As someone frequently traveling in Slovakia, I can only recommend this wonderful collection of pictures about this small, East Central European, young country; as I recognize something from my time spent there in every picture.

The "reader" - text is only 2 pages and a line to each picture - is taken on a pictorial journey through Slovakia: the breathtaking landscape of the Highland, the architecture of it's cities and small towns, the folklore of the villages, the spiritual life through the churches and the glory of the past through the numerous castles and forts.

This book is "magic": If you have not been to Slovakia before, it will certainly convince you going! If You have, it will make you want going back again and again...

Slovakia: A Photographic Odyssey is the collaborative efforts of compiler Eugen Lazistan, essayist Fedor Mikovic, English translator Anna Jureckove, and twenty-seven gifted photographers. A vivid and superbly presented survey of Slovakia's natural wonders, architecture, art, landmarks, and museum treasures, this memorable compendium of photographs is enhanced with a brief and informative account of Slovakia's culture and history. Captions and double-page maps enable the reader to easily locate and identify the physical and artistic wonders of this unique and ancient Easter European country. Ideal for the armchair traveler, Slovakia: A Photographic Odyssey is the next best thing to being there!

This beautifully illustrated, colorful, hardback book opens with the Slovak anthem ("Nad Tatrou") and closes with a "Prayer for Slovakia;" all points inbetween sing a beautiful paen to Slovakia. If you're looking for a Christmas gift for a Slovak relative, look no further. Published (separately) in both English and Slovak editions by Bolchazy-Carducci publishers, this picture/fact book provides a general overview of the country with its rich cultural traditions. Probably originally intended for juvenile and young adult readers, this book is a treasure trove for everyone, though, with its high-quality illustrations of all things Slovak. Places like Bratislava and Kosice...Slovak forefathers (including a nice mix of politicians, writers, musicians). There is a 2-page simplified map of "places of interest in Slovakia" that features places like castles, famous cathedrals and the Tatra mountains. Devin Castle gets 3-pages devoted to it (perhaps a bit excessive), followed by a brightly illustrated 2-page map of the High Tatras--"our miniature Alps." Next comes a section of "Slovak superlatives" (or little-known facts) pointed out with bullets. Facts like the biggest fish in Slovakia (the sheat-fish), the smallest mammal (the lesser shrew)...There is a colorful tribute to Janosik and his band of outlaws and then much space is devoted to depictions of various Slovak artwork--leatherwork, embroidery, wooden products...old Easter and Christmas customs are covered in delightful detail and if you've been puzzled by the values of Slovak currency, perplex-no-more because its' thorough lesson on Slovak money should take care of that once and for all. A 3-page spread which recants Slovakia's historical journey to independence is a valuable, concise recap and a good refresher for everyone. The book fittingly closes with Milan Rufus' "Prayer for Slovakia."

Olga Drobna and company do a masterful of displaying the beauty and tragedy of Slovakian histroy. The heartfelt writing and graceful illustrations entice the reader to empathize with the beleagured little country. The translation from Slavic to English only marginally disrupts the serene nature of the book.

This is not a typical yizkor (memorial) book, but a history that offers a rich description of life in rural Slovakia. The author draws not only on primary sources like vital records, but also on personal memoirs and numerous interviews with survivors in Slovakia, the US, and Israel. Painstakingly and with humor, she recreates day-to-day life from c1640-1942, introducing tinkers plying their trade, housewives carrying eggs to market, children playing in the snow. We learn about pink salt,local crafts,market days, courting...A BONUS: a complete list of all the Stropkovers as of 1942(just before the Holocaust) with detailed genealogical imformation included. Also, over 100 pictures, including rare ones of an actual deportation, taken by an enterprising Christian photographer. A good read on a subject not readily available in English!

If you are a politics student, a businessman or a journalist interested in the Czech and Slovak Republics, read this book. In under 200 pages, Robin Shepherd has successfully drawn out almost all the key themes of the last decade of post-communist transition. The book is divided into eight self-standing chapters each dealing with a different theme, but the value of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts in that it provides a coherent and comprehensive analytical framework for understanding the recent history of the two countries. Straight-forward histories of the post-revolution period too often fail to provide a broader context, thereby leaving many a journalist or analyst surprised or alarmed by subsequent events. How many predicted that Czechs and Slovaks would part ways in 1993 or that the Czech economy would sink into recession in the late 1990s for example. Shepherd, by eschewing chronology for analysis has produced a classic political textbook of the period, that is readable, rigorous and bristling with ideas.

He also doesn't pull his punches. Vaclav Klaus, Czech Prime Minister for much of the last decade is rightly lambasted for launching and then derailing free-market reforms. Shepherd argues that Klaus failed to understand the difference between "possession" which involves the mere physical control of assets and "property" which also involves enforceable legal title. By contrast, that distinction goes to the heart of much of the later writings of the Czech President, Vaclav Havel. Havel is presented not simply in the light of his anti-communist disent but as one of the most penetrating critics of post-communist society too. His 1997 speech attacking the Czech government for mishandling economic reform revealed that the President (supposedly ignorant of economics) had a better understanding of the economy than the trained economist Klaus. Havel's favourite theme of building a civil society is shown to be a crucial part of the proper functioning of free-market capitalism by providing the foundations of trust and transparency in public institutions.

