Abstract
The book provides insight into the lives of two extraordinary public intellectuals and personalities of the Czech and Slovak biology and philosophy. Zdeněk Neubauer (1942-2016) and Ladislav Kováč (*1932) began their carriers as outstanding biologists but during the normalization period (after 1968) were forced to survive in semi-official structures, without the possibility to work and teach.
However, they did not give up, and in 1990 returned with full force back to the public and academic life. The core of this book consists of letters Neubauer and Kováč exchanged in 1975-1990.
The letters reflect their spiritual struggles, doubts and disputes. The letters are supplemented by a selection of articles written after 1990.
To enable a better understanding of the historical context, the editors included memories, underground articles, biographies and literary references.