Prague: A Cultural History (Interlink Cultural Histories)

Prague: A Cultural History (Interlink Cultural Histories)
- Used Book in Good Condition
Located at the very center of Europe, Prague has been on the frontline of international political, intellectual, religious, and cultural conflicts for more than six centuries. Invaded and occupied by the Habsburgs, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Nazis, and then Communist Russia, the city s identity is shaped by a long experience of foreign domination and a strong sense of martyrdom.

A treasure house of Gothic, baroque, and modernist architecture, Prague is also a city of icons and symbols: statues, saints and signs reveal a turbulent history of religious and cultural conflict. As Kafka s nightmare city and home of the Good Soldier _vejk, the Czech capital also produced two of the twentieth century s emblematic writers. Richard Burton explores this metropolis of theatrical allusion, in which politics and drama have always been intertwined. His interpretation of the city s cultural past and present encompasses opera and rock music, puppetry and cinema, surrealism and socialist realism. Looking at Prague s world-famous landmarks and lesser-known sites, his reading of the city through its writing and iconography is both perceptive and challenging.

* THE CITY OF ARTISTS AND WRITERS: The Castle and Kafka, Ha_ek and Kundera; music from Smetana to the Plastic People of the Universe; modernism and cubism; political theater and the playwright-president VÃ¡clav Havel.

* THE CITY OF TYRANNY AND RESISTANCE: Jan Hus and anti-Catholic revolt; subjugation and the rise of Czech nationalism; Germans, Czechs and Jews; "Prague Spring" 1968, Charter 77 and the "Velvet Revolution" of November 1989.

* THE CITY OF MAGIC, MURDER, AND MYTH: Medieval alchemy and astrology; the myth of the Golem, the ghetto and anti-Semitism; living puppets, robots, and a tradition of defenestration.
Country USA
Brand Interlink Books
Manufacturer Interlink Books
Binding Paperback
ReleaseDate 2013-04-16
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781566564908

Country	USA
Brand	Interlink Books
Manufacturer	Interlink Books
Binding	Paperback
ReleaseDate	2013-04-16
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781566564908

Prague: A Cultural History (Interlink Cultural Histories)

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