This collection of author Josef Skvorecky"s essays, reviews and interviews includes deeply personal stories about the people and events that have shaped his beliefs and his writing. Included are his views on the nature of art, politics, freedom, writers and film-makers. Josef Skvorecky has been the recipient of the 1980 Neustadt International Prize for Literature and the 1984 Governor General"s Award for his novel, "The Engineer of Human Souls". He has also written a series of detective stories based on the character Lieutenant Boruvka.