Prague Winter

A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948

By: Madeleine Albright

Narrated by: Madeleine Albright

Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Before Madeleine Albright turned twelve, her life was shaken by the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia - the country where she was born - the Battle of Britain, the near total destruction of European Jewry, the Allied victory in World War II, the rise of communism, and the onset of the Cold War.

Albright's experiences, and those of her family, provide a lens through which to view the most tumultuous dozen years in modern history. Drawing on her memory, her parents' written reflections, interviews with contemporaries, and newly available documents, Albright recounts a tale that is by turns harrowing and inspiring. Prague Winter is an exploration of the past with timeless dilemmas in mind and, simultaneously, a journey with universal lessons that is intensely personal.

The book takes readers from the Bohemian capital's thousand-year-old castle to the bomb shelters of London, from the desolate prison ghetto of TerezÍn to the highest councils of European and American government. Albright reflects on her discovery of her family's Jewish heritage many decades after the war, on her Czech homeland's tangled history, and on the stark moral choices faced by her parents and their generation. Often relying on eyewitness descriptions, she tells the story of how millions of ordinary citizens were ripped from familiar surroundings and forced into new roles as exiled leaders and freedom fighters, resistance organizers and collaborators, victims and killers. These events of enormous complexity are nevertheless shaped by concepts familiar to any growing child: fear, trust, adaptation, the search for identity, the pressure to conform, the quest for independence, and the difference between right and wrong.

"No one who lived through the years of 1937 to 1948," Albright writes, "was a stranger to profound sadness. Millions of innocents did not survive, and their deaths must never be forgotten. Today we lack the power to reclaim lost lives, but we have a duty to learn all that we can about what happened and why." At once a deeply personal memoir and an incisive work of history, Prague Winter serves as a guide to the future through the lessons of the past - as seen through the eyes of one of the international community's most respected and fascinating figures.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2012 Madeleine Albright (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Critic reviews

“A remarkable story of adventure and passion, tragedy and courage set against the backdrop of occupied Czechoslovakia and World War II. Albright provides fresh insights into the events that shaped her career and challenges us to think deeply about the moral dilemmas that arise in our own lives.” (Vaclav Havel)

“I was totally blown away by this book. It is a breathtaking combination of the historical and the personal. Albright confronts the brutal realities of the Holocaust and the conflicted moral choices it led to. An unforgettable tale of fascism and communism, courage and realism, families and heartache and love. (Walter Isaacson)

“A genuinely admirable book. Albright skillfully returns us to some of the darkest years of modern times. Spring eventually came to Prague, but in much of the world it is still winter. The love of democracy fills every one of these instructive and stirring pages.” (Leon Wieseltier)

I have a new respect for Madeline Albright!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Bought this book after my first visit to Prague. After my visit I became interested in all things Prague. I am so glad that I read this book. I probably would have never read it had I not gotten interested in the history of Prague. What a mistake! It was a very good book and I have read it again...one of those books that you will want to read at least twice!

Read by the author

If you could sum up Prague Winter in three words, what would they be?

Smart woman's story.

What other book might you compare Prague Winter to and why?

Any historical memoir. Madeline Albright did an amazing job writing about a historical time period, through which she lived, that now she looks back at, to tell us about how she remembers/ed it. The story doesn't "feel" like a true memoir, and isn't a historical "fact" sort of book; just a great blend of the two. I would recommend this book to any history buff!

More than a memoir.

This book goes well beyond the story of Sec’y Albright’s family during WWII. It gives an overview of Czech history, culture and government ending post WWII. A loving and insightful book.

Excellent

This book is so full of history I will listen again for a second time. Well worth it. Love that she narrates her own books.

The price of Democracy

I was fascinated how Albright weaved the story of her family into telling the history of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to the 1950's. As a child of a Czech diplomat she could watch history unfold around her and see and talk to the people involved. The book tells of her family(Jewish) who died in the prison camp of Terezin. With this background I bet Albright is a great teacher. You can feel her sense of obligation to the people who lived and died from 1937 to 1948 in her story and her drive to prevent this from happening again. I understand her drive to prevent the ethnic cleansing in the form Yugoslavia while she was Secretary of State. This is a must read book for anyone wanting to understand the values of their great grandparents and their grandparents. We should never forget the two wars (WW1 & WW2) that the world fought to bring us to what we have today.

Ms. Albright's life is fascinating

Learning more about the history of Czechoslovakia before, during and after WWII was interesting, but took second fiddle to the recollections of Madeleine Albright of that time and its impact on her. Working in service of one's country was modeled to young Madeleine throughout her life, and it is no wonder that she would then serve her adopted country, the US, as both Ambassador to the UN and Secretary of State.

Ms. Albright's narration was beautiful, especially when it came to names and places foreign to our American ears. Her inflection is good, and you could even detect humor in her voice as she told some stories.

My extended family

Excellent and eye opening. My daughter in law's mother and parents in 1969 and her father's parents in '48 fled occupied Czech. The cruel treatment that they and others endured and their struggles and fears weighs heavy on my heart.

Simply Beautiful

This is Secretary Albright's best work. Do yourself the favor of listening to this amazing work of literature.

Fascinating. Highly recommend!

My husband and I listened to this while on a month-long visit to Prague. Made our stay SO much more meaningful! Allowed us to much more fully appreciate the history and depth of the Czech experience. Madeleine Albright is an excellent writer and also narrator. I thought I knew a lot about WWII but did not know much at all about the pivotal role the Czech Republic played. This book is in no way a dry history, but comes from a very personal viewpoint. Highly recommend!

World War 11 Experience

i was rather disappointed in Madelaine's book, as I was expecting a more personal account of the experiences of her family as Jews in a hostile environment. To a small extent it was there, but the book concentrated on the politics of the war, the reasons for the decisions made by politicians for entering the war, and why the Czech Republic chose to align with Russia after hostilities ceased.


Madeleine was a small child at the outbreak of the war. Her parents had converted to Catholicism long before the war, but there was still potential danger for them if they remained in Czechoslovakia. Her father got a post as a journalist, and the family spent the war years in London. Madeleine received her early education in Britain, and she describes the officials that she met, and the political responsibilities that eventually fell on her her father.