The Bridge at Andau: The Compelling True Story of a Brave, Embattled People

Thousands of Hungarians were killed by Soviet forces in November 1956. Their crime? Taking back their country from foreign leaders. At that time, 200,000 more fled Hungary in the months following, knowing that the oppressive, murderous communist leaders were not going to show mercy to those who were involved. James Michener's "Bridge at Andau" tells the story of those fleeing. He was there to see it, and told what he saw. Michener's storytelling style is a kind of John Grisham mix of detail and personality. He took real lives of people struggling to survive and presented them to the horrified world. Michener researched his story in Austria and at the bridge itself. Michener published the book in 1957, while the crush of the Hungarian people continued. America refused to assist the pleas of the Hungarian revolutionaries, based on a combination of American opinion, and a real concern that WWIII might break out in the midst of the Cold War. Instead, we focused on the Suez Canal. Unfortunately, the Hungarian people suffered. Andau is an Austrian city at the Hungarian border. It was called Mosontarcsa, as part of Hungary, until 1921. It was a small village, but a key point for refugees escaping. The value of reading this today is it shows us the culture of Hungary as it was during the Soviet occupation. It shows the complex, and often compromising position average Hungarian citizens had as they were part of the communist party. Unwilling, but joining to have access to things, they lived daily through trials unlike any we have known in the USA. When, in 1956, a revolution began, many dropped their party inclinations and either fought or fled. Many died in the process. On one hand, this provides a slice of the events, as chronicled at one location. However, it also gives us a broader view of what the Hungarian people were wanting, what they were missing, and why so many were willing to die for freedom. It also shows the consequences of one country trying to fight for freedom alone. It inspires us of great heroes, and reminds us of the tensions our leaders are exposed to when it comes to bringing freedom to another country. Michener acknowledges the weaknesses of the anecdotes of each person he spoke with. How does he know they are true? He explains in a postscript how most names have been changed and how some stories could be proved, while others could not. To get an accurate, historical view of what happened in 1956, it is best to read something published later, after many more facts were available. Dozens of great books exist to meet this need. To read a significant fictionalized collection of personal stories, "Bridge at Andau" is as good as it gets. I fully recommend "Bridge at Andau" by James A. Michener. Anthony Trendl HungarianBookstore.com

I really liked The Bridge at Andau: The Compelling True Story of a Brave, Embattled People by James A Michener. This is the first book I have read by Michener and I thought it was very interesting. I prefer reading non-fiction and had not read any books about the Budapest rebellion of October 1956. This is the kind of story that you prefer was fiction, but you know that is not the case. I would agree with the subtitle that the Hungarian people were a very brave and embattled people. I had a hard time reading the chapter that dealt mainly with the torture and execution of the Hungarian people. It makes for very hard reading, but reading about it is definitely better than experiencing it. I would highly recommend The Bridge at Andau to readers who like: well written and researched non-fiction, books about Hungary, books about communism, and books about people who greatly desire freedom and are willing to fight for it.

The Author did a great job helping to understand what occurred before, during and after the uprising of the people of Hungary. The explicit details were fascinating and really kept my attention. I highly recommend this book for accurate information.

The book, written in 1957, is based on an important number of discussions with refugees who were fleeing Hungary, after the anti-communist revolution against communism was crushed by the Soviet tanks. The presentation of the events of the revolution is vivid and realistic, as long as it does is limited to facts and does not attempt to explain what happened in Hungary in 1956. Because besides the presentation of the events, the book about the Bridge at Andau sadly demonstrates the inability of a writer to understand what was really going on, even though he was living in the part of the world where the events took place. Therefore the image of Hungary in 1956 is extremely misleading. The book presents the revolution as mainly directed against the Soviet occupation. In reality it was a rising against the communist regime, which had been installed in Hungary, as a consequence of the division of Europe, agreed upon in the Yalta accords. The presentation of the Hungarian secret police, the AVO, as supporting the Russian occupation is false. The truth is that the secret police, as a repression organism of any dictatorial regime, was created by the Hungarian communist party and was subordinated to the Hungarian authorities. The leadership of the communist party was not only totally informed about the excesses of the AVO, many described in the book, but even directed the AVO to carry them out. The book incorrectly seems to attempt to put all the blame on the secret police and not on the communist regime. This is only an example of the impossibility of the author to understand what was going on in Hungary. The book however, presents the conclusions of the Hungarian revolution, not so much in proving that neither the communists nor the Soviets were willing to give up their rule of Hungary and thus were perceived by the world as an oppressive regime. The communist parties in some European countries, such as France or Italy, continued to flourish even after 1956. The main conclusion is indicated in the book in the form of the sad conclusions drawn by a Hungarian refugee, which the author presents: “Do you know why Hungarians like me are so bitter against the United States. Fr six years you fed us this propaganda. For six years the Russians trampled us in the mud. But when we rose in rebellion for the very things you told us to fight for, how many Americans stepped forth to help us? Not one? Who did join our side? Russian troops. How many American tanks helped us? Not one. This is a terrible indictment. “Bu what drove us almost to desperation was not your failure to support us with materiel. It was your failure to speak up boldly on our behalf. My nation died in silence. Could not one clear voice in America have spoken forth in late October? Mr. Bulganin spoke out about Suez, and England and France retreated. There was a ten-day pause in our revolution when one daring American voice might have made Bulganin retreat. But it never came. There was silence along the Danube and in the United Nations. Days later, when only the dead could hear, America finally spoke. It was a message of condolence.” This conclusion reverberated along all oppressed nations under communist domination and practically eliminated any other attempts in the communist world to revolt against the oppression. And the book “The Bridge in Andau” is important just for highlighting this conclusion of the Hungarian revolution which is too often forgotten.

