Even as Milan Kundera made his 1967 debut as a novelist with The Joke, he was already establishing himself as one of Czechoslovakia's most persuasive cultural and political figures. This collection of his brilliant early essays holds a mirror to recent European history, as he makes the case that the "small nations" of Europe need to be defended against Russian military pressure.

"Lovely…. These essays have fresh resonance as Ukraine remains under siege by Russia…. Kundera is characteristically incisive."—Kirkus Reviews