seifert -- Life with a star / Jiri Weil -- On the elimination of the Czech nation / Reinhard Heydrich -- Cowards / Josef Skvorecky -- They cut off the little boy's hair / Josef Kainar -- Ideal Socialism (1948-1968): -- From the last letters / Milada Horakova -- Cigarette / Ivan Blatny -- Prometheus's liver / Jiri Kolar -- Night with Hamlet / Vladimir Holan -- Garden party / Vaclav Havel -- Joke / Milan Kundera -- Two thousand words, May 27, 1968 / Ludvik Vaculik -- Close the gate, little brother / Karel Kryl -- Real Scoialism (1968-1989): -- Magic Prague / Angelo Maria Ripellino -- In-house weddings / Bohumil Hrabal -- Head of the Virgin Mary / Jaroslav Seifert -- What are Czechs? / Jan Patocka -- Charter 77 / Charter 77 Initiative -- Czech dream book / Ludvik Vaculik -- Politics and conscience / Vsaclav Havel -- Kultura/Culture / Gene Deitch -- Utz / Bruce Chatwin -- Decades After The Ve;vet Revp;itopm (1989-2009): -- City sister silver / Jachym Topol -- Prague 1989: theater of revolution / Michael Andrew Kukral -- German-Czech Declaration / Bilateral Agreement -- After the revolution / Erazim Kohak -- Europeana : a brief history of the twentieth century / Patrik Ourednik -- Epilogue -- Suggestions for further reading -- Acknowledgments of copyright and sources -- Index. |
| Summary |
Synopsis: 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. |
| Subject |
Czechoslovakia -- History.
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Czechoslovakia -- Politics and government.
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Czechoslovakia -- Civilization.
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| Added Author |
Bažant, Jan, 1950-
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Bažantová, Nina.
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Starn, Frances.
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| ISBN |
9780822347798 cloth alkaline paper |
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0822347792 cloth alkaline paper |
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9780822347941 paperback alkaline paper |
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0822347946 paperback alkaline paper |
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