“A riveting tale of her family’s experience in Europe during World War II [and] a well-wrought political history of the region, told with great authority. . . . More than a memoir, this is a book of facts and action, a chronicle of a war in progress from a partisan faithful to the idea of Czechoslovakian democracy.” -- Los Angeles Times Drawn from her own memory, her parents’ written reflections, and interviews with contemporaries, the former US Secretary of State and New York Times bestselling author Madeleine Albright's tale that is by turns harrowing and inspiring Before she turned twelve, Madeleine Albright’s life was shaken by some of the most cataclysmic events of the 20 th century: the Nazi invasion of her native Prague, the Battle of Britain, the attempted genocide of European Jewry, the allied victory in World War II, the rise of communism, and the onset of the Cold War.  In Prague Winter, Albright reflects on her discovery of her family’s Jewish heritage many decades after the war, on her Czech homeland’s tangled history, and on the stark moral choices faced by her parents and their generation. Often relying on eyewitness descriptions, she tells the story of how millions of ordinary citizens were ripped from familiar surroundings and forced into new roles as exile leaders and freedom fighters, resistance organizers and collaborators, victims and killers. These events of enormous complexity are shaped by concepts familiar to any growing child: fear, trust, adaptation, the search for identity, the pressure to conform, the quest for independence, and the difference between right and wrong.  Prague Winter is an exploration of the past with timeless dilemmas in mind, a journey with universal lessons that is simultaneously a deeply personal memoir and an incisive work of history. It serves as a guide to the future through the lessons of the past, as seen through the eyes of one of the international community’s most respected and fascinating figures in history. Albright and her family’s experiences provide an intensely human lens through which to view the most political and tumultuous years in modern history. Through the eyes of one of the world’s most respected diplomats, Prague Winter LP is a remarkable work of history that uncovers: Family Secrets: Decades after the war, Albright was stunned to learn of her family’s hidden Jewish heritage and that more than twenty of her relatives had perished in the Holocaust. - The Nazi Invasion of Prague: A harrowing look at life under occupation, the stark moral choices her parents were forced to make, and their family’s eventual escape from their homeland. - World War II in Europe: Experience the Battle of Britain through the eyes of a child refugee in London and witness the complex political maneuvering that shaped the fate of Central Europe. - The Dawn of the Cold War: A firsthand account of the rise of communism in Czechoslovakia and the Iron Curtain’s descent, laying the groundwork for Albright’s future as a diplomat and Secretary of State. “An extraordinary book. . . . Albright artfully presents a wrenching tale of horror and darkness, but also one in which decent and brave people again and again had their say.” - István Deák, The New Republic “ Prague Winter is not only a family story-a proud and moving one-but a brilliant and multilayered account of how Czechoslovakia was formed along the most idealistic lines in the aftermath of World War I. An altogether fascinating and inspiring read.” - Michael Korda, The Daily Beast “In the crowded field of memoirs written by former secretaries of state, Madeleine Albright’s books stand out. . . . Albright is a charming and entertaining storyteller.” - The New York Review of Books “Albright’s book is a sprightly historical narrative of this long decade, which marked, as Albright poetically puts it, the beginning of a freezing Prague Winter. Her account of the destruction of inter-war Czechoslovakia, both as a geographical entity and as an idea of democracy, first by the Nazis and then by the Communists, is balanced and vivid. . . . Albright conducts a compelling personal exploration of her family’s Jewish roots.” - The Economist “Albright’s book is a sprightly historical narrative of this long decade. . . . Her account of the destruction of inter-war Czechoslovakia, both as a geographical entity and as an idea of democracy, first by the Nazis and then by the Communists, is balanced and vivid.” - The Economist “A remarkable work of self-revelation. . . . A blend of history and memoir that reveals in rich, poignant and often heartbreaking detail a story that had been hidden from her by her own parents. . . . Prague Winter is largely a work of diplomatic and political history, but the beating heart of the book is Albright’s searing account of her intimate family saga.” - The Jewish Journal “A blend of history and memoir that reveals in rich, poignant and often heartbreaking detail a story that had bee