Finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in HistoryWritten from a strikingly fresh perspective; this new account of the Boston Tea Party and the origins of the American Revolution shows how a lethal blend of politics; personalities; and economics led to a war that few people welcomed but nobody could prevent. “A great Empire; like a great Cake; is most easily diminished at the edges;†observed Benjamin Franklin; shortly before the American Revolution. In An Empire on the Edge; British author Nick Bunker delivers a powerful and propulsive narrative of the road to war. At the heart of the book lies the Boston Tea Party; when the British stumbled into an unforeseen crisis that exposed deep flaws in an imperial system sprawling from the Mississippi to Bengal. Shedding new light on the Tea Party’s origins and on the roles of such familiar characters as Benjamin Franklin; John Hancock; Thomas Hutchinson; and the British ministers Lord North and Lord Dartmouth; Bunker depicts the last three years of deepening anger on both sides of the Atlantic; culminating in the irreversible descent into revolution.
#334476 in Books Sebestyen; Victor 2007-11-06 2007-11-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .82 x 5.19l; .77 #File Name: 030727795X384 pages
Review
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful. A VERY COMPELLING BOOKBy J. lorenzoI Think this Book is very well written; I liked how it follows a logical order and tells about the events in a clear way giving all the background necessary to understand the development of the revolution and it's aftermath. I Think the Author makes it more interesting in the way he tells the story in a simple and logical way.The Revolution itself it's a great history wich has everything including Heroes (The revolutionaries );lots of Action; Treachery; espionage;Villains (Mr. Andropov ;Rakosi;Kadar );Superpowers in Action (USSR ); And Inactive Superpowers (USA and The West );indifference (UN );and victims.After This I Want to Express my Great Admiration to the Hungarian People who showed so great courage and Fought Incredibly against a Superpower Empire; and the Sadness for all the People that died or suffered under these events and the rule of communism.And at last but not least I Hope that Mr.Andropov stays well attended in Hell by You Know Who.31 of 34 people found the following review helpful. Twelve Days That Shook The World.By LlonyaOctober 20; 2006 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution; the seemingly spontaneous (at least to those outside Hungary) set of demonstrations that quickly morphed into a full-fledged revolution that almost freed Hungary from Soviet hegemony. Twelve days after it began the revolution was crushed under the tread of Red Army tanks. Victor Sebestyen's "Twelve Days: The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution" is an informative and well-written examination of the revolution; its causes and its consequences.Twelve Days is divided into three parts: "Prelude"; "Revolution" and "Aftermath". In the Prelude Sebestyen provides a concise history of Hungary in the first half of the twentieth century. This is an invaluable introduction for readers; such as this reviewer; who have not previously immersed themselves in Hungarian history. After the First World War and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles; Hungary came to be ruled by a fascist regime led by Admiral Horthy. Hungary under Horthy became an ally of Hitler's Germany and found itself at war with the Allied Powers; most importantly the USSR. Toward the end of the Second World War; the German Army occupied Hungary and fought a desperate battle against the Red Army. The 100 day siege and conquest of Budapest was brutal and the damage to Budapest was exceeded only by the damage done to Leningrad; Stalingrad; and Warsaw. (Krisztian Ungvary's "The Siege of Budapest" makes an excellent companion volume to Twelve Days). Sebestyen then takes the reader through the immediate post-World War II years in which the Hungarian Communist Party; under the leadership of Matyas Rakosi gradually seized total control of the reins of power. Sebestyen's description of the brutality of Rakosi; who fancied himself as something of a Stalin-protégé follows. Rakosi's brutality; which rivaled that of Stalin's; laid the groundwork for the 1956 uprising. As noted by Sebestyen; Stalin's death and Khrushchev's denunciation of the cult of Stalin left many Hungarian's feeling that the time was ripe for liberalization and it is with this feeling in mind that Sebestyen begins his recitation of the revolution itself.The revolution starts with a series of small demonstrations in Parliament square but these demonstrations caused the Communist party structure to collapse like a house of cards. The relatively small Soviet troop presence was humbled by the demonstrators. The Soviets deposed Rakosi and announced that Imre Nagy would take over Hungary's leadership. Nagy is a compelling figure. Sebestyen paints a sympathetic yet objective portrait of Nagy. Nagy; a dedicated Communist (albeit not a hardliner) found himself immersed in a situation he could not control. A jovial; if somewhat plodding bureaucrat; Nagy underwent a transformation from a party-liner to the leader of the drive for total independence from the USSR and from the one-party system then in place in Hungary.Events in Hungary did not take place in a vacuum and Sebestyen's narrative covers the critical roles played by both the USSR and the USA. Sebestyen takes the reader into the Kremlin and paints a picture of a fragmented and confused Politburo that initially was prepared to grant Hungary some `freedoms' but ultimately decided it had to crush to the revolution brutally lest it lose its grip on the rest of Eastern Europe. The USA's role was marked more by inaction than action. The Eisenhower administration; most notably his Secretary of State John Foster Dulles; made the `roll back of Communism' a key tenet of the administration and Eisenhower's 1956 re-election campaign. At the same time; the USA-sponsored Radio Free Europe regularly urged its Eastern European listeners to take a stand against Communist rule. Unfortunately; the Hungarian people were cruelly disappointed to find that the USA had absolutely no interest in doing battle with the USSR over Hungary. In fact; Eisenhower made it a point to let the USSR know that it wished to remain neutral and; in effect; let the Kremlin know it had a free hand to do what it wanted.The Kremlin did send in the tanks in great numbers and crushed the incipient revolution twelve days after it started. Order was restored and the Communist Party took back control of the government. The new party leader; Janos Kadar; was responsible for the prosecution and execution of the revolt's leaders; including Nagy. Life returned to the status quo until the fall of the Soviet Union over thirty years later.Victor Sebestyen's "Twelve Days" provides a great service in providing a concise history of these twelve days. Twelve Days is a scholarly work (thoroughly researched and annotated) that is written with the lay reader in mind. Twelve Days is a thoughtful; well-written account of twelve tumultuous days in Hungary that left this reader hungry for more accounts of Hungary and its history. Highly recommended. L. Fleisig0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Amazing how progressive the Hungarians are now after enduring the ...By Stephen D. FrankumThe most comprehensive account I've read about the Hungarian revolution. Outstanding. I read it both before and after visiting Budapest in April 2015.Amazing how progressive the Hungarians are now after enduring the brutal Nazi's and Russians.
