- Paperback: 408 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press; New edition edition (Feb 28 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 069105052X
- ISBN-13: 978-0691050522
- Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 15.6 x 2.9 cm
- Shipping Weight: 658 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #414,538 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
In The Winter's Tale, a play of 1610, William Shakespeare gave a coastline to Bohemia, a landlocked country. Three hundred and twenty-eight years later, his compatriot Neville Chamberlain would call a brewing war in Czechoslovakia, as the country was called, "a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing." As Canadian scholar Sayer writes, knowingly, Bohemia eventually got its coastline, one "guarded by minefields, barbed-wire fences, and tall watchtowers with machine guns," while the West took little notice. The general ignorance of all things Czech would cost Europe dearly, for conflagrations from the Thirty Years War to World War II (and even sparks that might have ignited World War III) have begun in the tiny country known by many names---Czechoslovakia, Bohemia, Moravia. Canadian scholar Sayer writes of the Czechs' struggle over centuries to define themselves as a people and nation, and he does so in a vivid, detailed narrative that will enlighten readers who are unfamiliar with the critically important center of Eastern Europe. --Gregory McNamee
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Historically, the Czech people have long been oppressed and have only recently gained true independence. Therefore, it is difficult to uncover the origins and long history of the Czech people and Bohemia. Here Sayer (sociology, Univ. of Alberta in Edmonton) takes a sociologist's approach to history by writing about the emergence of the Czech nationality. He meticulously tracks and details the growth of Czech nationalism through literature, theater, art, architecture, language, and music to provide a thorough story of how the Czechs shed the oppression of the German and Austrian reigns over their land to become a distinct people. While a bit cumbersome to read, Sayer's work is groundbreaking in its scope and direction. Recommended for academic libraries and specialized European collections.AJill Jaracz, Chicago
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
FEW ARTISTS so obviously evoke a period and a place as Alphonse Mucha. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
FEW ARTISTS so obviously evoke a period and a place as Alphonse Mucha. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Czech "Cultural" History,
By
This review is from: The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History (Paperback)
A previous reviewer is right--this is not a Czech history. But it is the history of how Czech culture has been formed. For that, it is fascinating--For a straight history, look elsewhere. If you are travelling to Prague, it will make many sites much richer--Vysehrad cemetery, the National Theatre, Old Town Square.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Misleadingly titled,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History (Paperback)
The book's subtitle is "A Czech History," but people looking for a general history of the Czech lands will be disappointed. Sayer focuses not on battlefields and parliaments but on art, literature and historiography. He either completely ignores or barely mentions such topics as the world wars, the Munich Pact and the Communist coup while devoting dozens of pages to poets, artists and critics. Thus, despite the rather esoteric nature of Czech history, Sayer assumes readers already know the basics. I guess a title like "The Humanities and Czech Identity, 1620-1960" wouldn't sell as well.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Bright but Isolated Star,
By Janice M. Albert (Oakland, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History (Paperback)
In The Coasts of Bohemia, Derek Sayers tells us how social values are invented and reinterpreted by those with the will and the power to do so, a study of Bohemian history with broader applications. He writes to clarify and contextualize social movements in the Czech lands from before the Hussites to the modern period, but the reader learns late in the book that his passion owes something to the cooperative assistance of his wife, whose father was a professor lost to the world of learning when he was removed by the Nazis as they closed the universities in Czechoslovakia in the 40s.The book is a bright but isolated star in the realm of scholarship that explains the Czech lands and people to the citizens of the United States. Sayers has a firm grasp on the little things, "the quotidian," that make up cultural identity, but it is his writing style and his ability to weave small points into major themes that makes the book such a masterpiece. I note with mixed feelings that Sayers works and teaches in Canada. The English-speaking world's gain; America's loss.
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