Budapest Portrait of a City Between East and West

by Sebestyen, Victor

• ISBN13: 9780593317563
• ISBN10: 0593317564
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2023-09-05
• Publisher: Pantheon

Summary

AN ECONOMIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • A vivid and enthralling account of the historical and cultural events that defined Budapest, a unique city in the heart of Europe, on the fault line between East and West—from the critically acclaimed author of Lenin

“A compelling portrait of one of the most important cities in Europe. Full of sharp insights, elegant writing and vivid characters.” —Andrew Roberts, author of The Chief

Victor Sebestyen has written a sweeping, colorful and immersive history of the capital of Hungary, from the fifth century to the present day: a metropolis whose location in Europe has marked it as a crucial city—at times rich and prosperous, at times enduring unbearable hardship. It has stood at the center of the world-changing historical developments for hundreds of years: the Muslim invasion, The Reformation, both World Wars, fascism, the Holocaust and Communism.

Sebestyen mixes colorful details and anecdotes about the people, streets and neighborhoods of his hometown with its rich cultural legacy of literature, music, and architecture. He shows how its people have shifted culturally, politically and emotionally between East and West, through many revolutions, bloody battles, uprisings, and wars of conquest won and lost. He vividly brings to life the many rulers: the ruthless early Magyar, Hun, and Mongol chieftains, celebrated medieval kings and princes, Ottoman Turks, and the Hapsburgs, including the beloved Empress Elisabeth (“Sisi”). We also learn about colorful figures in politics, the arts and the sciences, among them Theodor Herzl, father of modern political Zionism; film pioneer Alexander Korda who held court with the director of Casablanca, Michael Curtiz, young reporter Billy Wilder, and photographer Robert Capa in the glamorous New York Café still going today; Edward Teller, inventor of the H bomb; and Countess Elisabeth Báthory, a cousin of the King of Poland, who became a serial killer, among many others.

Sebestyen’s compelling history of Budapest is a lively page-turner as well as being uniquely revelatory and authoritative account of one of the most important cities of Europe.

Author Biography

VICTOR SEBESTYEN is the author of Twelve Days, Revolution 1989, 1946 and Lenin. As a journalist, he has worked on The Times, The Daily Mail, and The London Evening Standard and written for many American publications, including The New York Times. He lives in London.

Table of Contents

Map x
Introduction 1
Prologue 6

Part One: The Magyars
1 Aquincum 17
2 The Magyars 23
3 The Khans Invade 38
4 The Raven King 42
5 The Empire Strikes Back 57
6 Budun – A Turkish Town 64
7 Division of the Spoils 72
8 Buda Regained 78

Part Two: The Habsburgs
9 The Baroque – Gloom and Glory 89
10 Language, Truth and Logic 105
11 The Bridge Builder 116
12 The Great Flood 125
13 The Ides of March 134
14 The Revolutionary War 148
15 A Revenge Tragedy 159
16 Judapest 165
17 Empress Sisi 174
18 The Dual Monarchy – Victory in Defeat 184
19 Budapest Is Born 196
20 Café Culture 206
21 The Hungarian Pogroms 215
22 Illiberal Democracy 223
23 My Country Right or Wrong 230
 
Part Three: The World at War
24 The Beginning of the End 239
25 Lenin’s Pupil 250
26 The Admiral Without a Navy 258
27 Marching in Step with Hitler 272
28 Madness Visible 281
29 The Siege of Budapest 292
30 Liberation 309
31 The Iron Curtain Descends 320
32 The House of Terror 331
33 Revolution – Again 340
34 Betrayal in Moscow 353
35 The Merriest Barracks in the Camp 358
36 The Last Rites 368

Conclusion 374
Notes 379
Bibliography 389
Acknowledgements 393
List of Illustrations 395
Index 397