ABSTRACT
Thisremarkablecollectionofessayshasforsometimedeserved translationandawiderreadershipfortwosortsofreasons.Onthe onehand,theseessaysareimportanthistoricaldocuments.Theyare evidenceofgreatinteresttothehistorianandobserverofcontemporarycommunisminCzechoslovakiaandwithintheSovietblocasa whole.Moreimportantly,theyarevaluabletextsintheirownright. Theyareessaysofinterpretation,argumentandanalysisthatshed lightnotonlyuponthenatureofcontemporarycommunismbut, morewidely,onsomebasicpoliticalquestionsthatariseintheWest nolessthanintheEast.Moreover,theyaddressthesequestionsina freshandchallengingway.
