A History of Hungary: Millennium in Central Europe - Hardcover

Kontler, Laszlo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1403903166 ISBN 13: 9781403903167

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

Synopsis

A History of Hungary: Millennium in Central Europe provides a comprehensive yet approachable survey of Hungarian history from the prehistoric age to the present day. Politics and culture, economic, social and intellectual developments, and the wider European context are integrated in a single narrative.

László Kontler adeptly steers the reader through ancient times, the great migration of peoples, and the creation and troubles of a Christian monarchy that arose in the region wedged between the Baltic and the Balkans, and the Germanic and Russian lands. He then explores factors such as socio-economic backwardness and foreign rule which put Hungary at a disadvantage in coping with the challenges of modernity - a process marked by revolutions, wars of independence, historic compromises and territorial losses. The book includes a detailed discussion of the 'socialist' period, while a brief Epilogue assesses the achievements and the difficulties of the present process of transition to democracy.

About this title

About the Author:

LÁSZLÓ KONTLER is Head of History at The Central European University in Budapest.

From Publishers Weekly:

This impressive survey provides a comprehensive, intelligently argued and clearly written overview of the rich history of Hungary. Overshadowed by the more powerful Ottoman, Habsburg, Nazi and Soviet empires, Hungary’s story is one of foreign domination punctuated by romantic but doomed revolts that, in 1848 and 1956, made Hungary the standard-bearer of freedom in the eyes of a rapt world. Kontler, a history professor at the Central European University in Budapest, tells this story in a brisk but detailed narrative that takes readers from Hungary’s ancient origins to its present-day transition to democracy and struggle to find a place in the post-Communist European order. But he goes well beyond kings-and-battles political history to examine broader social, political and economic issues: the tension between Hungary’s economic backwardness and its cultural and political affinity to the West; the difficulties of transforming a peasant society into a modern industrial economy; and the struggle to accommodate the competing nationalist aspirations of a multi-ethnic state within a liberal political order. These are important themes not just of Hungarian but of European history as a whole, and the author’s searching discussions illuminate them in profound ways. Kontler’s thorough scholarship, thoughtful analysis and skillful storytelling will impress students, academics and history buffs alike.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1403903166
• ISBN 13: 9781403903167
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 544