Czech’em Out Book Club meets on the third Monday of each month with NCSML volunteer Steve Pederson in the Skala Bartizal Library following the reading of each months selected book. You can purchase this month’s book from our museum store.
About this months book: The Last Palace
Written by Norman Eisen, former US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, this sweeping yet intimate narrative is about the last hundred years of turbulent European history, as seen through one of Mitteleuropa’s greatest houses—and the lives of its occupants. Follow the tale of four people, Otto Petchek, Rudolf Toussaint, Laurence Steinhardt and Shirley Temple Black. Each had an eye opening experience from a time of turbulence and fear that was felt by those of all classes. Eisen writes to show how even those who held no power or privilege moved through a history we only hear about.
About the Author:
Norman Eisen was born in 1960 in Los Angeles, California . His parents immigrated to the US and resided in California. They owned a hamburger stand, where Eisen would often work during his early years. In 1985, he received his B.A. from Brown University and in 1991 his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School; both degrees were received with honors. He served as the ethics czar for President Barack Obama and then as the ambassador to the Czech Republic. He was a special counsel to the House of Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2020. He later co-founded the States United Democracy Center in 2021. He still resides in Washington D.C. to this day with his family continuing his work concerning democracy.