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The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World
Traces the early twentieth century journey of nine men from Budapest--including Edward Teller, Robert Capa, and Michael Curtiz--who fled fascism and anti-Semitism to seek sanctuary in America, where they made pivotal contributions to such causes as the development of the atomic bomb, the creation of the computer, and the evolution of modern photojournalism. 50,000 first printing.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 17, 2006
125 people are currently reading
972 people want to read
About the author
Kati Marton
17 books180 followersKati Marton is an award-winning former correspondent for NPR and ABC News. She is the author of eight books, the most recent of which is the New York Times-bestselling memoir Paris: A Love Story. Enemies of the People: My Family's Journey to America was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her other works include The Great Escape: Nine Jews Who Fled Hitler and Changed the World, Hidden Power: Presidential Marriages That Shaped Our History, Wallenberg, A Death in Jerusalem, and a novel, An American Woman. Marton lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
July 29, 2008
What fascinated me most about this book was how many famous Americans are really Hungarians! I didn't know anything about Hungary before reading this, but I am driven to learn more about the recent past because of this book.
The movie Casablanca was directed by a Hungarian, and the story of its creation is entrancing. The idea of a US atom bomb was launched and created by three Hungarians. Who knew that Hungarians have been so influential in 20th century Western life?
"Hungarians are the only peopl ein Europe without racial or linguistic relatives in Europe, therefor they are the loneliest on this continent. This...perhaps explains the peculiar intensity of their existence..." Arthus Koestler
If you enjoy 20th century history, especially WWI & WWII, you will enjoy this book.
The movie Casablanca was directed by a Hungarian, and the story of its creation is entrancing. The idea of a US atom bomb was launched and created by three Hungarians. Who knew that Hungarians have been so influential in 20th century Western life?
"Hungarians are the only peopl ein Europe without racial or linguistic relatives in Europe, therefor they are the loneliest on this continent. This...perhaps explains the peculiar intensity of their existence..." Arthus Koestler
If you enjoy 20th century history, especially WWI & WWII, you will enjoy this book.
February 18, 2013
I loved the history in this book. It brought together the movie industry, the Manhattan Project and photography. There were so many famous names that influenced America. A most impressive work! Read this book as well as The Invisible Bridge
September 7, 2010
Fabulous read. Inspiring and telling. The story reveals the personal side of some great, historic accomplishments from the dismal and horrific time of Hitler. These 9 Jews changed the world as we know it; they pioneered advancements in science, photography, and literature.
Sometimes it was hard to keep track of the facts as most of the men changed their given names to escape Hitler and assimilate into Europe or America. The scientists associated with Einstein; pioneered the nuclear age and then, when realizing the hazard that would become, they put their time and energy into pulling it back as best they could. They were at odds with each other at times - yet remained steadfast friends. One of the group spearheaded what we know call photojournalism; one went on to become one of the great movie directors (Casablanca), and another a world famous photographer - best known for his work as a war photographer.
A great read for anyone interested in recent history or history of the early 20th century.
Sometimes it was hard to keep track of the facts as most of the men changed their given names to escape Hitler and assimilate into Europe or America. The scientists associated with Einstein; pioneered the nuclear age and then, when realizing the hazard that would become, they put their time and energy into pulling it back as best they could. They were at odds with each other at times - yet remained steadfast friends. One of the group spearheaded what we know call photojournalism; one went on to become one of the great movie directors (Casablanca), and another a world famous photographer - best known for his work as a war photographer.
A great read for anyone interested in recent history or history of the early 20th century.
April 17, 2020
A mildly interesting book about some very gifted men who had two things in common: 1) growing up in Hungary and 2) leaving for England or the UK before World War II. I note that despite the subtitle, not all of them "fled Hitler." All left Hungary some years before World War II, and not all left Europe because of fascism or even left after Hitler took power in 1933. For example, Michael Curtiz moved to the United States in 1926 to further his career.
