Translated by Dora Round Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937) was a philosophy professor who became the founder and first president of Czechoslovakia (1918-1935) and was a leading figure in world affairs between the wars. Capek, author of 'War with the Newts', and Czechoslovakia's most prominent writer during these years, interviewed Masaryk at great length and produced this volume that tells Masaryk's unique story.

Between the wars a personality cult grew around Masaryk. These three volumes constitute the first balanced critical assessment of the actual achievement of the university professor who became the first president of Czechoslovakia. In this the first volume scholars from Europe and North America offer new insights into the career and ideas of Masaryk during the three decades preceding the outbreak of World War I. They appraise his role as critic of injustice and outworn tradition, providing a most significant interpretation of his place in modern history.

Between the wars a personality cult grew around Masaryk. These three volumes constitute the first balanced critical assessment of the actual achievement of the university professor who became the first president of Czechoslovakia. In this the first volume scholars from Europe and North America offer new insights into the career and ideas of Masaryk during the three decades preceding the outbreak of World War I. They appraise his role as critic of injustice and outworn tradition, providing a most significant interpretation of his place in modern history.

A presentation of the work of the first President of Czechoslovakia who changed the course of history and influenced developments in Central Europe. The selections of his work follow his dramatic career and show him as a philosopher and a politician who inspired practical work and thinking.