The spirit of Hungary

Fülszöveg

Surprisingly, though the events of Hungárián history have been recorded voluminously in English, no previous attempt has been made to illuminate the "spirit" of Hungary. History books may be mines of knowledge, but bringing out the soul of a people requires deeper investigation. This book aims to fill that gap by teliing in English theas yet untold story of Hungary. In a departure from the conventional approach, this story is told not by merely recounting events but by narrating the lives and deeds of famous leaders who helped shape Hungary's destiny in times of glory and in times of despair. Among them are men and women who made their mark on Hungary - for better or worse - and alsó people who made their mark on the world. Somé of the stories are complemented by related excerpts from celebrated Hungárián novels and include interesting episodes told ín English for the first time. The basic purpose of the book is not so much to offer a complete history as to present the highlights of... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Surprisingly, though the events of Hungárián history have been recorded voluminously in English, no previous attempt has been made to illuminate the "spirit" of Hungary. History books may be mines of knowledge, but bringing out the soul of a people requires deeper investigation. This book aims to fill that gap by teliing in English theas yet untold story of Hungary. In a departure from the conventional approach, this story is told not by merely recounting events but by narrating the lives and deeds of famous leaders who helped shape Hungary's destiny in times of glory and in times of despair. Among them are men and women who made their mark on Hungary - for better or worse - and alsó people who made their mark on the world. Somé of the stories are complemented by related excerpts from celebrated Hungárián novels and include interesting episodes told ín English for the first time. The basic purpose of the book is not so much to offer a complete history as to present the highlights of more than a millennium through biographical close-ups. Because the military and political exploits of a nation show only part of its charácter, "The Spirit of Hungary" seeks to reveal those qualities that are reflected in the art and music of its people. Indeed, it is in the domain of music that the richest manifestation of Hungárián genius can be found, as witnessed by the works of Liszt, Kodály and Bartók. Somé of the greatest conductors of our time - Ormándy, Doráti, Reiner, Ferencsik, Dohnányi and Sir Solti - were born in Hungary. Hungárián contributions to science alsó go well beyond what might be expected of a small country. All of these subjects are presented in a "cultural panorama" under various headings, including Hungárián literature, although the peculiar flavor of the Magyar language cannot be conveyed through translation. The hundreds of pictures printed on these pages, however, speak a universal language and so do the various maps that dramatically illustrate the territorial changes caused by the dismemberment of the Hungárián Kingdom following the two World Wars. For the first time in Hungary's history the Magyars have become "a nation without boundaries," with more than one third of them living outside the borders of their mother country. This political phenomenon is examined here from a historical perspective. Vissza