Malé dějiny československé (1867-1939) – Kárník Zdeněk (2007)

The book addresses one of the greatest themes in Czech and Slovak history. It first captures the successful entry of the Czechs among modern nations, while simultaneously tracking the different fates of the Slovaks in the second part of the Habsburg monarchy, and then analyzes how both nations arrived at the program for establishing an independent Czechoslovak state as a necessity. Extraordinary attention is given to the tumultuous period of national upheavals, wars after the war, and the formation and 'building of the state.' The author evaluates the quality and specifics of the democratic system of Czechoslovakia with both recognition and criticism. It examines the qualities of the lifestyle of the inhabitants on the brink of the Great Depression, depicting its social and national consequences, which culminate in a political crisis. The final sections are dedicated to preparations for defense against the Hitlerian threat, the development of the Second Republic, and the autonomization of Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus. A sad epilogue depicts the end of the republic in the form of the occupation of the Czech lands and the establishment of the Slovak state.