“Budapest: Portrait of a City Between East and West” by Victor Sebestyen (2022)

Nonfiction: History

 

Arguably Europe’s most beautiful city, Budapest occupies a strategic location between many cultures that has seen them ruled by just about every empire under the sun. Sebestyen presents his history of the city as a millennium-long struggle of Hungarians finding their own identity. Until recently, Buda and Pest were two different cities serving vastly different purposes, and the author highlights why that has been and how they were finally able to unite. Throughout the history there are plenty of extraordinary people and a culture that somehow persists despite all the incursion from their conquering neighbors. It brings an added richness to a city that is already such a rich and rewarding experience. 

 

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