The Pre-Loved edit from Shopbop
To share your reaction on this item, open the Amazon app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.
Add Prime to get Fast, Free delivery
Amazon prime logo
Buy new:
-7% $20.49
FREE delivery Monday, January 27 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$20.49 with 7 percent savings
List Price: $22.00
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Monday, January 27 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Thursday, January 23. Order within 18 hrs 51 mins.
In Stock
$$20.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$20.49
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$8.66
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Ships directly from Amazon! PRIME eligible. Hassle free returns and customer service through Amazon. May contain some highlighting. Supplements such as access codes, CD?s etc not guaranteed. Ships directly from Amazon! PRIME eligible. Hassle free returns and customer service through Amazon. May contain some highlighting. Supplements such as access codes, CD?s etc not guaranteed. See less
FREE delivery Monday, January 27 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Friday, January 24. Order within 18 hrs 36 mins.
In Stock
$$20.49 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$20.49
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the authors

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968 Paperback – January 1, 1997

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 561 ratings

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$20.49","priceAmount":20.49,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"20","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"49","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"R68Gu9p9K%2FddG9enip1QfvKzsnZ2EXdhVlXgYzvJBT%2FJF2TF0SZCwyLYJgwhI%2BZR0qUM6twToZiwS7vLMHzeAvL85W4nte632oeiX%2FEBYXi70FGQGUV9LnN0U2EeCnxmOzDcmeyQnK0%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$8.66","priceAmount":8.66,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"66","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"R68Gu9p9K%2FddG9enip1QfvKzsnZ2EXdhzMWrLRxrzDVwGghYUSEx5dV4sFMT3jbD3lSxgExyOSx2xO%2Bt%2BEwvqoCUNOYXkLeb563wbiTTBTr5regXU9L7E7gKuFbWUfLkPZWmXRfle2K1HYTcf%2FxEUJNGMWLsZXCm%2FmrWmm5%2FHUCOeVDbRn3ah04oUCmWWeC%2B","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

Heda Margolius Kovály (1919–2010) endured both the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz and the brutality of Czechoslovakia's postwar Stalinist government. Her husband, after surviving Dachau and Auschwitz and becoming Czechoslovakia's deputy minister of foreign trade, was convicted of conspiracy in the infamous 1952 Slansky trial and then executed. This clear-eyed memoir of her life during those horrific days is resonant with lyricism, managing somehow to be heartening even as it helps us to understand the political tragedies of the twentieth century.
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Frequently bought together

This item: Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague, 1941-1968
$20.49
Get it as soon as Monday, Jan 27
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$6.99
Get it as soon as Monday, Jan 27
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$27.99
Get it as soon as Monday, Jan 27
Only 9 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
spCSRF_Treatment
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Once in a while we read a book that puts the urgencies of our time andourselves in perspective, making us confront the darker realities ofhuman nature." Anthony Lewis, New York Times

"A story of human spirit at its most indomitable ... one of theoutstanding autobiographies of the century."
San FranciscoChronicle-Examiner

"An extraordinary memoir...written with so much quiet respect for theminutiae of justice and truth that one does not know where and how tospecify Heda Kovály's splendidness as a human being ... It is impossible to read her book without the deepest admiration for her quiet, fiercedocumentation of the ordeal of the Czech people in our time."
AlfredKazin

"Under A Cruel Star is the most remarkable book for a variety ofreasons: because Kovály has such a keen street sense for individualmotivations; because her writing is so precise and beautiful: and, mostof all, because she conveys such a ferocious and visceral sense that anindividual life is just as important - and just as powerful - asgovernments, militaries, and political might."
E. J. Graff, BrandeisWomen's Studies Research Center, Columbia Journalism Review May / June2005

"Given thirty seconds to recommend a single book that might start aserious young student on the hard road to understanding the politicaltragedies of the twentieth century, I would choose this one ... All thisis recounted in an exemplary amalgam of psychological penetration andterse style ... A Google search reveals that the book is on the course inseveral colleges, but it deserves to be more famous than that."
CliveJames, Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts,W. W. Norton, New York 2007

"I used to teach it in what was for many years my favorite course, asurvey of essays and novels from Central and Eastern Europe thatincluded the writings of Milan Kundera, Václav Havel, Ivo Andric', HedaKovály, Paul Goma, and others."
Tony Judt, 'Captive Minds, Then andNow', The New York Review of Books

