Cover 7

Living in Truth

Living in Truth

22 Essays Published on the Occasion of the Award of the Erasmus Prize to Vaclav Havel

1986

Ratings1

Average rating4

15

A must-read for surviving a totalitarian regime... or, if we're lucky, avoiding one. Havel's voice is beautiful. He writes with humility and uncompromising integrity on the importance of maintaining one's principles and dignity despite oppression. He stresses the need to avoid labels like “dissident,” declaring them meaningless and easily twisted; he calls instead for living honorable goals, for speaking truth and speaking out, defining yourself in affirmative terms instead of anti-tyranny.
Every war is unpredictably different; this coming one will be no exception. History has shown that peaceful resistance can effect surprising and (relatively) long-lasting change. Let's see how it goes.

January 17, 2017Report this review