The Czech Republic and Slovakia share fundamental similarities in language and culture, but they never managed to create a common national Czechoslovak identity, after being merged in 1918 when the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed. The lifting of the Iron Curtain and the Velvet Revolution of 1989 led to the final breakup of Czechoslovakia into two countries in 1993. This volume overviews the current social, cultural, and political scene of both countries, so that general readers come away with a solid understanding of where the Czechs and Slovaks have been and where they are going.
The opening chapter on land, people, and history lays the groundwork for the rest of the narrative. A chapter on religion and thought explains the widespread atheism of the Czechs and the contrasting religiosity of the Slovaks. Both peoples are shown to have relaxed attitude toward life and a love of celebrations, with a strong beer culture.
The status of women, family and feminism in the post-Soviet era is also discussed and readers will learn about the role of romance novels and the Czech Cosmopolitan. The literature chapter emphasises the Czech sense of humour, and the lack of translations of Slovakian works. The crises in journalism and cinema are other important topics.
Finally, the strong traditions of theatre and music, which have always been part of the Czech national consciousness, are seen to be alive and vibrant.
