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Václav Havel

    October 5, 1936 – December 18, 2011

    Václav Havel was a profound thinker whose writings, primarily plays and essays, delve into the absurdity of power and the existential search for truth and freedom. His internationally translated works often expose the insidious mechanisms of oppression, highlighting the resilience of the human spirit and the courage required to resist. Havel's literary output and his commitment to human rights established him as a significant moral voice, advocating for personal integrity and dignity in the face of systemic control. His legacy continues to inspire critical reflection on responsibility and the pursuit of genuine liberty.

    the Power of the Powerless
    Selected plays : 1963-83
    Václav Havel - Bořek Šípek, Hradní práce/Castle works : 1992-2002
    Open letters. Selected writings 1965-1990
    Living in Truth : Twenty-two essays published on the occasion of the award of the Erasmus Prize to Václav Havel
    To the Castle and Back
    • As writer, dissident, and statesman, Havel played an essential part in the changes that occurred in Central Europe during the last decades of the twentieth century, and became a powerful intellectual and political force for the reestablishment of democratic principles and institutions. Now, in this memoir, he recollects the pivotal experiences and ideas of his remarkable life. Known in his native Prague for his theatrical productions, and imprisoned for his anticommunist views, Havel emerged on the international stage in 1989 as the elected president of Czechoslovakia. He writes with eloquence and candor about his transition from playwright to politician, and the surreal challenges of governing a young democracy. But the scope of his writing extends far beyond the circumstances he faced in his own country. He shares his thoughts on the future of the EU, the reach of the American superpower, and the role of national identity in today's world.--From publisher description.

      To the Castle and Back
    • Spanning twenty-five years, this historic collection of writings shows Vaclav Havel's evolution from a modestly known playwright who had the courage to advise and criticize Czechoslovakia's leaders to a newly elected president whose first address to his fellow citizens begins, "I assume you did not propose me for this office so that I, too, would lie to you." Some of the pieces in Open Letters, such as "Dear Dr. Husak" and the essay "The Power of the Powerless," are by now almost legendary for their influence on a generation of Eastern European dissidents; others, such as some of Havel's prison correspondence and his private letter to Alexander Dubcek, appear in English for the first time. All of them bear the unmistakable imprint of Havel's intellectual rigor, moral conviction, and unassuming eloquence, while standing as important additions to the world's literature of conscience.

      Open letters. Selected writings 1965-1990
    • This collection of plays includes "The Garden Party", "The Memorandum", "The Increased Difficulty of Concentration" and "Mistake".

      Selected plays : 1963-83
    • the Power of the Powerless

      • 176 pages
      • 7 hours of reading
      4.3(276)Add rating

      Václav Havel’s remarkable and rousing essay on the tyranny of apathy, with a new introduction by Timothy Snyder Cowed by life under Communist Party rule, a greengrocer hangs a placard in their shop window: Workers of the world, unite! Is it a sign of the grocer’s unerring ideology? Or a symbol of the lies we perform to protect ourselves? Written in 1978, Václav Havel’s meditation on political dissent – the rituals of its suppression, and the sparks that re-ignite it – would prove the guiding manifesto for uniting Solidarity movements across the Soviet Union. A portrait of activism in the face of falsehood and intimidation, The Power of the Powerless remains a rousing call against the allure of apathy. 'Havel’s diagnosis of political pathologies has a special resonance in the age of Trump' Pankaj Mishra

      the Power of the Powerless
    • The Truth About the Truth

      De-confusing and Re-constructing the Postmodern World

      • 272 pages
      • 10 hours of reading

      Includes essays and excerpts from the works of prominent modern thinkers such as Umberto Eco, Jacques Derrida, and Isaiah Berlin among others.

      The Truth About the Truth
    • Redevelopment or slum clearance

      • 96 pages
      • 4 hours of reading

      In a converted European castle a weekend conference is taking place. Gathered together is a group of architects, town planners and government officials, and the action of the play concerns itself with the professional, intellectual, ideological and sexual concerns of the participants.

      Redevelopment or slum clearance
    • The Memorandum

      • 112 pages
      • 4 hours of reading

      Revolves around the invention of a new bureaucratic language, Ptydepe, which is adopted by an organisation despite the fact that few employees seem to understand it.

      The Memorandum