Overview

Drawing on analyses of the socio-cultural context of East and Central Europe, with a special focus on the Czech cultural dynamics of the Cold War and its aftermath, this book offers a study of the making and breaking of the centrally-controlled system of book production and reception. It explores the social, material and symbolic reproduction of the printed text, in both official and alternative spheres, and patterns of dissemination and reading. Building on archival research, statistical data, media analyses, and in-depth interviews with the participants of the post-1989 de-centralization and privatization of the book world, it revisits the established notions of 'censorship' and 'revolution' in order to uncover people's performances that contributed to both the reproduction and erosion of the 'old regime'.

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9789004187450

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Reviews

Jirina mejkalova's comprehensive work Cold War Books in the Other Europe and What Came After stands out in its ambition to enter into dialogue with an international public and with a readership interested specifically in Czech literature. This ambition is fully achieved. With this major work, mejkalova has made a substantial contribution to raising international knowledge of Czech communication culture and updating Bohemist methodology in the rapidly developing field of book history. She offers a wealth of information, fruitful ideas, and reasoning... In short, mejkalova's book constitutes a Czech and international academic event. Karen Gammelgaard in Scando-Slavica, 59:2, 256-257. Full review text: DOI:10.1080/00806765.2013.855370 Le livre de Jirina Smejkalova est passionnant tant son spectre est large, diversifie, tant elle relie en permanence la situation du livre, de ses lecteurs et de ses producteurs a l'ensemble de la situation sociale, avec une grande finesse, tout en nuances. Les lecteurs [...] y apprendront beaucoup. Martine Poulain, Bulletin des bibliotheques de France, Vol. 57, No. 4 (2012), pp. 84-85. [Smejkalova's] monograph is thus an interesting and thorough study, not only from the point of view of publishing, but also from the point of view of Cold War studies. Sari Autio-Sarasmo, University of Helsinki. In: Slavic Review, Vol. 71, No. 3 (Fall 2012), pp. 686-687.

Jirina Smejkalova's comprehensive work Cold War Books in the Other Europe and What Came After stands out in its ambition to enter into dialogue with an international public and with a readership interested specifically in Czech literature. This ambition is fully achieved. With this major work, Smejkalova has made a substantial contribution to raising international knowledge of Czech communication culture and updating Bohemist methodology in the rapidly developing field of book history. She offers a wealth of information, fruitful ideas, and reasoning... In short, Smejkalova's book constitutes a Czech and international academic event. Karen Gammelgaard in Scando-Slavica, 59:2, 256-257. Full review text: DOI:10.1080/00806765.2013.855370 Le livre de Jirina Smejkalova est passionnant tant son spectre est large, diversifie, tant elle relie en permanence la situation du livre, de ses lecteurs et de ses producteurs a l'ensemble de la situation sociale, avec une grande finesse, tout en nuances. Les lecteurs [...] y apprendront beaucoup. Martine Poulain, Bulletin des bibliotheques de France, Vol. 57, No. 4 (2012), pp. 84-85. [Smejkalova's] monograph is thus an interesting and thorough study, not only from the point of view of publishing, but also from the point of view of Cold War studies. Sari Autio-Sarasmo, University of Helsinki. In: Slavic Review, Vol. 71, No. 3 (Fall 2012), pp. 686-687.

Author Information

Jirina Smejkalova, CSc/Ph.D. (1991) in Sociology, Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, Prague, is Reader in Cultural Studies at the University of Lincoln, UK. She has published on cultural and gender issues in Central Europe, including Kniha [The book] (Host, 2000).

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