PRAISE FOR HAVEL A LIFE"Havel was one of the most important intellectual-troublemaking statesmen of his time---a nonconformist, determined to live in truth, who questioned the system, his countrymen, and himself constantly. No one is better suited than Zantovsky to describe, interpret, and analyze this moral giant. Zantovsky's biography of Havel is written with great understanding, candor, and love---and provides us with expert analysis of not only politics but also Havel's plays to boot."---MADELEINE ALBRIGHT"Vaclav Havel is one of the paramount moral and political leaders of our time, and Michael Zantovsky has produced his definitive biography. Smart and exciting, it captures his greatness. Based on a long and close relationship, access to private letters, and many interviews, this deeply personal tale is both inspiring and filled with lessons for our time."---WALTER ISAACSON"Michael Zantovsky has written an intimate and penetrating story of the man who symbolizes the end of the Cold War and the building of freedom and reconciliation in Europe. Inspirational, moral, fun-loving, theatrical, indecisive, conflicted, and ultimately tragic, Havel had been the architect of the Velvet Revolution and was Czechoslovakia's first post--Cold War president. As Havel's close friend and collaborator for nearly thirty years, Zantovsky helps us admire and understand this philosopher king whose summons, 'Power of the Powerless,' gave courage and hope to people around the globe."---WILLIAM H. LUERS, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO CZECHOSLOVAKIA, 1983--1986"Michael Zantovsky's biography of Vaclav Havel is a joy and an inspiration. Warm, wry, witty, it tells the life story of one of the most significant thinkers, writers, and politicians of our time.... Zantovsky has paid his friend the ultimate compliment of writing not a hagiography but a superbly nuanced biography that will never be equaled."---WILLIAM SHAWCROSS Read Less