Velvet Revolutions by Miroslav Vanek, Pavel Mcke - 9780197546277

Oxford University Press Inc

Velvet RevolutionsAn Oral History of Czech Society\nAuthor(s): Miroslav Vanek, Pavel Mcke\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Oxford University Press Inc, United States\nImprint: Oxford University Press Inc\nISBN-13: 9780197546277, 978-0197546277\nSynopsis\nThe Velvet Revolution in November 1989 brought about the collapse of the authoritarian communist regime in what was then Czechoslovakia, marking the beginning of the country's journey towards democracy. Though members of the elite have spoken about the transition to democracy, the experiences of ordinary people have largely gone untold. \n\nIn Velvet Revolutions, Miroslav Vanek and Pavel Mcke examine the values of everyday citizens who lived under so-called real socialism, as well as how their values changed after the 1989 collapse. Based on 300 interviews, Vanek and Mcke give voice to everyone from farmers to managers, service workers to marketing personnel, manual laborers to members of the armed forces. Compelling and diverse, the o.