{"product_id":"czech-character-then-and-now-kytka-hilmarova-9798253988183","title":"Czech Character Then and Now: A Centennial Mirror of Ji\u0026#345;í Mahen","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat if the hardest truth a nation can face is the truth about itself?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1924, Jiří Mahen set out to do something unusually brave: he tried to describe the Czech character honestly. Not romantically. Not politically. Not as national flattery. He wrote about intelligence without resolve, skepticism without courage, and a people caught between thought and action.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMore than one hundred years later, his questions still cut.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eCzech Character Then and Now\u003c\/i\u003e, Kytka Hilmarová returns to Mahen's original challenge and tests it against the century that followed: Nazi occupation, communist rule, Prague Spring, Soviet invasion, normalization, Velvet Revolution, the breakup of Czechoslovakia, and the uncertain realities of modern Europe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDid history change the Czech character?\u003cbr\u003eOr did it reveal it?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is not a sentimental book about national pride. It is a serious, provocative, and deeply informed examination of Czech identity across one of the most turbulent centuries in European history. It asks what has endured, what has hardened, what has been lost, and what still remains unresolved.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside this book, readers will find: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA modern reexamination of Jiří Mahen's original insights\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA century-spanning reflection on Czech identity and self-understanding\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical, literary, and cultural analysis grounded in real events\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAn honest look at the tensions between caution and courage, irony and seriousness, survival and principle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor readers interested in Czech history, European identity, Central Europe, political culture, Slavic studies, and the psychology of nations, this book offers something rare: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNot comfort.\u003cbr\u003eNot myth.\u003cbr\u003eBut clarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSome books preserve a national memory. This one tests it.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kytka Hilmarova\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798253988183\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 152\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.33d","brand":"Kytka Hilmarova","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48437873017087,"sku":"9798253988183","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_01482afb-3f56-421d-8798-c17e8b79bd0f.jpg?v=1777167348","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/czech-character-then-and-now-kytka-hilmarova-9798253988183","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}