In the historic justification of capitalism - of Reaganism, indeed - which followed the fall of the Berlin Wall, the nature of the internal opposition to the various communist regimes was forgotten, if not deliberately distorted. It is salutary, therefore, to have this collection of essays and personal recollections concerning the humane Alexander Dubcek, translated directly from the Czech and the Slovak: in the memories of friends and colleagues we get a glimpse of the ever elusive third way. Unfortunately, the fine achievement of the Irish translator in bringing these essays to us is marred by a lack of proper editing.