January 18, 2010
Just finished "Enemies of the People" not dreaming that this could be as good, if not better. But it is. Marton is a terrific writer.
December 11, 2012
Marton's book, The Great Escape, follows the lives of nine exceptional Hungarians who lived during Hitler's reign of terror. All nine escaped their homeland, and throughout the book, Marton follows the various paths their lives took. She writes about Michael Curtiz, the man who brought the world the film Casablanca, and another director, Alexander Korda, known for his lavish sets and stunning films. She also follows two photographers, Andre Kertesz who pioneered photojournalism, and Robert Capa, the great war photographer. Also on the list are four scientists, Leo Szilard, Eugene Wigner, Edward Teller and John von Neumann. She recounts the mens contributions to the Los Alamos project under J. Robert Oppenheimer. And finally, Marton shares the story of the writer, Arthur Koestler, known primarily for his book, Darkness at Noon.
I really enjoyed the book, and I especially enjoyed learning about these Hungarian men whom I had not, for the most part, ever heard of. Marton seemed to spend the most time following Robert Capa who seems to have been a jaded playboy of his time, having lost his first and only true love while she photographed a war. I felt most interested in the writer, the directors, and the photographers. I had more difficulty remaining interested in the scientists whom she often grouped together. However, this was a fantastic book. It was certainly worth the read.
I really enjoyed the book, and I especially enjoyed learning about these Hungarian men whom I had not, for the most part, ever heard of. Marton seemed to spend the most time following Robert Capa who seems to have been a jaded playboy of his time, having lost his first and only true love while she photographed a war. I felt most interested in the writer, the directors, and the photographers. I had more difficulty remaining interested in the scientists whom she often grouped together. However, this was a fantastic book. It was certainly worth the read.
Read
March 19, 2018I give this book zero stars.
Since my father was one of the nine who escaped, I was interested in this book. As I read I found the material superficial, with cute stories cherry picked, but nothing especially new or insightful. There are so many better books written about these people and these times. Among them are: Budapest 1900 by John Lukacs, Weimar Culture by Peter Gray, His Version of the Facts by Leo Szilard, Genius in the Shadows by William Lanouette, The Recollections of Eugene P. Wigner, and - forgive me, this is self serving – my father’s book, Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics. Compared to these books, The Great Escape is thin soup.
But when I got to the middle of the book, Ms. Marton started attributing intent to people’s actions which she could not possibly know. Then I hit upon incidents in which I was involved. These were misrepresented. I tried to look in her notes to discover whether Ms. Marton had rewritten history or whether she depended on someone who had committed that sin. Her notes were long. She did many interviews and she read many books. But there was no way to discover how Ms. Marton got the “facts” she was reporting.
I suggest, if you are interested in this time and these people, you try another book.
Since my father was one of the nine who escaped, I was interested in this book. As I read I found the material superficial, with cute stories cherry picked, but nothing especially new or insightful. There are so many better books written about these people and these times. Among them are: Budapest 1900 by John Lukacs, Weimar Culture by Peter Gray, His Version of the Facts by Leo Szilard, Genius in the Shadows by William Lanouette, The Recollections of Eugene P. Wigner, and - forgive me, this is self serving – my father’s book, Memoirs: A Twentieth Century Journey in Science and Politics. Compared to these books, The Great Escape is thin soup.
But when I got to the middle of the book, Ms. Marton started attributing intent to people’s actions which she could not possibly know. Then I hit upon incidents in which I was involved. These were misrepresented. I tried to look in her notes to discover whether Ms. Marton had rewritten history or whether she depended on someone who had committed that sin. Her notes were long. She did many interviews and she read many books. But there was no way to discover how Ms. Marton got the “facts” she was reporting.
I suggest, if you are interested in this time and these people, you try another book.
