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Budapest : portrait of a city between East and West / Victor Sebestyen.

by Sebestyen, Victor, 1956-

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Pantheon Books, 2023.

Budapest (Hungary) -- History.

Budapest (Hungary)

9780593317563 (hc.)

Alternate title:

Portrait of a city between East and West : Budapest

1st American ed.

418 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 379-392) and index.

"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 in the glamorous New York Cafe (a Budapest landmark to this day) with 'Casablanca' director Michael Curtiz and photographer Robert Capa; Edward Teller, inventor of the H bomb; and Countess Elisabeth Báthory, a cousin of the King of Poland, who became a serial killer. Here is a revelatory and authoritative account of one of the most important cities in Europe."

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.

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