Václav Havel the authorized biography Václav Havel. English Kriseová, Eda 1940- creator text bibliography biography Biography. collective biographies. Biographies. Biographies. Biographies. nyu New York St. Martin's Press 1993 1st ed. monographic eng cze print xvi, 297 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm Vaclav Havel, the playwright, essayist, dissident who led Czechoslovakia back to democracy and became its president, is one of the most admired men of our time. He stands for values not often found in world politics - courtesy, good taste, intelligence, decency, and, above all, responsibility. But who is this man, and how did he come to think and believe as he does, what formed him, how did he come to play such a pivotal role in his country? For the first time, in this personal and often touching portrait, Eda Kriseova, a longtime colleague and confidante, tells Havel's life story in its entirety. Havel was born and raised in the spirit of the first Czech Republic, the era between the two world wars that was a period of growth, both as a sophisticated economy and a democracy in which many political philosophies flourished. One grandfather was a diplomat with a visionary plan for Central European cooperation. The other was an urban developer pivotal in building Prague into a modern world capital. Because of his upbringing, Havel was never swayed by communism - he was a political renegade from the very beginning. Kriseova describes Havel's political baptism, when he addressed a congress of the writers union in the early sixties and attacked their values, his career as a playwright, and, after the Prague Spring is crushed in 1968 by Soviet tanks and his writing is banned, his emergence as a dissident. His role in Charter 77, the years in prison, the years out of prison but under house arrest, constantly harassed, are an eye opening look at what it was like in Czechoslovakia under communism. The days of the Velvet Revolution and those that led to it are depicted vividly - we share in the euphoria Czechoslovakia felt as it became a free country again. Kriseova has told Havel's story with the help of his family and closest friends. Their contributions, especially those of film director Milos Forman and the actor Pavel Landovsky, help create a portrait that is at the same time flattering and rings with honesty. 1. The Search for Everything Forbidden -- 2. Olga -- 3. Kafka, Ionesco, Beckett -- 4. First Publication, First Public Appearance -- 5. Seven Letters to Melin -- 6. Military Service -- 7. Spiritual Legacy -- 8. Grandfather Vavrecka -- 9. His First Plays -- 10. Background: Bourgeois -- 11. Mother and Father -- 12. On the Balustrade -- 13. Enter Jan Grossman -- 14. The Garden Party -- 15. Tvarists and Tvar -- 16. The Academy of King George -- 17. The Fateful Year of 1968 -- 18. The Tanks Rolled In -- 19. An Then Came Normalization -- 20. A Letter to Dr. Husak -- 21. The Beggar's Opera in Pocernice -- 22. The Trial of the Plastics -- 23. Kidnapping Children -- 24. How the Charter Was Prepared -- 25. The Three Kings, 1977 -- 26. What Rude Pravo Had to Say About It -- 27. First Imprisonment -- 28. Paragraph 112 -- 29. The Railwaymen's Ball -- 30. Passion Plays -- 31. On the Polish Border -- 32. Under Surveillance -- 33. House Arrest -- 34. Imprisonment -- 35. The Trial -- 36. Serving His Sentence -- 37. Letters to Olga -- 38. Dear Vasek -- 39. Free Again -- 40. Largo Desolato -- 41. A Trip to Slovakia -- 42. Temptation -- 43. O Divadle -- 44. Democracy for All -- 45. Jan Palach Week -- 46. In Prison Again -- 47. The Release of Vaclav Havel -- 48. Just a Few Sentences -- 49. November 17 -- 50. Civic Forum -- 51. Laterna Magika -- 52. First Dialogue -- 53. Letna Plain -- 54. Spalicek -- 55. The Secret Apartment -- 56. Who Will Be President? Eda Kriseová ; translated by Caleb Crain. Includes index. Includes bibliographical references and index. e-cs--- Havel, Václav Presidents Czechoslovakia Biography Czechoslovakia Politics and government 1968-1989 Dissenters Czechoslovakia Biography Dramatists, Czech 20th century Biography Havel, Vaclav Tchécoslovaquie Politique et gouvernement 1968-1989 Dissidents Tchécoslovaquie Biographies Dramaturges tchèques 20e siècle Biographies Havel, Václav Dissenters Dramatists, Czech Politics and government Presidents Czechoslovakia Havel, Václav 1936-2011 Biografie Havel, Vaclav Dissenters Czechoslovakia Biography Dramatists, Czech 20th century Biography Presidents Czechoslovakia Biography Czechoslovakia Politics and government 1968-1989 Havel, Václav 1900-1999 fast DB2241.H38 K7513 1993 943.704/3/092 B 7,41 Václav Havel Václav Havel. English Kriseová, Eda, 1940- New York : St. Martin's Press, 1993 1st ed. (OCoLC)760072262 Archives of Czechs and Slovaks Abroad 0886877393 9780886877392 0312103174 9780312103170 93018037 DLC 930111 20240426181821.0 in00001139464 eng