Making History: Czech Voices of Dissent and the Revolution of 1989

by Michael Long (Editor)

In December 1989, VOclav 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 .

204 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Michael G. Long is the author and editor of several books on politics, religion, and civil rights. He is the editor, most recently, of Marshalling Justice: The Early Civil Rights Letters of Thurgood Marshall.

Reviews

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is largely an oral history, composed of interviews that Long conducted with 11 Czech "dissidents" in 1998. Each of the narrators describes their own life and experiences with the dissident movement from the Prague Spring and '68 Soviet invasion, through Normalization, through the Revolution, and their reflections on the revolution 9 years later. One of the strengths of the book is that it is organized by narrator, so each chapter is based on a single interview--which serves to preserve the unique voice of each person interviewed. While I selected this book on the basis of my own interest in recent Czech history, I think that anyone with an interest in oral history or politics and resistance would find it interesting.

[Baris · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointing book. Although the author had a chance to talk to some interesting individuals (e.g., Petr Uhl), his questions do not really channel interviewees to reflect on their experiences during communsim and 1989. Instead we are offered who did what during 1989 without much of subjective reflection of these individuals.
The only interesting part of the book is when former dissidents comment about the post-communist experience of Czech Republic. If you are interested in this topic, this book may partially interest you. If not, you would not lose anything if you skip it.