Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central Eastern Europe
The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central Eastern Europe: Citizens Against the State in Central Eastern Europe | Vaclav Havel, John Keane
6 posts | 2 read | 8 to read
Designed as an introduction to emergency management, this book includes pieces on: social, political, and fiscal aspects of risk management; land-use planning and building code enforcement regulations; insurance issues; emergency management systems; and managing natural and manmade disasters.
LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
Lindy
post image

I talk about 6 books I‘ve read recently plus three live theatre events in my latest video:
Recent Reads March 14: The Power of the Powerless; pests, ghosts, migrants, shepherdesses & a magpie
https://youtu.be/ttyev5abdGA

review
Lindy
post image
Pickpick

A booktuber‘s review of Celeste Ng‘s Our Missing Hearts, a book which shows the power of art used as protest, led me to read Czech playwright & statesman Vàclav Havel‘s classic essay (written in 1978). It took me two weeks—I find philosophy slow-going—but I loved it. He wrote that living within the truth would cause the Soviet post-totalitarian system—which was founded on lies—to crumble. And it did. Havel is critical of western democracy too.

Lindy The Poptimist talks about Celeste Ng‘s Our Missing Hearts and The Power of the Powerless https://youtu.be/KzrIzemcau4 13mo
25 likes1 comment
quote
Lindy
post image

You do not become a “dissident” just because you decide one day to take up this most unusual career. You are thrown into it by your personal sense of responsibility, combined with a complex set of external circumstances. You are cast out of the existing structures and placed in a position of conflict with them. It begins as an attempt to do your work well, and ends with being branded an enemy of the people.

24 likes2 stack adds
blurb
Dogearedcopy
post image

Currently on top of the #TBR stax is a collection of essays on political totalitarianism, written by Eastern Bloc dissenters in the mid-1980s. On the left, library loans; and on the right, selects from my own shelves for January reading. Not pictured: audiobooks I've got going (2); eBooks for work (2); and #bookmail (2 more books to be delivered before the end of the month.) I'm nothing if I'm not a reading optimist! 😄

LitHousewife What a stack!!! 7y
40 likes1 stack add1 comment
blurb
Dogearedcopy
post image

Timothy Snyder, a Yale professor, wrote a "20-point guide to defending democracy under a Trump presidency" (link below in comments.) Under "6. Be kind to our language"", he recommends 6 books, of which 'The Power of the Powerless" is the first one listed. I decided to create a "Social Justice League Library" of politically relevant titles; and added this title today. Hopefully I'll be able to start this week-end! N.b. Ignore the litsy description!

Hooked_on_books Great post--thank you for this link! 7y
merelybookish That list is very powerful and quite sobering. 7y
See All 7 Comments
Alisnazzy I lived in Prague while Vaclav Havel was president. I NEED to read his stuff. He was an amazing social justice leader. 7y
Kimzey Thanks for linking the article. I just read it and emailed it to friends. 👍🏼 7y
youngreadrshelf Thank you for posting that. 7y
[DELETED] 3323341091 thanks for the article. Havel and Milosz are phenomenal. 7y
41 likes3 stack adds7 comments