The Long Night of the Watchman: Essays by Vaclav Benda, 1977-1989

“Among those who maintained the spirit of the Czech and Slovak people in the last decades of communist oppression, none was more obstinate in his convictions, or more resolute in his conduct, than Václav Benda. He did not court publicity, was hardly known in the West, and had no glamorous ‘dissident’ profile. But he was a deep and serious thinker, a humble Christian in his private life who also carved out a role for himself as an inspiring teacher of the young. This fascinating collection of his essays sheds a unique light on the Charter 77 movement which, by refusing to accept dictatorship and upholding the rule of law, sounded the death-knell for the Czechoslovak Communist Party.”
– Sir Roger Scruton, author of innumerable works, including, from St. Augustine’s Press:  The Meaning of Conservatism, An Intelligent Person’s Guide to Modern Culture, On Hunting, Art and Imagination, Aesthetic Understanding, Politics of Culture and Other Essays,

“Most people in the West have never heard of Václav Benda. That is about to change. Benda, a believing Catholic among Vaclav Havel's dissident circle, offers a distinctly Christian humanist vision for how to live faithfully, responsibly, and communally in a time of dispossession, oppression, and powerlessness. The West is now waking up to the shocking fact that we have more in common than we thought with those who endured the yoke of Marxist materialism. How do we then live? This book of Benda's essays could not possibly have come to us at a more crucial moment.”
 – Rod Dreher, author, The Benedict Option.


 

“Václav Benda was one of the unsung heroes of the Revolution of 1989, a bear of a man who combined intellectual distinction with deep Catholic piety and personal charm. This collection of his essays should help acquaint the generation that knew not Joseph (Stalin) with what was really at stake in the Cold War, and how the victory over communism was won by those who, like Benda, chose to live in the truth, regardless of the cost.
– George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow and William E. Simon Chair
in Catholic Studies Ethics and Public Policy Center