O lidskou identitu: Úvahy, fejetony, protesty, polemiky, prohlášení a rozhovory z let 1969-1979 (Edice Rozmluvy)

by Václav Havel

Czech

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Czech Literature

397 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1984

About the author

Václav Havel was a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia (1989–92) and the first President of the Czech Republic (1993–2003). He wrote over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally. He received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the Order of Canada, the freedom medal of the Four Freedoms Award, and the Ambassador of Conscience Award. He was also voted 4th in Prospect Magazine's 2005 global poll of the world's top 100 intellectuals. He was a founding signatory of the Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism.

Beginning in the 1960s, his work turned to focus on the politics of Czechoslovakia. After the Prague Spring, he became increasingly active. In 1977, his involvement with the human rights manifesto 'Charter 77' brought him international fame as the leader of the opposition in Czechoslovakia; it also led to his imprisonment. The 1989 "Velvet Revolution" launched Havel into the presidency. In this role he led Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic to multi-party democracy. His thirteen years in office saw radical change in his nation, including its split with Slovakia, which Havel opposed, its accession into NATO and start of the negotiations for membership in the European Union, which was attained in 2004.

Reviews

[Eva Hnizdo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wise opinions of a wise and moral man, one of the grand men of Czech history .

[Robert Frecer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Václav Havel tu vystupuje v nádhernej dvojznačnosti. Ako podrývač a fabulista je schopný aj bezmocným prisúdiť obrovskú moc, ktorú reálne nemajú - ale dodať tak veľkému počtu ľudí potrebnú nádej. Je až detinské, ako sa vie v texte o tom, ako sa pobil pred krčmou, vykresliť ako morálne a mentálne nadradený. Komický protiklad vzniká vždy, keď Havel tvrdí, že niečo nie je preňho dôležité alebo ho nezaujíma - práve vtedy je to kľúčové pre jeho imidž alebo to chce oznámiť svetu. Samoľuby frajer, ale!

Najčistejšie vyznievajú Havlove odpovede na dva texty Petra Pitharta a Ludvíka Vaculíka - v reakcii na ich zbabelé, okolo-horúcej-kaše-fejtóny (ktoré sú prekvapivým svedectvom nejednoty v tomto tábore) vie túto zbabelosť jasne pomenovať a podáva tvrdé stanovisko pravdy. Naozaj strašidelne vyznieva psychický teror, ktorý Charta77 a VONS zažívali od 1977-1979, a Havlova trpezlivosť a energia venovaná vlastnej obhajobe aj obhajobe svojich kolegov je jedinečná. Vydržať to si žiadalo nadľudskú dávku úsilia. Len výnimočný človek to mohol ustáť.

Mám dojem, že historické udalosti si vyberajú osobnosti, nie naopak. Komunistický režim bohužiaľ nepadol vďaka morálnemu kompasu Havla a podobných, ale retroaktívne je možné vidieť kontinuitu odporu voči tomuto režimu v jeho (a ich) živnotnej ceste. A nič to nemení na tom, že bola výnimočná a zaslúži si obrovské, dlhotrvajúce uznanie.

[Andreea Idu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a series of notes about different topics that Václav Havel speaks about, such as: the human rights during communism time, some of the most common fears of people and the way communism regime rules the society using fear and obeying citizens. It also contains an open letter addressed to Gustav Husák (president of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia between 1975 - 1989) in which speaks about the consequences of ruling under such an outrageous regime followed by the power of the people that can rewrite history.