The greatest strength of The Last Days of Budapest is its wealth of nuanced human details… With this complicated portrait of an often-overlooked chapter of the Holocaust, Mr. LeBor achieves something like the best of Budapest’s public memorials: He offers us an opportunity to reflect.”—Jonathan Eig, Wall Street Journal
“Excellent….a revolving cast of Zionist secret agents, Polish refugees and American diplomats populate Mr LeBor’s account….LeBor’s history is valuable not only for its thoroughness, but also its timeliness. His book is a reminder of how quickly a liberal, sophisticated society can be overrun by baser, crueler forces—and that, once established, authoritarianism can be hard to shift.”—Economist
“Fascinating...LeBor’s dark tale does offer moments of consolation… We should be thankful that his book fills the gaps.”—Washington Monthly
“Today the world seems poised on the edge of another deep moral crisis. Despite appearances, Budapest is not exceptional and its experiences cannot be safely shoehorned into the past. This book is a parable about what happens when a city learns to hate.”
—Times (London)"Soldiers, scoundrels, saboteurs, femmes fatales, politicians, humanitarians and children all have a different story. What results is a pointillist painting: tiny dots of experience drawn together into a great canvas of war."
—Sunday Times (UK)
“LeBor switches between an Olympian view of European geopolitics, trawling diplomatic archives and political memoirs and focusing on individuals - Hungarian aristocrats, Zionists and nightclub singers - to show how history felt on the ground"—The Spectator (UK)
“Brilliant ... LeBor creates a compelling story of one of the least remembered episodes of recent European history.”—Irish Times
“Filled with tales of grand heroism and terrible savagery, this immaculately researched and engagingly written book offers a grim and shocking look at Hungarian history.”
—Arlington Magazine“Powerful.”—Daily Mail (UK)
“An immaculately researched book, written in a fluent and engaging style and an important addition to the library of Second World War histories.”—Aspects of History (UK)
“An important reminder of Europe's history ... A tale of exceptional people who will haunt and inspire your thoughts.”—Crime Time (UK)
“A chilling and magisterial tale of both the victims and the villains.”—Times of Israel
“[An] important history.”—Kirkus
“The Last Days of Budapest is a masterpiece. Immaculately researched, it is packed with larger-than-life characters and revelations about the unknown espionage history of the Second World War. Adam LeBor’s vivid, taut prose brings the story of the ‘Casablanca of central Europe’ alive in glorious technicolor. From the naïve optimism of the late 1930s to the depths of depravity and bloodshed during the siege in winter 1944, LeBor takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. This is history as it should be written: utterly engrossing.”
—Malcolm Brabant, coauthor of the New York Times–bestselling The Daughter of Auschwitz
“The Last Days of Budapest is not only an enthralling tale of wartime espionage and spycraft. It is a beautifully rendered portrait of heroism, tragedy, betrayal, and violence in the final hours of a grand city stuck between Hitler and Stalin. This superb account is not to be missed—and will haunt you.”—David McCloskey, former CIA analyst and author of The Seventh Floor
“A staggering achievement. The Last Days of Budapest is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of European espionage, offering readers a riveting journey through Budapest’s turbulent past. This meticulously researched book delves into a complex web of astonishing intelligence operations, revealing how Budapest served as a crossroads for spies from East and West.”—Charles Cumming, author of the Box 88 spy fiction series
“This is an extraordinary book—an enthralling narrative that is full of extraordinary characters, both heroes and villains, and packed with the insights and subtle judgements that only someone with the author’s knowledge of, and love for, the city can provide. What happened in wartime Budapest is virtually unknown outside Hungary. Now, thanks to LeBor, we have the story laid out in grim and absorbing detail, told with all the power and passion that a writer of his class can muster.”—Patrick Bishop, author of Paris ’44
“From the first to the final page, The Last Days of Budapest is difficult to put down. Using sources which offer chilling firsthand accounts and personal insight, LeBor expertly narrates one of the darkest periods in Hungary’s history. This is an important and overdue book, and a must-read in the field of Second World War history.”—Sarah-Louise Miller, author of Women in Allied Naval Intelligence in the Second World War
“A terrific account of Budapest in the middle of the twentieth century, culminating in the collapse of all civilized values as the Nazis retreat in 1944, and the Russian army advances. Part thriller, part astonishing personal history, this is a must-read for anyone wanting to know more about Hungary’s grim role in the Holocaust. The stories LeBor tells will remain with you.”—Nicholas Best, author of Five Days That Shocked the World
“The Last Days of Budapest is both beautifully written and revelatory, with the kind of quirky detail that confirms LeBor’s love and fascination for his subject country. Prewar Budapest comes alive as a nest of mischief and self-delusion, home for a beguiling cast of spies, adventurers, aristocratic lovelies, journalists, smugglers, thieves, and fellow travelers. . . . LeBor offers an unblinking account of the last spasms of a ruined city. Deeply shocking. And long overdue.”—Graham Hurley, author of Dead Ground
“A fascinating story of aristocratic spies, diplomats, and clandestine operations—and one of the finest histories of Budapest in the twentieth century.”—Helen Fry, author of Women in Intelligence
