Eight powerful contemporary Czech plays along with four illuminating commentaries by their authors are presented in this volume. The plays are unusual in that all share the same protagonist, the "dissident" writer, Ferdinand Vanek. In Czechoslovakia, these plays can only circulate in faded, dog-eared typescripts. These clandestine "unbooks" have become a vital force in currenc Czech literature. It is especially gratifying, therefore, to present the...