November 6, 2019
A fantastic account of nine Budapest secular Jews who got out of Hungary and had huge impacts on history and culture in England and the United States. This group won a Best Picture Academy Award, a Nobel Prize in Physics, a British knighthood, and so much more. Marton recounts how this happened. The group grew up and were educated between 1900 - 1919 in Budapest, a golden age for liberal education and for honoring intellectual achievement. One fifth of Budapest's population was Jewish. With Hungary's defeat in WWI, a brutal right wing government took control with escalating restrictions on Jews. Most of this group got out of Hungary, often first to Berlin and then fleeing further. Curtiz and Korda directed the legendary movies "Casablanca" and "The Third Man". Capa took the iconic photographs of the falling, dying Republican soldier in the Spanish Civil War and the D-Day invasion. Szilard, Wigner, and Teller were key physicists in developing the atomic bomb, and the mathematician von Neumann developed game theory and was one of the fathers of computers. Oh yes, I cannot forget Koestler, author of "Darkness at Noon, and so much more. Amazing!
August 5, 2025
Very good! Probably a hard book to write given the variety of figures it covers. Compared to Prague Winter, this was much less intimate of a history; that’s understandable given how many figures it covers, but I still feel something is missing ... Maybe more attention at times to setting, as there’s so many, many facts to get through. Still it’s a well-told story (set of stories). Amazing how many of the movies I recognized/have seen ... a couple of books I want to read now ... names of scientists I knew.
The title is not a good title for this book. I wonder if a publisher chose it to make the book marketable (mention of Hitler). The book is somewhat about these men as Jews, but as much if not more about them as Hungarians, men from Budapest. Budapest ought to be in the title or subtitle. And the theme of “escape” doesn’t come through the book. Why not “Golden Hour in Budapest: Nine Jews Who Changed the Modern World”? That would fit much better!
The title is not a good title for this book. I wonder if a publisher chose it to make the book marketable (mention of Hitler). The book is somewhat about these men as Jews, but as much if not more about them as Hungarians, men from Budapest. Budapest ought to be in the title or subtitle. And the theme of “escape” doesn’t come through the book. Why not “Golden Hour in Budapest: Nine Jews Who Changed the Modern World”? That would fit much better!
July 8, 2022
Great read, really enjoyed seeing how Marton interweaved different individual's stories. It was highly risky to do this but I didn't get lost in keeping track of the different 9 men.
Read
October 15, 2025Well researched, wasn’t a fan of the writing and organization of the book though. Still an interesting read.
May 8, 2012
Kati Marton’s The Great Escape is an eye-opener. How many of us know that turn-of-the century Budapest was a world-unique hotbed of intellectual and artistic activity where Jews participated on an equal basis with gentiles?
Not me. Nor did I know that when it all fell apart during and after WWI, when Hungary lost its seaport in the Versailles/Trianon carveup, when poverty and despotism took over so much of Eastern Europe, these same prosperous Jews became worse and worse off as the century progressed. Most of all, I did not know that a good number of them migrated to Berlin and/or Paris, thence to America and/or Britain and helped profoundly change our history and culture.
Here are the names of the nine men whose history Marton traces in The Great Escape. Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, John von Neumann, Arthur Koestler, Michael Curtiz, Robert Capa, Andre Kertesz,
and Alexander Korda. I recognized Teller’s name, of course, and Koestler’s, but was chagrined at my ignorance about the others. Wigner won the nobel prize in physics. von Neumann virtually invented the computer. Curtiz directed Casablanca and dozens more famous films. Korda based himself in London and directed equally renowned if less famous films. The Third Man with Orson Welles is perhaps his most highly regarded. Kertesz was a pioneer in photography with a reputation among artists right up there with Henri Carier-Bresson’s. Capa’s achievements as a photo-journalist are unsurpassed, especially when it comes to war photography. Four of these guys (Wigner, Szilard, Teller, and von Neumann) worked on the Manhattan project and subsequently became involved in bomb politics--on opposite sides. Isn’t that enough? Not quite. Marton also alludes to people whose stories she doesn’t detail.
