Paul Lendvai Book order

From aristocratic and Nazi legacies to parliamentary parties and new populisms, a renowned journalist explores the forces that have shaped Austria's politics since 1945.

The book offers a comprehensive history of Hungary, tracing its survival as a nation over a millennium despite numerous challenges. It explores the evolution of Hungarian politics, culture, and identity since the Magyars settled in the Carpathian Basin in 896. Through vivid anecdotes of key figures, it highlights the tension between progressivism and nationalism throughout history. With a new preface and chapter, it provides an authoritative and engaging narrative that blends storytelling with scholarly insight into this unique nation.

A convincing indictment of the most powerful political figure in the eastern EU ... This is gloves-off political writing at its best.' -- The Financial Times on Hungary (2012)

How has Hungary, a country once in the vanguard of political and economic reform under Communism, become a chilling example of the new threats confronting democracy in Central Europe? Lendvai offers readers an unsparing and dispassionate account, based on his intimate personal knowledge of Hungary's major political figures and its political culture

On October 23, 1956, a popular uprising against Soviet rule swept through Hungary like a force of nature, only to be mercilessly crushed by Soviet tanks twelve days later. This book presents an eyewitness account and an history of the uprising in Hungary that heralded the future liberation of Eastern Europe.

This is a comprehensive history of a legendarily proud and passionate but lonely people. Much of Europe once knew them as child-devouring cannibals and bloodthirsty Huns. But it was not long before the Hungarians became steadfast defenders of Christendom.

Paul Lendvai, born a Hungarian Jew, was arrested by the Nazis as a teenager, became a young communist activist in post-war Budapest, was arrested by the communists, again survived as one of the country's youngest political prisoners, and on his release was blacklisted as a journalist by the communist regime. After fleeing to Vienna following the 1956 Revolution, Lendvai was to become a leading journalist and commentator on eastern Europe. In this prize-winning memoir, he paints a picture of ethnic hatred, political turbulence and murderous anti-Semitism, as well as the swings between treachery and compromise which have characterized the history of 20th-century central Europe. There are descriptions of encounters with killers, torturers, onlookers and victims, traitors and heroes. In preparing the book, Lendvai had access to many previously unseen secret police files of Czechoslovakia, East Germany and Hungary.