In this social and cultural history of Czechoslovakia's "gentle revolution," James Krapfl shifts the focus away from elites to ordinary citizens who endeavored-from the outbreak of revolution in 1989 to the demise of the Czechoslovak federation in 1992-to establish a new, democratic political culture. Unique in its balanced coverage of developments in both Czech and Slovak lands, including the Hungarian minority of southern Slovakia, this book looks beyond Prague and Bratislava to collective action in small towns, provincial factories, and collective farms.Through his broad and deep analysis of workers' declarations, student bulletins, newspapers, film footage, and the proceedings of local administrative bodies, Krapfl contends that Czechoslovaks rejected Communism not because it was socialist, but because it was arbitrarily bureaucratic and inhumane. The restoration of a basic "humanness"-in politics and in daily relations among citizens-was the central goal of the revolution. In the strikes and demonstrations that began in the last weeks of 1989, Krapfl argues, citizens forged new symbols and a new symbolic system to reflect the humane, democratic, and nonviolent community they sought to create. Tracing the course of the revolution from early, idealistic euphoria through turns to radicalism and ultimately subversive reaction, Revolution with a Human Face finds in Czechoslovakia's experiences lessons of both inspiration and caution for people in other countries striving to democratize their governments.
"I read Krapfl's book with excitement and admiration. Revolution with a Human Face is an excellent work, the type which launches further research. Krapfl has radically changed how we must think about the Czechoslovak revolution of 1989 by placing the people at its heart. He has further cast into relief the character of revolutionary processes and has found worthy insight therein into the dissoluti
Jacob Ari Labendz, East Central Europe
"In this engaging book, James Krapfl argues persuasively that average Czechoslovak citizens have been neglected in Western studies of the revolutionary events of 1989, with analysis of the writings and dissident intellectuals in Prague having been considered representative of the ideas and values of the revolution in all of Czechoslovakia. Krapfl proposes that the motivations for protests in 1989
Geoffrey Brown, New Zealand Slavonic Journal
"In this study of Czechoslovakia's gentle revolution of 1989 (to use the originally applied phrase) Krapfl (McGill Univ. Canada) seeks to focus upon the experiences of ordinary citizens rather than political elites. He uses an impressively large range of documents along with the products of an unregulated press to present a narrative and analysis that is week by week sometimes day-by-day for the m
