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Moscow, Washington, Budapest, And the 1956 Hungarian Revolt
Cold War International History Project Series
Seastar Books
September 2006
On Sale: September 1, 2006
264 pages
ISBN: 0804756066
EAN: 9780804756068
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction | Non-Fiction Political
The 1956 Hungarian revolution, and its suppression by the
U.S.S.R., was a key event in the cold war, demonstrating
deep dissatisfaction with both the communist system and
old-fashioned Soviet imperialism. But now, fifty years
later, the simplicity of this David and Goliath story should
be revisited, according to Charles Gati's new history of
the revolt. Denying neither Hungarian heroism nor
Soviet brutality, Failed Illusions nevertheless
modifies our picture of what happened. Imre Nagy, a reform
communist who headed the revolutionary government and turned
into a genuine patriot, could not rise to the occasion by
steering a realistic course between his people's demands
and Soviet geopolitical and ideological interests. The
United States was all talk, no action, while Radio Free
Europe simultaneously backed the insurgents' unrealizable
demands and opposed Nagy. In the end, the Soviet Union
followed its imperial impulse instead of seeking a
political solution to the crisis in the spirit of
de-Stalinization. Failed Illusions is based
on extensive archival research, including the CIA's
operational files, and hundreds of interviews with
participants in Budapest, Moscow, and Washington. Personal
observations by the author, a young reporter in Budapest in
1956, bring the tragic story vividly to life.
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