[.ca] Prague in Black and Gold: Scenes from the Life of a ... (ISBN 0809016095)

Wandering bit of storytelling:
What, I wonder, was the point of Prague in Black and Gold? The back cover actually refers to Peter Demetz's book as a city guide - why I have no idea, since it certainly is not even close to that style of writing. It looks suspiciously like a history text, and so I shall treat it, but problems remain. I don't know who the audience is for this book. I know very little about Prague's history, and although I know more than I did before starting it, most of what Demetz covered went right past me. This is, I suspect, because few people who don't already know something about the history of Prague will be able to pick it up here. It's as though it was written for readers who start out highly knowledgeable. But the style is all wrong for that. It doesn't feel like an advanced monograph for expert researchers, it reads like an attempt at an intelligent and demanding book for lay readers that remained intelligent, but was too demanding. There are too many skips and jumps. Between each chapter we get a gap of at least eighty years, and sometimes several centuries. This is not a general history. Within each chapter Demetz tries to tell a story about some aspect of Prague's history. These are hit and miss. At times the reader can follow along, though some background is often missing. At other times he simply steps through the anecdotes and woe to the reader who doesn't already know the tale. Part of the goal apparently was to demystify Prague. Fine, but it was never clear to me what the mystery was in the first place. So once again, who is the reader supposed to be? My suspicion is that readers who already have a good grasp of east central European history, particularly of the Czechs, will and ought to be happy with Prague in Black and Gold. Demetz seems to be bringing to life aspects of Czech history. For the rest of us, though, I would say pass on this book. It's not a true history book, and it has fallen into the common trap of erudite works that remain dangerously close to incomprehensible. The lack of structure and the shallowness of depth makes for tough and ultimately unsatisfying reading.

Pretentious history:
To write a history text which is so broad in definition but so inaccessible to the casual reader makes this a pretentious read. As a historian, there is much that is up for debate in his first three chapters - and that is not always clear. And some of his points, (eg. that the root of Slav is from the word "sklavenoi", meaning slave) has long been out of vogue among Slavic historians. Parts are fun to read, but I believe the greatness of the text is hyperbolic.

NOT an introduction to Prague:
All those people who say that you "must" read this before visiting Prague are at least a little dishonest--I'll bet that they only half-read the book or just skimmed through it and now feel empowered to tell us all how important it was to their experience. Well, don't you believe them! People will always claim to have read Proust when they haven't... Nonetheless, if you've got a good head for numbers and a lot of time on your hands, then go ahead and read this. Interesting though it is to learn about all the turmoil this tiny piece of land has been through over centuries, this is a serious history book that will not please the casual browser. That said, it is a worthy effort; way too many Americans are coming to Prague these days, and someone oughta have told them what a bloody hellhole it was long ago. But oh, what a beautiful one.

Informative in Parts, But a Bit Dense:
As with some of the other reviewers, I am glad I read this AFTER I visited Prague. It is best not read cover to cover, but use the index to read about the things you want to learn more about. Otherwise, you will be overwhelmed by personal names and places in a language most of us are unaccustomed to. Don't lie to me & tell me you will remember it all! (smile). (Unless you are an expert in Slavic languages).

A comprehensive piece on Czech people and history:
I have just returned from my first trip Prague and Ostrava. The history of the region is a bit confusing to us who are not familiar with this part of the world. This is an important part of the world, after all the genesis of the First World War is connected to the Bohemian Prince who was also a successor to the Habsburg throne. Professor Demetz provides a comprehensive background to the history of the country, the intrigues and policitical fights that went on this part of the world. He provides a lively discussion of a serious subject. Prague went through a great number of battles and the people here were well involved with many events that rocked the European politics and religion. Demetz is from Prague where he grew up and was a victim of anti-semitic tide that swept across Europe. This makes his story so human. This is not a dispassionate history book. I recommend this book to you, if are interested to know a bit more about the Czech republic and its people.