Prague winter : a personal story of remembrance and war, 1937-1948 / Madeleine Albright with Bill Woodward

Includes bibliographical references (pages 427-444) and index.

Setting Out -- Part One: Before March 15, 1939 -- An Unwelcome Guest -- Tales of Bohemia -- The Competition -- The Linden Tree -- A Favorable Impression -- Out From Behind the Mountains -- "We Must Go On Being Cowards" -- A Hopeless Task -- Part Two: April 1939-April 1942 -- Starting Over -- Occupation and Resistance -- The Lamps Go Out -- The Irresistible Force -- Fire in the Sky -- The Alliance Comes Together -- The Crown of Wenceslas -- Part Three: May 1942-April 1945 -- Day of the Assassins -- Auguries of Genocide -- Terezin -- The Bridge Too Far -- Cried-out Eyes -- Doodlebugs and Gooney Birds -- Hitler's End -- Part Four: May 1945-November 1948 -- No Angels -- Unpatched -- A World Big Enough to Keep Us Apart -- A Precarious Balance -- Struggle for a Nation's Soul -- A Failure to Communicate -- The Fall -- Sands Through the Hour-Glass -- The Next Chapter -- Guide to personalities -- Time Lines.

Most people are aware of the result of the Munich agreement in 1938. Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelova), the first female U.S. secretary of state, provides a deeper account of the Czech Republic's road to independence. From Prague to the Terezin concentration camp (where many of her Jewish relatives perished) to the "winter" of the republic's existence as it endured the dictatorships of the Nazis and then the Communists, Albright details the situations and personalities prominent in this struggle. Though born only the year before the Munich agreement, Albright, the child of a Czech diplomat, has distinct insights into the moral dilemmas confronted by her countrymen. She spent the war in London with the exiled government and provides her childhood impressions of the Blitz. Although categorized as a memoir, this book represents history made more vivid by Albright's personal perspective. It serves as a remembrance of the personalities who defined this era, including her father and other Czech democrats who helped create the independent republic after World War I. The accessible style and inclusion of notes and timelines make this an excellent addition to any library.