Budapest: Portrait of a City Between East and West [Hardcover] Sebestyen, Victor

Budapest: Portrait of a City Between East and West [Hardcover] Sebestyen, Victor

Product Overview

Format: Hardcover

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.

Details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pantheon (September 5, 2023)


• Language ‏ : ‎ English


• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages


• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593317564


• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 63


• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.6 pounds


• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.38 x 1.53 x 9.52 inches


• Best Sellers Rank: #70,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #45 in European Politics Books #59 in General Europe Travel Guides #271 in Art History (Books)


• #45 in European Politics Books

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