Prague: A Cultural and Literary History

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Prague: A Cultural and Literary History

As far as a history book goes this one is your fairly typical, textbook like work. It's informative, covers a lot of ground quickly, but deep enough to give you more than some pop history or a travel guide. This was probably the biggest problem with the book for me. That sentence would be more accurately rendered as, I was the biggest problem for the book.

I'm going to Prague soon (hopefully) and am trying to get as much history of it as I can. I had a basic understanding of the history of Rome and London before traveling there. I didn't know much of the history of Barcelona. My trips to the former two cities were made so much richer by having a deeper understanding of their history. I made the mistake of studying the cultural history of Prague before studying the more general history. I felt, at times, that the author assumed I knew more than I did - which, was my problem more than the author's.

My deficiencies aside, the book was fascinating and if, as is a big strain of this book's thesis, that the arts truly preceded the revolution, then perhaps I have embraced learning about Prague in the way it ought to be done. I have another three history books on Prague (plus a number of Kafka novels) to read before in the next two months. Maybe then I'll have a richer understanding of this book.