Located at the heart of Europe between east and west, Czechoslovakia was, in many ways, the epicenter of twentieth-century European history. This extensive guide begins with the country's formation in 1918 from the ruins of an empire. It remained a beacon of democracy until the Nazi invasion and fell under communist rule until the Czechoslovakian "Velvet Revolution" of 1989. L Maria Dowling's history of Czechoslovakia features themes of government: nationalism, democracy, and authoritarian rule and guides the reader through the particularly rich and varied experiences of Czechoslovakian power and culture in twentieth-century Europe including the burst of popular democracy during the "Prague Spring of 1968".