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Hungarian history books to read

The Hungarian Girl | February 8, 2012 | 0 Comments

From the early days of the Magyar settlement on the Carpathian Basin, to the Renaissance era of King Matthias Corvinus and Soviet-imposed communism, there is a lot to learn about Hungarian history and how Hungary came to be the country that it is today. The following is a list of just a few wonderful books that focus on different aspects of Hungarian history.

The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat (Paul Lendvai).

The Hungarians: A Thousand Years of Victory in Defeat (Paul Lendvai)

Paul Lendvai traces Hungarian politics, culture, economics, and emotions through Hungary’s vast history. Hungarians are ever pondering what being Hungarian means and where they came from. Lendvai argues that Hungarian national identity is not only about ancestry or language but also an emotional sense of belonging. Lendvai tells the fascinating story of how Hungarians, despite a string of catastrophes and their linguistic and cultural isolation, have survived as a nation-state for more than 1,000 years.

The Will to Survive: A History of Hungary (Bryan Cartledge)

Bryan Cartledge recreates a portrait of the country’s political, economic, and cultural development. Spanning eleven hundred years, his account begins with the arrival of the Magyars in the ninth century and concludes with the acceptance of Hungary into NATO and the EU. He revisits the nation’s unsuccessful struggle for independence and the massive deprivations it suffered after the First World War.

Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution (Victor Sebestyen)

Victor Sebestyen, a journalist whose own family fled Hungary, gives a gripping account of the uprising in Hungary in 1956. Tracing the events that led to the rebellion, Sebestyen tells the story of these twelve days. His narrative moves from the tumultuous streets of Budapest to the inner sanctums of the Kremlin and the White House, as well as conversations of the men and women who planned and took part in the uprising and of those who helped crush it, some actively, others through craven inaction.

A Good Comrade: Janos Kadar, Communism and Hungary (Roger Gough)

Janos Kadar, Hungary’s last communist leader from 1956 to 1988, sharply divides Hungarian opinion. Was Kadar an ambitious, ruthless party functionary or a tragic visionary? Based on official Soviet and Hungarian files which were closed to historians until recently, Roger Gough provides a profound and revealing biography of the life of Kadar.

Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America (Kati Marton).

Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America (Kati Marton)

Kati Marton, author and award-winning journalist, recounts the harrowing experiences of her Hungarian parents under Nazi, and then communist rule. She chronicles her determination to find out the truth about her family’s history, having made several trips to Budapest to examine her parents’ police files. Marton recalls the emotional toll that came with her newfound discoveries, which revealed secret affairs, betrayals by family friends, acts of torture and brutality, but a deep family love that transcended the rest.

The Raven King: Matthias Corvinus and the Fate of His Lost Library (Marcus Tanner)

Known as the Raven King, Matthias Corvinus was a monarch who ruled Hungary from 1458 to 1490. A great warrior, he tried to stop the advance of the Ottomans and he sought to unite Bohemia and the hereditary lands of the Habsburgs with Hungary in order to create a first “Danube Monarchy”. But Corvinus also held a deep appreciation for literature, and amassed one of the greatest libraries in all of Europe. Marcus Tanner uncovers the remarkable story of a life and library almost lost to history.

Ten Years in Transylvania: Traditions of Hungarian Folk Culture (Tiz esztendo Erdelyben)

A celebration of traditional Hungarian folk culture in Transylvania. This is a collection of over 140 stunning color photographs that reveal the still powerful vestiges of an ancient rich culture that has changed little over time despite the influence of westernization. The images focus on integral parts of village existence and the culture that guards and preserves them. Each picture is transformed by the photographer’s anecdotes from over a decade in the region.