BACK

that I was on a tragic stage, witness to futile resistance facing the raw power of Soviet troops. Late in the afternoon, I rode my Vespa out of Prague and toward the West German border. The line of cars and trucks filled with people attempting to leave stretched for miles. But I rode past them to the front of the line, showed my American passport, and was waved through. I drove all night to Nuremberg, to the Associated Press office, where the five rolls of film
I’d shot were developed and five of my pictures were purchased. I was thrilled to see them on the front page of many newspapers and, later that week, in Newsweek magazine.

Back in the States, I worked to print the best of the photographs. I loved photography. But in college I felt compelled to pursue my interest in biology; after that I completed a degree in law. I raised a family. Increasingly the history I witnessed in Prague in August 1968 seemed a distant story. The photographs, meanwhile, sat in a portfolio.

Now, because of a lunch time conversation, chance has brought the photographs out of the portfolio and into view. I am excited and tremendously

grateful for the opportunity to share these compelling images. I am especially thankful to my friend Greg Ryken for introducing me to Richard Pivnicka, the Honorary Consul General for the Czech Republic, and to Richard for putting me in touch with Jirí Barta, the owner of Pacific Digital Image in San Francisco. Jiří was in Prague in 1968, and he has brought his talent and skill to helping me put together this book. Amazingly, he found himself and his brother in two of these pictures. He also experienced the tragedy of the invasion in a very personal way; he and his childhood friend went downtown together and split in two directions: Jiří went to the National Museum and his friend went toward the radio station and was killed. I also want to thank my great friend Stuart Schwartz of The Image Flow in Mill Valley and his colleagues, Damien Andrews and Matt Schriock, for scanning my photos and working with me to perfect the prints and bring this project to fruition. In addition, I am very grateful to Steven Saum, Managing Editor of Santa Clara Magazine for his deft assistance editing the written material in this book. Finally, I want to thank my wife Carin for her enthusiasm, patience, and encouragement throughout this process.