H. Gordon Skilling – författare

The book examines the history of Czechoslovakia in the seventy years since its founding by T.G.Masaryk. It analyses the profound changes which took place during the First Republic, the Nazi occupation, postwar liberation and communist rule, including both the Stalinist years, the Prague Spring of 1968 and the subsequent period of normalization to 1988 .

In nine studies which make up this book Professor Skilling analyses the development of the communist systems in the various countries of Eastern Europe, with special emphasis on developments following the 22nd Congress in 1961. His conclusion is that the future of communism is, to a large extent, not only out of the control of the West, but out of the control of the Communist leaders as well. For Western policy he advocates a subtle and restrained approach, avoiding both the extreme attitude of regarding communism as a monolithic enemy bloc, and that of seeking openly to divide and separate the communist states from one another. The most likely trend, he predicts, will be evolution within communism, rather than its total replacement by another system.This work has made a distinctive contribution to studies of Russian and East European affairs. Based on scholarly research, it is written in non-technical language, and succeeds admirably in analysing a very complicated subject in relatively simple terms. It will be read with great interest and profit by students as well as by specialists, and by all the wider public interested in international affairs and in the position of communism in the world today.

First published in 1981, Charter 77 and Human Rights in Czechoslovakia covers the existence of Charter 77 from 1977 down to the end of 1980. The Charter movement was a significant phenomenon in the history of Czechoslovakia and of world communism, and Charter 77 was symbolic of the courage, the spirit of freedom, and human rights in an invaded Czechoslovakia.The book is based on samizdat materials which circulated in type written form within Czechoslovakia and were transmitted abroad at considerable risk and expense. Divided into two section – it deals with the origins of the Charter; its signatories and supporters; its purposes and methods; and its reception at home and abroad; and provides an extensive account of the clauses and documents of Charter 77. This book will be beneficial to students and researchers of international relations, European history, political history, European studies, international politics and human rights.

First published in 1981, Charter 77 and Human Rights in Czechoslovakia covers the existence of Charter 77 from 1977 down to the end of 1980. The Charter movement was a significant phenomenon in the history of Czechoslovakia and of world communism, and Charter 77 was symbolic of the courage, the spirit of freedom, and human rights in an invaded Czechoslovakia.The book is based on samizdat materials which circulated in type written form within Czechoslovakia and were transmitted abroad at considerable risk and expense. Divided into two section – it deals with the origins of the Charter; its signatories and supporters; its purposes and methods; and its reception at home and abroad; and provides an extensive account of the clauses and documents of Charter 77. This book will be beneficial to students and researchers of international relations, European history, political history, European studies, international politics and human rights.

This study of T.G. Masaryk deals with his pre-1914 career as a professor and persistent dissenter. For three decades he was a constant and unrelenting critic of conventional wisdom, established institutions and customary practices in Bohemia and Austria-Hungary. At every stage he was a radical dissident in all questions of public life as well as in private matters: religion, the nationality problem the place of women, labour and the social question, parliament and government in the Monarchy, its foreign affairs and foreign policy institutions, education, the courts and legal system, the Catholic Church, and clericalism, the university establishment, Czech politics and Czech political parties, the interpretations of Czech history, and anti-semitism.

This study of T.G. Masaryk deals with his pre-1914 career as a professor and persistent dissenter. For three decades he was a constant and unrelenting critic of conventional wisdom, established institutions and customary practices in Bohemia and Austria-Hungary. At every stage he was a radical dissident in all questions of public life as well as in private matters: religion, the nationality problem the place of women, labour and the social question, parliament and government in the Monarchy, its foreign affairs and foreign policy institutions, education, the courts and legal system, the Catholic Church, and clericalism, the university establishment, Czech politics and Czech political parties, the interpretations of Czech history, and anti-semitism.

The book examines the history of Czechoslovakia in the seventy years since its founding by T.G.Masaryk. It analyses the profound changes which took place during the First Republic, the Nazi occupation, postwar liberation and communist rule, including both the Stalinist years, the Prague Spring of 1968 and the subsequent period of normalization to 1988.

The book examines the history of Czechoslovakia in the seventy years since its founding by T.G.Masaryk. It analyses the profound changes which took place during the First Republic, the Nazi occupation, postwar liberation and communist rule, including both the Stalinist years, the Prague Spring of 1968 and the subsequent period of normalization to 1988.

