The Art of the Impossible: Politics as Morality in Practice
by Václav Havel
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There is no shortage of politicians who make a habit of shooting from the hip, but it is much rarer to find one who speaks from the heart. Vaclav Havel knows no other way to speak, or to write. Both as a dissident and as a playwright it was his sworn purpose for many years to combat evil with nothing but truth. As president of Czechoslovakia, and now of the Czech Republic, he has clung to that habit, refusing to turn over either his conscience or his voice to political handlers and show more professional speech-writers. Instead he assumes the additional burden - for him, it is a distinct pleasure - of composing all of his oratory. This volume consists of thirty-five of these essays, written between the years 1990 and 1996, that manage to be both profoundly personal and profoundly political. Havel writes of totalitarianism, its miseries and the nonetheless difficult emergence from it. He describes how his country and the other post-communist countries are learning democracy from scratch and are encountering obstacles from inside and out. He marvels at the single technology-driven civilization that envelops the globe, and the challenges this presents to multicultural realities. And he reminds us that - contrary to all appearances - common sense, moderation, responsibility, good taste, feeling, instinct, and conscience are not alien to politics, but are the very key to its long-term success. show lessTags
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I'll preface by stating that I revere Vaclav Havel, an astoundingly courageous & brilliant playwright, writer, revolutionary and finally, after degradation & imprisonment, President of his country.
This book is a selection of speeches he made after becoming Czech President, but these speeches are more than exhortations. They are clear, insightful statements of what political & moral acts should be, and how to accomplish them.
Oh, would that each country contained one person of his character & capabilities.
This book is a selection of speeches he made after becoming Czech President, but these speeches are more than exhortations. They are clear, insightful statements of what political & moral acts should be, and how to accomplish them.
Oh, would that each country contained one person of his character & capabilities.
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129+ Works 3,469 Members
Václav Harvel (October 5, 1936 - December 18, 2011) was a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, philosopher and politician. He was the ninth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989-1992) and the first president of the Czech Republic (1993-2003). He wrote more than 20 plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally. At the time of show more his death he was Chairman of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation. Havel received many recognitions, including the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Gandhi Peace Prize, the Philadelphia Liberty Medal, the Order of Canada, the freedom medal of the Four Freedoms Award, the Ambassador of Conscience Award and the Hanno R. Ellenbogen Citizenship Award. Havel died in his home in 2011. He was the author of many poetry collections and plays including, The Garden Party, The Beggar's Opera, Mountain Hotel and The Pig. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Politics and Government, History
- DDC/MDS
- 943.7105 — History & geography History of Europe Germany and neighboring central European countries Czech Republic and Slovakia Czech Republic
- LCC
- DB2238 .H38 .A5 — History of Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania Austria – Liechtenstein – Hungary – Czechoslovakia History of Austria. Liechtenstein. Hungary. Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia History By period Czechoslovak Republic, 1918-1992
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- Languages
- English
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- ISBNs
- 3