This was an excellent book based on true stories of Hungarian refugees fleeing Hungary during the 1956 revolution.The book also covers the actual revolt and retaking by the russians. If you like to read books about true courage under unbelievable fear this is the book to read. The stories are not only heart breaking, but they also tell of people who crossed into Hungary to help bring the refugees out, risking their own lives. I recently visited Hungary on a mission trip and heard about this book, so I bought it. I would suggest that if you are ever to go to Hungary, that you read this book first so that you can understand what these people have been through, and then maybe you will have a better understanding of why they seem to be such a closed people. By the way Budapest is probably the most bueatiful place that I have ever been to. The Bridge At Andau

First, this is not a work of fiction. While Michener changed most of the names of the people he interviewed for their safety and the safety of their families, all of the events actually happened. This book offers very good insight into what happened in Budapest in the fall of 1956. Most of the population rose up against the Hungarian communist government. After a few days of freedom and planning for life after communism, the Soviets stormed the city with thousands of tanks and heavy artillery, reducing much of the capital to rubble. The revolution was crushed, and a mass exodus ensued. Michener talked to hundreds of refugees that escaped to Austria and recounts their stories in this book. He took great pains to verify the stories. While most of us of a certain generation are aware that the Soviets "invaded" Hungary (and later Czechoslovakia), I have never read so much detail on why the people revolted, who did the fighting, and that for a brief period of time, it looked like happy days for Hungary. I visited Budapest last year, and wish I had read this book prior to my trip. I will need to go back now and visit some of the areas discussed in this book. I didn't give the book 5 stars for several reasons. First, it was published within months of the events that took place, so it lacks historical perspective. Secondly, one of the last chapters is Michener's beliefs of how communism is doomed to fail. While Soviet communism and the Iron Curtain did indeed fail, communism is alive and well in China and North Korea, so he got it wrong there. Finally, realizing this was written in the 1950s, I was disappointed that he clumped homosexuals and people with intellectual disabilities into what he called "deviants" when describing the tour of person who works for the Hungarian secret police (AVO). I hope the world is more enlightened now.

I had just returned from Budapest, a beautiful city still digging out from 45 years of Communist mis-rule. The tour guide, a lovely lady in her mid-50's with a lilting accent, spoke of the Russians with disdain. She positively spat out the word "Russian." As one who had majored in political science during the 1970's and who was familiar with the 1956 revolution I had a visceral understanding of what fueled her venom. When I returned to the United States I bought this book, which was written in 1957 based on hundreds of interviews with Hungarian refugees. It eloquently explained the horror and moral bankruptcy of Communism in the context of the revolution. Through this book I understood exactly what the tour guide was saying and why she was saying it. I think this book is as relevant today as it was then. If you ever have a chance to visit this beautiful city, do it. You will not be disappointed. And read this book first. You will not be disappointed by that, either.

I gave it five stars because of course it is well researched but mostly because I feel more people need to know how awful communism was and in many ways still is. My mother had to flee with us from Hungary when WWII broke out and I know she never dared to write to any of her family left behind. To avoid any defection, people were told that if they escaped their whole family would be taken into custody. And believe me, custody is a euphemism in this case. Torture was the thumb of rule. Some parts are difficult to read because of the awful savagery that took place. In such dictatorships, like in North Korea now as well, people are cut off completely from outside news and right from early childhood indoctrinated. The government encourage spying on each other and so nobody dares to trust any body. Russian soldiers were told they had to guard the borders to prevent people from entering the country. Well it was the opposite.People tried to leave the country at enormous risks. For example, I remember our mother telling us how one Hungarian escaped by holding on to the bottom of a train.

Consegna puntualissima. Il libro parla di una periodo "nero" di storia moderna. Triste , ma impossibile disconoscerlo. Meglio non dimenticare certe crudeltà.

This book is enormously relevant to our society in the West today, where human rights won for us by our courageous forebears and by now so long taken for granted are under dire threat from the creeping menace of socialism that is rising in our midst. As sure as human nature is the template that overlays our unwitting behaviour the lessons of history once forgotten are bound to be relived unless the abysmal pitfalls as those chronicled by The Bridge at Andau are deliberately avoided. Unless we take deliberate action to stave off an otherwise inevitable outcome, life on the streets of NYC will soon be indistinguishable from the misery of that in downtown Havana.

Although this book sometimes smacks a little of anti-Communist propaganda of the fifties, it offers a fascinating insight into the fear and terror encountered by the population of Hungary throughout the period Communist rule and the lead up to the 1956 uprising. Very human stories, painfully told. Read this on a grey day and you can practically feel yourself being transported back to this time.

Lo de estado "como nuevo" no es verdad. No lo devuelvo, pero insatisfecho con la transacción.

This book is more relevant today than at any time since the nominal end of the Cold War in 1989. If anyone wants to know what socialism looks like, they don't have to buy it sight unseen, as the Washington Post suggested. They only have to read this book. The result is not pretty. The book is necessarily brutal in places. While other reviewers have complained about the emotional scarring this has produced in them, I certainly appreciate hearing the truth of the matter. This is highly recommended reading.