Literature and historical writing among the Czechs, as among many other nations lacking a political state, played a vital role in promoting national consciousness. This volume, written to honour the seventieth birthday of the eminent Czech historian Otakar Odložík, contains essays by outstanding scholars from Canada, Czechoslovakia, Britain, and the United States which examine significant episodes in the development of modern Czech nationalism from its origins in the late eighteenth century to the birth of an independent nation after the First World War. The main emphasis is on the middle decades of the nineteenth century, which were crucial for mapping the direction Czech nationalism was to take during the subsequent hundred years. The stand of the Czech and Slovak peoples in the crisis of August 1968 reflected the deep roots of their patriotism which developed during the nineteenth-century national renascence.This volume contains essays on Dobrovský, the pioneer of Czech language studies, and on Palacký, the author of the first great national history, as well as on other facets of literary history which have influenced national feeling. A Prague scholar investigates the social structure of the early Czech patriotic intelligentsia and reaches conclusions which considerably modify hitherto existing views. Two contributions examine the role of the press in the emergence of Czech nationalism; the Matice Ceskà, a leading patriotic literary foundation, is the subject of one of the studies. Slovak and Lusatian Serb, German, and American reaction to the Czech national renascence is examined in a series of chapters. The political expression of Czech nationalism, first during the Year of Revolutions, 1848, and then from the late 1870s until the early years of the twentieth century, is subjected to analysis in several studies. Finally, there is a brief review of the problems associated with the Czech-Slovak background of Tomáš Masaryk, the creator of modern Czechoslovakia.A fitting tribute to an outstanding scholar, this volume makes an important contribution to the literature in English on nineteenth-century Czech lands.

Literature and historical writing among the Czechs, as among many other nations lacking a political state, played a vital role in promoting national consciousness. This volume, written to honour the seventieth birthday of the eminent Czech historian Otakar Odložík, contains essays by outstanding scholars from Canada, Czechoslovakia, Britain, and the United States which examine significant episodes in the development of modern Czech nationalism from its origins in the late eighteenth century to the birth of an independent nation after the First World War. The main emphasis is on the middle decades of the nineteenth century, which were crucial for mapping the direction Czech nationalism was to take during the subsequent hundred years. The stand of the Czech and Slovak peoples in the crisis of August 1968 reflected the deep roots of their patriotism which developed during the nineteenth-century national renascence.This volume contains essays on Dobrovský, the pioneer of Czech language studies, and on Palacký, the author of the first great national history, as well as on other facets of literary history which have influenced national feeling. A Prague scholar investigates the social structure of the early Czech patriotic intelligentsia and reaches conclusions which considerably modify hitherto existing views. Two contributions examine the role of the press in the emergence of Czech nationalism; the Matice Ceskà, a leading patriotic literary foundation, is the subject of one of the studies. Slovak and Lusatian Serb, German, and American reaction to the Czech national renascence is examined in a series of chapters. The political expression of Czech nationalism, first during the Year of Revolutions, 1848, and then from the late 1870s until the early years of the twentieth century, is subjected to analysis in several studies. Finally, there is a brief review of the problems associated with the Czech-Slovak background of Tomáš Masaryk, the creator of modern Czechoslovakia.A fitting tribute to an outstanding scholar, this volume makes an important contribution to the literature in English on nineteenth-century Czech lands.

Literature and historical writing among the Czechs, as among many other nations lacking a political state, played a vital role in promoting national consciousness. This volume, written to honour the seventieth birthday of the eminent Czech historian Otakar Odložík, contains essays by outstanding scholars from Canada, Czechoslovakia, Britain, and the United States which examine significant episodes in the development of modern Czech nationalism from its origins in the late eighteenth century to the birth of an independent nation after the First World War. The main emphasis is on the middle decades of the nineteenth century, which were crucial for mapping the direction Czech nationalism was to take during the subsequent hundred years. The stand of the Czech and Slovak peoples in the crisis of August 1968 reflected the deep roots of their patriotism which developed during the nineteenth-century national renascence.This volume contains essays on Dobrovský, the pioneer of Czech language studies, and on Palacký, the author of the first great national history, as well as on other facets of literary history which have influenced national feeling. A Prague scholar investigates the social structure of the early Czech patriotic intelligentsia and reaches conclusions which considerably modify hitherto existing views. Two contributions examine the role of the press in the emergence of Czech nationalism; the Matice Ceskà, a leading patriotic literary foundation, is the subject of one of the studies. Slovak and Lusatian Serb, German, and American reaction to the Czech national renascence is examined in a series of chapters. The political expression of Czech nationalism, first during the Year of Revolutions, 1848, and then from the late 1870s until the early years of the twentieth century, is subjected to analysis in several studies. Finally, there is a brief review of the problems associated with the Czech-Slovak background of Tomáš Masaryk, the creator of modern Czechoslovakia.A fitting tribute to an outstanding scholar, this volume makes an important contribution to the literature in English on nineteenth-century Czech lands.