Vaclav Havel: The Intellectual Conscience of International Politics: An Introduction, Appreciation & Critique |
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James W. Sire
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Pages: 140 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0830826564
Pub: InterVarsity Press
Pub date: 2001-08
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1579009
Reader Reviews:
An excellent introduction to a complex thinker. (2/2 people found this helpful)
If you've ever felt interested about Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, dissident, and intellectual, this is a great book to start with; however,this is not at all a biography, but an exposition and analysis of Havel's thought, and a critique on his practical appliance of it to the world of politics. As a playwright, essayst, and political dissident, Havel has produced a substantial amount of work, and the author does a marvellous job in distilling the main themes from it; the style is very accessible, even for someone with no previous knowledge of philosophy or drama, and the book leaves the reader with an appetite for more in-depth knowledge about Havel's life and work.
I enjoyed the book very much, despite my reservations about the author's thesis - namely, that Havel's worldview implicitly acknowledges the existence of a personal God. On this subject, the author failed utterly to convince me, but the issue remains irrelevant in the face of the fascinating insight into Havel's philosophy provided by the book. Despite his particular thesis, the author gives an unbiased account of Havel's thought. I would strongly recommend it, although the interested reader will want to follow this with some biographical account of Havel's life.
Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Historical
Books -> Subjects -> Biography -> Medical, Legal & Social Sciences -> Philosophy
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
Books -> Refinements -> Condition (condition-type)