Overview
This book offers a comprehensive history of the Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping Company (C. O. S.) from its beginning in the late 1940s until the fall of communism. Owned by the Czechoslovak state, C. O. S.`s activities were shaped by Soviet standards. This unique study is structured according to the different phases of the Cold War and highlights the political aspects that determined C. O. S.`s fate. Lenka Kratka focuses on two contradictory economic dimensions that C. O. S. had to engage with. Being part of the planned economy of a socialist state, it also dealt with companies in the capitalist West. Another paradoxical aspect of C. O. S. emerges from the memories of former Czechoslovak seamen, who experienced relative freedom when being aboard and strict communist regime control while at home with their families. Kratka`s book offers fascinating insights into a neglected topic, using thus far untapped sources and building on primary research in oral history and personal memory.
Full Product Details
Author: Lenka Kratka ,
Andreas Umland
Publisher: ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild u Christian Schon
Imprint: ibidem-Verlag, Jessica Haunschild u Christian Schon
Weight: 0.410kg
ISBN: 9783838206660
ISBN 10: 3838206665
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 01 August 2015
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Lenka Kratka offers a remarkable, comprehensive piece of work on the history of the Czechoslovak Ocean Shipping (C.O.S.) company. Her book is really unique since the history of the C.O.S. and of Czechoslovak maritime business in general are among the research topics least reflected in Czech historiography. She writes with talent and erudition. -- Prof. Miroslav Vank, head of the Oral History Centre, Czech Academy of Science Lenka Kratka's book opens the Iron Curtain to explore the reality of Czechoslovakia's Ocean Shipping. Seamen have always been linked to legends and stereotypes. This book enables the reader to understand what is truth and what is just nice fiction. A particularly interesting and fascinating part in the book is devoted to life-stories of seafarers. It is highly recommended to all travellers and dreamers but at the same time has an incredible value for academic researchers in history. -- Kristine Ante, University of Latvia, Faculty of History and Philosophy
Author Information
Lenka Krátká is a researcher at the Centre of Oral History at the Czech Academy of Sciences. She is part of the funded project group Czech Society during the Normalization and Transformation Period: Biographical Narratives. She lectures at the Oral and Contemporary History Department of the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University in Prague.
