Twelve Days: Revolution 1956. How the Hungarians Tried to Topple Their Soviet Masters

Format:	Hardback 336 pages

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Synopsis

The Hungarian Revolution in 1956 is a story of extraordinary bravery in a fight for freedom, and of ruthless cruelty in suppressing a popular dream. A small nation, its people armed with a few rifles and petrol bombs, had the will and courage to rise up against one of the world's superpowers. The determination of the Hungarians to resist the Russians astonished the West. People of all kinds, throughout the free world, became involved in the cause. For 12 days it looked, miraculously, as though the Soviets might be humbled. Then reality hit back. The Hungarians were brutally crushed. Their capital was devastated, thousands of people were killed and their country was occupied for a further three decades. The uprising was the defining moment of the Cold War: the USSR showed that it was determined to hold on to its European empire, but it would never do so without resistence. From the Prague Spring to Lech Walesa's Solidarity and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the tighter the grip of the communist bloc, the more irresistible the popular demand for freedom. In this new account Victor Sebestyen, who was brought out of Hungary as an infant, draws on fresh evidence from Moscow, Washington and Budapest, as well as interviews with participants, that brings new light on a story that will always be an inspiration to those who hate tyranny.

Book details

Published
10/08/2006

Publisher
Weidenfeld & Nicolson

ISBN
9780297847311

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Jacket review

'Masterly... Victor Sebestyen is a marvellous guide to the Hungarian Revolution... His nuanced, intelligent account... is a first class book .' LITERARY REVIEW 'superbly researched... very well written... this engrossing book is a powerful adventure story as well as an uplifting morality tale' -- Andrew Roberts EVENING STANDARD 'Sebestyen... draws on most of the public sources judiciously and narrates the tangled history with clarity.' -- Tibor Fischer DAILY TELEGRAPH 'a readable, and even exciting, blend of the scholarly with the journalistic, altogether a fitting commemmoration of the drama' -- David Pryce-Jones THE SPECTATOR 'Sebestyen has done a major good deed by commemorating this hugely important event with a clear straightforward and compelling account' -- Peter Hitchens MAIL ON SUNDAY 'fresh, readable and honest... the story of the Hungarian revolution also demands attention because of its almost disturbing relevance.' -- Anne Applebaum SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'this lucid, highly readable account of the Hungarian Revolution... eschews all cliches to get through to what really happened' -- Frank McLynn THE INDEPENDENT 'Sebestyen dispels many cliches surrounding the uprising' -- Marcus Tanner THE TABLET 'Twelve Days is a triumph both of research and dramatic reconstruction... masterly account of the 1956 uprising.' -- Richard Aldous IRISH TIMES 'Sebestyen's book should become the standard work on the uprising... a gripping read.' THE ECONOMIST 'Sebestyen is excellent at bringing to life the revolutionary moment. Personalities leap from his pages...' FINANCIAL TIMES 'a gripping, detailed reconstruction of the revolution... excellent' NEW YORK TIMES 'well documented... and vividly written.' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS 'A powerful and often harrowing book, well worth reading.' MILITARY ILLUSTRATED