Zooming in on a group of Hungarian activists to shed light on the world-changing events just before and after the collapse of the USSR, The Picnic captures the wild dreams and disillusionment of 1989 with extraordinary vividness.
Winner of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing 2024
A dramatic and intensely moving reconstruction of the greatest border breach in Cold War history and its tumultuous aftermath. In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists did the unthinkable: they entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain - and held a picnic.
Word had spread of what was going to happen. On wisps of rumour, thousands of East German 'holiday-makers' had made their way to the border between Hungary and Austria, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents.
The stage was set for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: that day hundreds would cross from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Soviet Union - the so-called end of history - all would flow from those dramatic hours.
Drawing on dozens of original interviews with those involved - activists and border guards, escapees and secret police, as well as the last Communist prime minister of Hungary - Matthew Longo reconstructs this world-shaping event and its tumultuous aftermath. Freedom had been won but parents had been abandoned and families divided. Love affairs faltered and new lives had to be built from scratch.
The Picnic is the story of a moment when the tide of history turned. It shows how freedom can be both dream and disillusionment, and how all we take for granted can vanish in an instant.
Publisher: Vintage Publishing
ISBN: 9781529920987
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 227 g
Dimensions: 198 x 131 x 20 mm
Exhilarating . . . skilfully dramatises the extraordinary chain of events at a summer party in Hungary that led to the end of Soviet power [and] became a catalyst for the dramatic peaceful revolutions that reunited the continent . . . gripping - Tim Adams, Observer
Evoking the dramatic events in vivid colour . . . providing an insight into how deeply this history still matters today . . . fascinating - Katja Hoyer, Telegraph
Revelatory . . . Longo's engrossing and dramatic book adds a new, captivating chapter to the history of the Cold War - William Boyd, New Statesman
This little gem of a book tells the story of . . . a key Cold War moment . . . Longo’s vivid narrative captures the tension of the moment . . . an intensely moving story that explores the nature of freedom - Victor Sebestyen, Sunday Times
Gripping . . . refreshingly fast-paced, effortlessly moving the reader from one place and moment to another . . . should be required reading - History Today
Beautifully written . . . The Picnic reads like a thriller - Peter Frankopan, Chair of the Judges of the Orwell Prize for Political Writing
Brisk and engaging . . . It’s an uplifting tale, but Longo takes care not to oversentimentalise it - Houman Barekat, Guardian
Captivating . . . Longo recounts the drama in a vivid, fast-paced narrative [which] never lacks verve - The New York Times
Elegantly crafted . . . He tells a gripping tale . . . relating to both timeless questions of struggle and agency, and topics in the headlines today - Boston Globe
A great story . . . this is history told from the point of view of those who make it - Ben Rogers, Times Literary Supplement
Please sign in to write a review
Would you like to proceed to the App store to download the Waterstones App?