Review

A tragic story told with aplomb, humor and tenderness. -- Publishers Weekly

A story of the human spirit at its most indomitable ... one of the outstanding autobiographies of the century. -- San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner

Once in a rare while we read a book that puts the urgencies of our times and ourselves in perspective.... That has just happened to me. In telling her story―simply, without self-pity―[Mrs. Kovály] illuminates some general truths of human behavior. Anthony Lewis, New York Times -- Anthony Lewis, New York Times

Kovály's attention to the world’s beauty, even while in hell, is so brazen as to take my breath away. [E.J. Graff, Columbia Journalism Review -- E.J. Graff, Columbia Journalism Review

This is a book that should never have had to be written; but since it had, we are lucky that it was done so well. -- Clive James, Cultural Amnesia

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Holmes & Meier Publishers; First Thus edition (January 1, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0841913773
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0841913776
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 561 ratings

About the authors

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
561 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find the narrative poignant and insightful. They describe the book as an interesting read that makes them feel for the author. The writing quality is described as wonderful and beautiful. It provides valuable information about an era and should be required reading for students of world history. The pacing is described as calm, describing the horrors of living under Communism.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

43 customers mention "Narrative style"35 positive8 negative

Customers find the narrative poignant and insightful. They describe it as a great story of human perseverance and heart-wrenching. The book is described as an extraordinary account of a young Jewish woman living through the holocaust and Communist Russia.

"...can only be very happy that Ms. Kovaly was able to survive and overcome her ordeals and be able to write about her life...." Read more

"...It really puts daily modern life into perspective and opens your brain to how we judge each other, and to the kinds of politics that have changed so..." Read more

"...All in all, a well written and poignant account of one person's life under these most horrifying of circumstances. Definitely recommended." Read more

"...Kovaly's insightful narrative is extraordinary: It relates from a personal perspective the suffering of a captive nation, Czechoslovakia, under not..." Read more

31 customers mention "Readability"31 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and engaging. They describe it as an interesting read about a remarkable woman's triumph over tragedy. While some felt the narrative lacks continuity, overall they found the book insightful and an effective personal account of Kovaly's life.

"...And for the general reader this book is a must read. The book is a very well written account of survival under very difficult circumstances." Read more

"...This is an absolute must read...." Read more

"This book was so tragic yet a valuable read...." Read more

"...Her writing is highly lyrical, the thinking complicated and admirable considering what she lived through...." Read more

20 customers mention "Writing quality"20 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book. They find it engaging and emotional, with well-crafted descriptions that make them feel for the author. The memoir is described as an easy read for undergraduate students without bitterness and a great style.

"...And her autobiographical book is very well written with very intelligent and observant descriptions of both her thoughts and feelings and the..." Read more

"...Her writing is highly lyrical, the thinking complicated and admirable considering what she lived through...." Read more

"...All in all, a well written and poignant account of one person's life under these most horrifying of circumstances. Definitely recommended." Read more

"This crisply written, highly readable memoir reveals the tragedy of human life, collective and individual, under totalitarian forms of government...." Read more

13 customers mention "Information value"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and useful for understanding history. They say it's a good read for students of world history and a must-read for anyone interested in the past. The book provides an interesting account of events in Czechoslovakia during the Second World War and post-war Hungary.

"...This book is an excellent and invaluable historical description of post World War II and Stalinist Czechoslovakia...." Read more

"...that seem to be hidden or forgotten, this is necessary for understanding the world around you, and the past that should never be hidden or forgotten..." Read more

"...This book should be required reading for students of world history and perhaps should be read by all of us who have never been forced to have our..." Read more

"...i was blown away by her accounts of history. how she escaped Auschwitz and lived in hiding in prague and how life was flipped multiple times over...." Read more

3 customers mention "Pacing"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's pacing good. They say it calmly describes the horrors of living in Communist countries, and how hatred was spawned under Nazism and Communism.

"Very good as a personal vignette and certainly an indictment of totalitarian regimes but not scholarly enough to draw political or philosophical..." Read more

"...is about how Heda's strength prevailed and how hate was spawned under nazism and communism. Great book" Read more

"Wonderful. Calmly describes the horror of living in Communist ......" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2012
    Ms. Kovaly has written a very valuable autobiographical book. As a Jewish Czech coming of age in the 1940's she has had quite a life. She was Nazi concentration camp inmate, a refugee from the Nazis at the end of World War II, a resident of Prague, Czechoslovakia, and witness to the end of World War II and the rise of the Communist Party to power in that country. She was married to a Communist Party member who was also one of the top officials of the Czechoslovakian government and who was later purged and executed in the 1953 so called Slansky plot. And her autobiographical book is very well written with very intelligent and observant descriptions of both her thoughts and feelings and the milieu surrounding her. Ms. Kovaly describes the dependence and limited sense of the future of the Nazi concentration camp inmates, the struggles and the renewed sense of false hope of her friends and herself in postwar Prague, and the past catastrophes, false hopes, and ongoing pressures that led to the rise of communism in Czechoslovakia. Also written about is her life as an illustrator in the increasingly Stalinist country. She also describes the heart rendering problems she faced when her husband was executed.

