The inspiring story of how Václav Klaus brought the Czech Republic out of communism. Václav Klaus was appointed finance minister of the Czech Republic in 1990, shortly after the demise of that country's communist government. Two years later he was named prime minister, and in that capacity he has been one of the most effective spokesmen for classical liberal ideas in the world. With the publication of Renaissance: The Rebirth of Liberty in the Heart of Europe, the Cato Institute brings together 29 essays and speeches by Klaus, all of which were originally written or delivered in English.