The Golden City of Prague has long been an intellectual centre of the western world. The
writers collected here range from the early nineteenth century to the present and include both
Prague natives and visitors from elsewhere. Here are stories legends and scenes from the
city's past and present from the Jewish fable of the golem a creature conjured from clay to
tales of German and Soviet invasions. The international array of writers ranges from Franz
Kafka to Ivan Klíma to Bruce Chatwin and includes the award-winning British playwright Tom
Stoppard and former American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright both of whom have Czech
roots. Covering the city's venerable Jewish heritage the glamour of the belle-époque period
World War II Communist rule the Prague Spring the Velvet Revolution and beyond Prague
Stories weaves a remarkable selection of fiction and nonfiction into a literary portrait of a
fascinating city. Richard Bassett former Central European correspondent for The Times knows
his subject inside out. Here is Prague in all its brilliance a city rich in folklore both
Slavic and Jewish whose history is the stuff of legend - Jan Hus Charles IV and his eponymous
bridge serial defenestrations Prague in the dark years of World War II in the grey years of
Communism in the excitement of the Velvet Revolution. And here is today's Prague a vibrant
cosmopolitan capital where a new generation of Czech writers - Sylva Fischerova Daniela
Hodrova and others - explores its identity in new and exciting ways. A unique collection of
fiction and non-fiction to delight and stimulate travellers and stay-at-homes alike.
