This volume is one in a continuing series of books now being prepared by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. This volume is about Czechoslovakia.

General study on Czechoslovakia - covers history, physical geography, ethnic groups, social structure, religious practice, economy, economic reforms, industrial sector, agricultural sector, trade, politics, political system, government, international relations esp. With USSR, defence, administration of justice; discusses economic relations within the framework of CMEA and international cooperation in respect of the Warsaw Pact treaty. Bibliography, glossary, map, organigrams, photographs, statistical tables.

The essays in the book compare the Czech Republic and Slovakia since the breakup of Czechoslovakia in 1993. The papers deal with the causes of the divorce and discuss the political, economic and social developments in the new countries. This is the only English-language volume that presents the synoptic findings of leading Czech, Slovak, and North American scholars in the field. The authors include two former Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, eight leading scholars (four Czechs and four Slovaks), and eight knowledgeable commentators from North America. The most significant new insight is that in spite of predictions by various pundits in the Western World that Czechia would flourish after the breakup and Slovakia would languish, the opposite has happened. While the Czech Republic did well in its early years, it is now languishing while Slovakia, which had a rough start, is now doing very well. Anyone interested in the history of the Czech and Slovak Republics over the last twenty years will find gratification in reading this book.

A study of the Czech Republic, tracing the practices initiated to achieve what is a strikingly difficult task - the creation of a normal, particular "European" society and nation. It seeks both to show and to interpret what the Czechs have wanted since 1989 but especially since 1993; for, as it is argued here, the Czech Republic is a new entity. The book does not hide a certain Czechophile disposition, but it is also critical of certain aspects of Czech life. The volume hopes to provide the contours of developments in the Czech Republic, to advance and substantiate certain observations, and to provide some indication of the literature available, while refraining from unduly burdening the reader with extensive referencing and parenthetical discussions.