The Czechoslovak Review/Volume 3/Independent Bohemia

Independent Bohemia. By Vladimir Nosek, J. M. Dent & Sons, London.—A great many articles and pamphlets have been written about the Czechoslovak people during the war, but only two books on that subject have been published so far. One is Dr. Edward Beneš, the present minister of foreign affairs of the Czechoslovak Republic, and the second is this book by Vladimir Nosek, secretary of the Czechoslovak Legation in London.

The new publication of 190 pages gives a very full account of the part played by the Czechoslovaks in the great war. The chapter discussing the Czech political parties before and during the war is a feature that was neglected in other accounts of the Czechoslovak cause, and the incorporation of numerous documents illustrating the revolutionary movement is particularly valuable. The story is brought down to the break-up of the Austrian empire and the day of liberation.

One criticism which suggests itself to readers on this side of the Atlantic is the omission of all reference to the work done by the Czechoslovaks in America. In his chapter on "The Military and Political Action of the Czechoslovaks Abroad" Mr. Nosek starts out to say: "The most important part was taken, however, by the Czechoslovak colonies in Bussia and America". And after telling what was done in Bussia he forgets to go back to America.

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