First published 2014
Colonel Viktor Novák stands in the Prague garrison, watching Soviet advisors inspect his regiment. The year is 1968, and Czechoslovakia's army faces an impossible choice. Officers like Novák must serve two masters: their homeland and the Warsaw Pact alliance controlled from Moscow. When orders arrive that pit national defense against socialist solidarity, military commanders find themselves caught between competing loyalties. Political elites in Prague demand one thing while Soviet overseers expect another. Novák and his fellow officers discover that their dual obligations create tensions that threaten both their careers and their convictions. As the Cold War deepens, these military professionals must decide whether they are defenders of Czechoslovakia or instruments of Soviet policy. Their struggle reveals how personal honor collides with political reality in a satellite state.
Genres: history, 20th-century, political-science, military-fiction, russia, academic
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: divided-loyalties, political-intrigue
Setting: Prague, Czechoslovakia
Period: 1948-1983
320 pages · Paperback · Princeton University Press