My Prague crossroads

A memoir from the renowned journalist and writer, capturing the great story of one life in a city both loved and hated: Prague.

A childhood in the post-war years and the 1950s, followed by adolescence, the hope and excitement of the 1960s, August 1968, and the long years that followed. Then come the subsequent decades of life – work, people, friendships, encounters, joys, and disappointments.

In his recollections, Petr Feldstein doesn't narrate grand history. He tells the great story of an ordinary life. Politics, which profoundly marked his generation, remains mostly in the background. This allows everyday life to come to the forefront: Prague, its streets and hidden corners, the people passing through, and the small moments that might seem insignificant – yet are the ones that linger longest in the memory.

It is a personal portrait of a city and an era in which so much happened, without one being able to fully comprehend it at the time.

Because all that glitters is not gold. And sometimes, what doesn't glitter at all is pure gold.

The journalist, columnist and writer PhDr. Petr Feldstein (*8/12/1943) graduated from the Faculty of Journalism at Charles University in 1966. Between 1969 and 1989, he was politically persecuted for his previous journalistic and publishing activities, forcing him to publish under a different name during that time.

From March 1990, he worked at Czech Television as a screenwriter and script editor for documentaries, predominantly with a sports theme. He has focused more intensively on writing books since 2011. To date, he has published 25 of them, including the biographical story of footballer Josef Masopust, *Fotbal jménem Masopust* (Football Named Masopust) (2003, 2012). For the Práh publishing house, he wrote *A život šel dál* (And Life Went On) (2012), the story of jockey and trainer František Vítek, *Život plný koní* (A Life Full of Horses) (2013), *Utečenci* (Refugees) (2013), a book about Czech javelin throwers *Zlaté hroty* (Golden Spikes) (2016), and the children's books *Fotbalovník* (Football Storybook) (2023), *Hokejovník* (Hockey Storybook) (2024), and *Tenisovník* (Tennis Storybook) (2026).

He has received numerous awards for his work, such as the Jiří Kössl Prize (2011) from the Czech Olympic Academy and the Ota Pavel Prize (2013) from the Czech Olympic Committee.