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"Vaclav Havel, reluctant president of the Czech Republic, has inspired the global community by setting a standard of political vision and conduct rarely matched in this century" ("Toronto Star). He now gives us a book of the most profound decency and simple eloquence. Would Canada, could Canada, ever elect a prime minister who had uttered the following? "Everything I encounter displays to me its absurd aspect first. I feel as though I am constantly lagging behind powerful, self-confident men, ...essentially hateful, deserving only mockery." Playwright and president Vaclav Havel seems, to some, an unlikely leader. Social activist and philosopher, Havel was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for his involvement in the Czech civil rights movement in 1979. Only a decade later, he was elected president. "The Art of the Impossible is a collection of Havel's most thought-provoking writings on such subjects as democracy, the phenomenon of hate, the role of the intellectual, and the state of our global civilization. Together they comprise an overall philosophy of responsible existence and ethical politics, unlike any other put forth this century, and which we sorely need.
This man's brain should have been preserved in a jar so that when science permits it could be reactivated and the world can rejoice at the existence of this brilliant mind. Excellent book. Excellent.
The Art of the Impossible: Politics as Morality in Practice : Speeches and Writings, 1990-1996 | 