Shepherd demonstrates a voracious appetite for digesting complex issues while remaining aware of their subtleties. He argues, for example, that the expulsion of 3 million Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II might have left the Czechs psychologically and morally ill-equipped to resist the subsequent propaganda of Communism. He highlights how the politics of personality --- Klaus in Prague and Meciar in Bratislava --- has stunted the development of healthy party political systems. And he warns that endemic corruption is particularly dangerous in emerging democracies because ordinary voters may be tempted to see salvation in a charismatic, strongman leader. To what extent such sentiments kept Meciar in power in Slovakia is unclear. Shepherd adds later that the Slovak premier's authoritarian style was also the consequence of his experience of repeated betrayal by former political allies. He might also have noted that crony-style-thug rule is still the norm in the more eastern parts of Europe, which has to do with more than just psychological dysfunction. Fortunateley, the vast majority of Slovaks uniting to force out Meciar in 1998 has, in the process, created a stronger appreciation of democracy.

Despite the Meciar period, the author is sympathetic to Slovak independence. He rejects the notion that the split was the result of "irrational fantasies" of extremists but more fairly as the consequence of the different speeds of economic development coupled with an unworkable communist-era federal constitution. At the same time he buries the arguments of many Slovak apologists for the wartime Nazi-puppet state: Either the war-time government was forced by Germany to deport its Jews to deathcamps, in which case Slovakia could hardly have been deemed independent or it did so willingly thereby morally damning itself.

There is one shortcoming in the book. Though Shepherd does document the failure of Czech and Slovak industry to restructure resulting in its subsequent demise, he hardly mentions what is increasingly taking its place and staving off economic collapse ---foreign direct investment. Subsidiaries of western multinational companies now account for most of both countries' exports and economic growth. It's an aspect of globalisation that may, one day, exact a high political price. This ommission does not, however, diminsh Shepherd's acheivement. There has been so much about the two countries that cries out for explanation. This book has, masterfully, provided just that.

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This book contains the most beautiful, traditional Czech stories and has delightful illustrations. I'll be reading it to my baby soon!

The book is great! Believe me.

Images Gone With Time: Photographic Reflections Of Slovak Life 1950-1963 is a fascinating and visual historical and anthropological record of a place and way of life now gone. Igor Grossman's starkly beautiful black-and-white photographs capture the essence of Slovak village life in a mountainous region of Central Europe at the moment of encounter between the old ways and the new day of European development, when centuries of tradition were about to give way to the modern age. This is a striking survey, a powerful visual tool documenting what was about to be altered forever by the technologies and ideologies of the second half of the twentieth century. An informative text by Martin Slivka places the images into a sound cultural context and enhanced Images Gone With Time as a significant and invaluable overview of a people and a way-of-life now but a bit of European history, a yesteryear culture that will never come again.

The collaborative effort of Dusan Skvarna, Julius Bartl, Viliam Cicaj, Maria Kohutova, Robert Letz, and Vladimir Seges, Slovak History: Chronology & Lexicon is a highly methodical presentation of Slovak history, ranging from primeval times to 2000 A.D., while highlighting and summarizing key historical events throughout the descending centuries. Also included is a concisely written and plainly presented lexicon of historical figures and terms key to Slovakia. Enhanced with appendices providing genealogies and leadership lists for ruling royal dynasties and republican regimes, Slovak History is a masterpiece of scholarship. Deftly translated into English by David Daniel and prepared for an American readership by English Language Editor Albert Devine, Slovak History is a tautly written reference excellent for basic research and quick lookup of facts.

Slovak Tales For Young And Old: Pavol Dobsinksy In English And Slovak is an engaging collection of tales derived from classic Slovakian literature, and imbued with tradition. Smoothly translated by Lucy Bednar into English for readers of all ages to enjoy, and featuring impressive illustrations by Martin Benka which enhance these colorful and vivacious fables and folklore, Slovak Tales For Young And Old is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to family, school, and community library Folklore, Fairytale & Mythology collections.

My Bridges of Hope is an excellent book about a girl named Elli returning from the dreadful Holocaust. Elli returns home expecting everything would be all right, but to her surprise everything has changed and she must too. The Friedmann family goes through many challenges when returning home and must also cope with the loss of family members. The family has to make many tough decisions and just as one problem is solved another comes along. They know they cannot stay in Czechoslovakia but where else would they go? They spend many years waiting and finally their chance comes to be sent to America to start a new life.
This is an excellent book and I recommend reading it. Even though the Holocaust was over Jews still had many challenges to overtake. Although we think the end of the war was the end of Jewish troubles it was not. This book gives one account of a person's life after the Holocaust.

My Bridges of Hope is very engoyable. It wasn't very hard reading, and didn't take very long to read.
I chose this book, because I wasn't sure if a young person could move on with their life after surviving the Holocaust. (I'm not sure that I wouldn't be able to.) So many people were effected by the Holocaust, and this book shows it.
After the holocaust, so much happens to Elli and her mother. Livia Bitton-Jackson does a wonderful job at describing what goes on. You can actually place yourself in the shoes of Elli, while she tries to work out not only the problems of being a teenager, but being a survivor of the Holocaust too. You see her pull through all the ups and downs of life.
I recommend this book to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book is an amazing book, about a girl and her family that struggles after the Holocaust. I suggest you read I have Lived a Thousand Years, before you read this book. In the book, I Have Lived a Thousand Years it introduces you to the characters and tells about their life before and during the holocaust. This book, My Bridges of Hope: Searching for Life and Love After Auschwitz, is amazing book that tells the story of Elli Friedmann's life after the holocaust has took place, and the many adventures along the way. I suggest that you read this book, after you have read the first one.