{"product_id":"to-the-castle-and-back","title":"To the Castle and Back","description":"\u003cp\u003eAs writer  dissident  and statesman  Vclav Havel played an essential part in the profound changes that occurred in Central Europe during the last decades of the twentieth century  and became a powerful intellectual and political force for the reestablishment of democratic principles and institutions. Now  in this intimate  illuminating memoir  he recollects the pivotal experiences and ideas of his remarkable life.  Known in his native Prague for his theatrical productions  and imprisoned for his anticommunist views  Havel emerged on the international stage in 1989 as the elected president of Czechoslovakia  and  in 1993  as president of the newly formed Czech Republic. He writes with eloquence and candor about his transition from playwright to politician  and the surreal challenges of governing a young democracy. But the scope of his writing extends far beyond the circumstances he faced in his own country. He shares his thoughts on the future of the EU  the reach of the American superpower  and the role of national identity in todays world. He explains why he has come to believe the war in Iraq is a fiasco  and he discusses the reverberations from his initial support of the invasion.  This is also a personal book  in which he writes for the first time about his battle with lung cancer  the death of his first wife  Olga  and the controversy that has dogged his relationship with his second wife  the Czech actress Dagmar Vekrnov. And  finally  it is a meditation on mortality and on the difficulties of writing itself.  Infused with characteristic wit and well-honed irony  To the Castle and Back is a revelation of one of the most important figures of our time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44944902029365,"sku":"ByrdShop_0307266419","price":23.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780307266415.jpg?v=1769859834","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/to-the-castle-and-back","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}