This authorized biography of Havel, based on unrestricted access to him, his circle, and even his enemies, is the first definitive account of one of the great moral and political leaders of our time, a vivid portrait of the tumultuous events of this century. Begun as European colonialism was dying and fascism gripped the continent, Havel's life has been shaped and determined by the large political shifts of the century: World War II, the drawing of the Iron Curtain, the Prague Spring, the fall of Communism, and the emerging democracies of the Eastern bloc. Readers will be surprised to discover many things hitherto unknown about Havel. They will taste the moments of joy, irony, farce, and misfortune through which he has lived. Above all, they will discover something that both his critics and supporters should never forget: Havel taught the world more about the powerful and the powerless, power-grabbing and power-sharing, than virtually any of his twentieth-century rivals.