Prague in Black and Gold: The History of a City |
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Peter Demetz
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Pages: 432 (Paperback)
ISBN: 014026888X
Pub: Penguin Books Ltd
Pub date: 1998-08-27
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 169604
Reader Reviews:
Stunted history (2/2 people found this helpful)
I admit it - I found this book dry, drab, dusty, and dull. Fact after fact whipped past me, and at the end of the exercise, I felt as if I knew nothing more about the city than I did when I began.
Perhaps I have been spoiled by reading too many lively histories - histories that carry you away and deposit you within a (albeit often mythical) city. Thus, I expect history to be an adventure, not a trial. For me, this book was the latter - and I was relieved to finish.
All that said, the main issue I had with this book was that the history lesson stopped in, of all times, 1937. So - no Nazi occupation, no communist regime, no velvet revolution. Cutting out the most interesting part of Prague's history in this way is bizarre and (even bearing in mind Demetz's discomfort at his past) fairly unforgivable.
Persevere with the tiny print...! (13/13 people found this helpful)
I bought this in Prague and it became a second travelling companion to me. The minute print meant I found the book difficult to get into at first, but I persevered and learned so much which illuminated my stay.
Peter Demetz is not afraid to write subjectively and his personal insight is one of the most fascinating aspects of this history, stripping away the tourist facade and displaying his home city in all it's bloody splendour.
My only criticism would be that recent history is a little rushed, but perhaps that is deliberate? It certainly made me want to learn more about Prague's fascinating history - and sharpened my appetite for another trip to the Czech Republic!
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> History -> Cultural History -> Local & Urban History
Books -> Subjects -> History -> General
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English
Books -> Refinements -> Age (feature_two_browse-bin)
Books -> Refinements -> Format (binding_browse-bin) -> Paperback