33 Hungarian Histories

Understand the Hungarian Mentality through 33 Captivating Stories of Inherently Magyar Personalities

Whether you’re in search of your Hungarian roots, are living in or travelling to Hungary or you’re just curious about the history of this tiny but ever-proud nation — this book is for you. 
You don’t have to pick your way through long and boring history books. Each of these stories is packed with interesting facts you probably didn’t know before, peculiarities that’ll make you chuckle and an irresistible sense of humour that’ll stick with you long after you’ve read the last page.

Are Hungarians really descendants of Attila and the Huns after all?

Who was Vörösmarty, who received an entire square with an oversized statue on top in the very centre of the city?

Why is Ferenc Puskás still loved as “everybody’s little brother” today

Who was the “architect” of Trianon, the “national trauma” that lasts until today?

How exactly was this tiny nation involved in the discovery of something as vital as Vitamin C, as ubiquitous as the biro and something so horrendously destructive as the atomic bomb?

What makes the Hungarian people tick? Where is their strong pride rooted? How can this pride go hand in hand with a deep sense of loneliness, isolation and inferiority?


This book has the answers to all of these questions (any many more). It spans across centuries of Hungarian history from the dark Medieval Ages to the Atomic Era. And it provides invaluable and highly entertaining insights into the complexes, virtues and flaws of the modern Magyar existence. 
This book is for everyone who is interested in Hungarian History and wants to understand the Hungarian mentality and identity — with all its flaws and virtues.


WHOSE STORIES ARE TOLD 
In Search of Roots

Attila the Hun, Our Hun

Chief Árpád, The Founding Father

Sándor Kőrösi-Csoma, Seeking Hungarian roots, founding Tibetology

Ármin Vámbéry, The Dervish in Disguise


Nation Builders

Mátyás, The King in Disguise

István Széchenyi, The Greatest of the Magyars

Albert Apponyi, The Architect of Trianon

Mihály Károlyi, The Red Count

Anna Kéthly, A Friend of Social Justice, a Thorn in the Side of Politicians

László Rajk, The Man who was Buried Three Times


Voices

Mihály Vörösmarty, The Voice of Despair and Hope

Franz Liszt, A Lover of Music and Women

Tivadar Csontváry, The Painter of Loneliness

Molnár Ferenc, The Bohemian Hungarian Who Conquered Broadway

Robert Capa, A Pacifist and Eye-witness to Five Wars

István Örkény, Chronicler of Absurdity

Zoltán Kodály, The Music Educator of a Nation


Myth-makers

Sisi, Queen of the Hungarians

Tivadar Herzl, Architect of the Jewish Nation

Blaha Lujza, The Nation’s Nightingale

Béla Lugosi, The Resurrection of Count Dracula

Karádi Katalin, Legendary Sex Symbol

Ferenc Puskás, Everybody’s Little Brother


Vagabonds

Móric Benyovszky, The Hungarian Made King of Madagascar

Rózsa Sándor, The King of the Betyárs

Ágoston Haraszty, The Father of California Wine

Ignaz Trebitsch, The Talented Mr. Trebitsch

László Almássy, The Hungarian Patient


Unbridled Geniuses

Arthur Koestler, A Man of Causes

László Bíró, The Man Who Gave His Name to a Pen

Albert Szent-györgyi, The Man Behind Vitamin C

Leo Szilárd, Doctor A-bomb

Pál Erdős, The Vagabond of Mathematics