The Coasts of Bohemia A Czech History

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1998 "[Derek Sayer's The Coasts of Bohemia] is an ambitious, elegantly written, and sympathetic account of the art, the literature and the politics of the Czech people... Sayer saunters gracefully and with sure footing back and forth across centuries of Czech religion, mythology, and history, displaying enthusiasm and engagement but immune to the usual self-serving national illusions... His book is a delight."--Tony Judt, The New Republic "A rich and intricate story... Excellent ... the most stimulating introduction to [its] subject available in English, or ... any other language."--R.J.W. Evans, New York Review of Books "Sayer's penetrating and balanced discussion of Czech political and cultural history should spare us from ever again thinking of the central European place as 'a far away country'."--Stan Persky, Vancouver Sun "A masterful essay on the ironies and tragedies of both the cultural history of the Czechs and Czech culture's history of its own past."--Steven Beller, The Times Literary Supplement