The Art of the Impossible: Politics as Morality in Practice. This item is unavailable.The Art of the Impossible: Politics as Morality in Practice

"Václav Havel, reluctant president of the Czech Republic, has inspired the global community by setting a standard of political vision and conduct rarely matched in this century" (Toronto Star). He now gives us a book of the most profound decency and simple eloquence.

Would Canada, could Canada, ever elect a prime minister who had uttered the following?


"Everything I encounter displays to me its absurd aspect first. I feel as though I am constantly lagging behind powerful, self-confident men, ...essentially hateful,

deserving only mockery."

Playwright and president Václav Havel seems, to some, an unlikely leader. Social activist and philosopher, Havel was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for his involvement in the Czech civil rights movement in 1979. Only a decade later, he was elected president.

The Art of the Impossible is a collection of Havel's most thought-provoking writings on such subjects as democracy, the phenomenon of hate, the role of the intellectual, and the state of our global civilization. Together they comprise an overall philosophy of responsible existence and ethical politics, unlike any other put forth this century, and which we sorely need.

Václav Havel's plays include The Garden Party, The Memorandum and Temptation. He was elected President of Czechoslovakia in 1989, and President of the Czech Republic in 1993.