Chapter 1 Introduction: The Cold War and Contemporary Understandings of the Communist Takeover of Czechoslovakia Part 2 Part I: Czech Intellectuals Enter the Postwar World Chapter 3 World War II and the East European Revolution Chapter 4 Intellectuals in the Czech Environment Chapter 5 Four Groups of Czech Intellectuals Part 6 Part II: The Interpretation and Reinterpretation of Czech History and the Reorientation of the Czech Nation Chapter 7 The Communist Aim: The Creation of a New Czechoslovakia Chapter 8 The Battle Over the Recent Past I: The Experiences of Munich and World War II Chapter 9 The Battle Over the Recent Past II: The First Republic and Tomá? G. Masaryk Chapter 10 The Shift in Sensibilities and Generations: May 5, 1945 Versus October 28, 1918 Chapter 11 The Reorientation of National Identity: Czechs Between East and West Part 12 Part III: The Meaning of Socialism Chapter 13 Socialism and Communist Intellectuals: The "Czechoslovak Road to Socialism" Chapter 14 Socialism and Democratic Socialist Intellectuals: The "New Socialist Ethos" Chapter 15 Socialism and Roman Catholic Intellectuals: The "Fateful Struggle between Spirit and Matter" Chapter 16 Socialism and Protestant Intellectuals: The "Kingdom of God on Earth"? Chapter 17 Conclusion: The End of Czechoslovak Democracy and the Rise of Communism in Eastern Europe
Bradley F. Abrams is associate professor of history at Columbia University.
Extraordinary. . . . Abrams's superb work can be read with profit
by generalists as well as by historians of Central and Eastern
Europe. Highly recommended.
*CHOICE*
Abrams work will certainly set the standard on this subject for
years to come.
*Habsburg, March 2005*
An important part of the scholarly reexamination of the cold war
since the fall of European communism is the questioning of
traditionally accepted verities. One of the most hallowed of these
is the notion that the establishment of communism in Central and
Eastern Europe was purely a function of Soviet military occupation.
That this was not the case in Czechoslovakia, and perhaps, by
analogy, not nearly as much as we once believed to have been the
case in other countries, is the theme of Bradley Abrams'sexcellent
book.... [T]he period from 1945 to 1948...is minutely and superbly
studied. We are all indebted to Abrams for so beautifully reminding
us that history really does have something to teach us, even when
it is about an episode that most of the world would rather
forget..
*East European Politics and Societies*
Overall, this is an excellent book, meticulously researched and
well organized, it succeeds in setting a new agenda for
Czechoslovak history in the Cold War-free world.
*Seer*
Abram's work is well researched. It would be a very useful read for
undergraduates in history, Czech culture courses or for those
readying themselves for study abroad in Prague.
*Slavic and East European Journal*
The communist seizure of power in Czechoslovakia, a country known
for its democratic exceptionalism during the interwar era, has long
attracted the interest of historians of the region. With this
intellectual history of Czechoslovakia's postwar political culture,
Bradley F. Abrams makes a valuable addition to the historiography
of the topic.
By carefully reconstructing the development of postwar political
culture in Czechoslovakia, Abrams lays to rest any remaining notion
of a top-down imposition of communism by Soviet outsiders who
together with a few domestic fellow travelers subverted
Czechoslovakia in 1948. As he demonstrates, the Communist Party had
broad popular support in Czechoslovakia. Clearly written and well
argued, this volume should be of interest to modern European
historians as well as to those involved in Cold War and
communist/postcommunist studies.
*American Historical Review*
An important part of the scholarly reexamination of the cold war
since the fall of European communism is the questioning of
traditionally accepted verities. One of the most hallowed of these
is the notion that the establishment of communism in Central and
Eastern Europe was purely a function of Soviet military occupation.
That this was not the case in Czechoslovakia, and perhaps, by
analogy, not nearly as much as we once believed to have been the
case in other countries, is the theme of Bradley Abrams's excellent
book.... [T]he period from 1945 to 1948...is minutely and superbly
studied. We are all indebted to Abrams for so beautifully reminding
us that history really does have something to teach us, even when
it is about an episode that most of the world would rather
forget.
*East European Politics and Societies*
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