    The reader can only be very happy that Ms. Kovaly was able to survive and overcome her ordeals and be able to write about her life. It should also be mentioned that besides a wife and a mother Ms. Kovaly was an illustrator, translator, and librarian with a very intelligent interest in architecture and the fine arts.

    This book is an excellent and invaluable historical description of post World War II and Stalinist Czechoslovakia. No student of European history student should miss this work. And for the general reader this book is a must read. The book is a very well written account of survival under very difficult circumstances.
    6 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2020
    This is an intense and eye opening memoir I read for my Women in Modern Europe course during my second year at University. I’m astonished by the resilience of this woman, and the horrors she faced both during and after World War 2. This is an absolute must read. It really puts daily modern life into perspective and opens your brain to how we judge each other, and to the kinds of politics that have changed so many lives in unimaginable ways. Please read this. As an American who feels like our education system has failed to deliver foreign stories that seem to be hidden or forgotten, this is necessary for understanding the world around you, and the past that should never be hidden or forgotten again.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2024
    This book was so tragic yet a valuable read. It shows how coming out of the atrocities of WW2 - how it was easy for people to be looking for a better path. They felt the government had let them down by falling to the Germans so easily and how the Russians had liberated them. So they turned to Communism. The interesting part to me is how others lied about how great communism was to look good to the party to get a better spot for themselves and how there were red flags but they were easily ignored. Then the borders were sealed and communication with the outside world was blocked and the propaganda against the west was fierce so people only knew what the communists were telling them. It turned into an "every man for himself" and the ugly side of human nature ruled. Heda was part of the elite communists so it's interesting to see even at the top it was scary. This book while tragic is hopeful because you see how eventually truth comes out and people realize they've been duped and they fight back. I loved the ending of this book. This is a must read to ensure this doesn't happen again.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2016
    I rather stumbled across the memoir while shopping herein. Bought it because the view of both oppressive, twisted regimes (Hitler, then Stalin) was something I had not read in the context of Czechoslovakia. The volume itself is not a well produced paperback--very little in it other than Ms. Margolius Kovaly's words, i.e no introduction, forward--nothing. Starts off right out the starting gate, and ends the same way. It would have been appropriate to have the author's biography--in fact the cover photo is not credited as to photographer or the people pictured. You are left to assume it is the author and her son.but it might have been anyone. Her writing is highly lyrical, the thinking complicated and admirable considering what she lived through. And lived through them she did; Heda Margolius Kovaly had to have been one tough cookie to survive from 1940 through 1958 or so. It is an almost unrelenting narrative of misery and human stupidity in the political sphere. Without a carefully written credo such as the Bill of Rights, a government can turn into the embodiment of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson's notorious term, "A Generation of Swine".. tt certainly did in Czechoslovakia.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Aidan
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Humbling Read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 19, 2023
    This is a stunning read. Heda brings us through over two decades in Prague, (and beyond) that features tragic events that would destroy the average person. The inner strength of Heda and her remarkable resilience shines through.
  • Peter D.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A great book that will stay with you for a long time.
    Reviewed in Canada on December 22, 2020
    Heda Margolius and her family was the victim of two of the most repugnant regimes in the 20th century – the Nazis and the communist Soviet Union. It is a story about her indomitable will to live, her fight for justice and a lifelong pain. This is a part of history of life behind the Iron curtain in the years after WWII that we have an obligation to learn about and keep alive. The reader will experience, one after the other, sadness, anger, a feeling of triumph and a longing for a happier ending.
  • Lana Phillips
    5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
    Reviewed in Australia on July 15, 2016
    Well written, personal and informative, would recommend
  • Theresa
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on January 14, 2018
    Excellent and well written book!
  • Myrna Wyatt Selkirk
    5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book
    Reviewed in Canada on June 25, 2016
    I spent a week in Prague recently and this book resonated deeply.