Over a dozen Nobel Prize winners emerged from roughly the same generation of Hungarians. (there is some dispute as to their numbers, twelve to eighteen, depending on whether one counts areas of the county of country the Treaty of Trianon stripped away in 1920.) Among them were George de Hevesy, John Polanyi, and George Olah, awarded nobel Prizes in chemistry, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi and Georg von Bekesy, awarded Nobel Prizes in medicine; Dennis Gabor and Plilipp Lenard, who joined Eugene Wigner in winning the physics Nobel; and in economics, John Harasanyi, who won a Nobel for his work in Game Theory, the field pioneered by von Neumann, whose early death probably denied him his own Nobel. There were others--not all of them Nobel laureates. Marcel Breuer designed his famous chair and other Bauhaus masterpieces, as well as the Whitney Museum in New York. Bela Bartok’s disturbing harmonies started in Budapest and reached the world. For decades, Bartok’s students, as well as other products of Budapest’s Franz Liszt Academy, among them Fritz Reiner, Geroge Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Georg Solti, and Anatal Dorati, created the sound of the world’s’ great orchestras.
For some reason Marton did not include the Gabor sisters on her list. Maybe they were edited out for space reasons. At any rate, she chose the subjects of her history well, for all of these men led exciting, disturbing, and historically significant lives which should be better known than they are. Her writing is lively, and the book is structured to keep the narrative moving without losing track of any of the individual stories. Oh, and don’t let me forget the dozens of terrific photos. They range in subject and style from a snapshot of Koestler and Langston Hughes picking cotton in Turkmenistan to some of Kertesz and Capa’s best work. I wonder that this book and its content haven‘t received more play in the press. There’s no more significant story in the twentieth century and it deserves to be broadcast as widely as possible.
[Footnote: In July, I did a review on this website of Arthur Phillips’ Prague, which inexplicably takes place mostly in Budapest. Like all such travel and reading, the geography and color I picked up from that novel enhanced my enjoyment of The Great Escape. An intimate knowledge of Budapest is not an absolute prerequisite, but you will get more out of it if you google a bit of history and geography beyond the map Marton provides in the opening of the book.]
Not me. Nor did I know that when it all fell apart during and after WWI, when Hungary lost its seaport in the Versailles/Trianon carveup, when poverty and despotism took over so much of Eastern Europe, these same prosperous Jews became worse and worse off as the century progressed. Most of all, I did not know that a good number of them migrated to Berlin and/or Paris, thence to America and/or Britain and helped profoundly change our history and culture.
Here are the names of the nine men whose history Marton traces in The Great Escape. Eugene Wigner, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, John von Neumann, Arthur Koestler, Michael Curtiz, Robert Capa, Andre Kertesz,
and Alexander Korda. I recognized Teller’s name, of course, and Koestler’s, but was chagrined at my ignorance about the others. Wigner won the nobel prize in physics. von Neumann virtually invented the computer. Curtiz directed Casablanca and dozens more famous films. Korda based himself in London and directed equally renowned if less famous films. The Third Man with Orson Welles is perhaps his most highly regarded. Kertesz was a pioneer in photography with a reputation among artists right up there with Henri Carier-Bresson’s. Capa’s achievements as a photo-journalist are unsurpassed, especially when it comes to war photography. Four of these guys (Wigner, Szilard, Teller, and von Neumann) worked on the Manhattan project and subsequently became involved in bomb politics--on opposite sides. Isn’t that enough? Not quite. Marton also alludes to people whose stories she doesn’t detail.
Over a dozen Nobel Prize winners emerged from roughly the same generation of Hungarians. (there is some dispute as to their numbers, twelve to eighteen, depending on whether one counts areas of the county of country the Treaty of Trianon stripped away in 1920.) Among them were George de Hevesy, John Polanyi, and George Olah, awarded nobel Prizes in chemistry, Albert Szent-Gyorgyi and Georg von Bekesy, awarded Nobel Prizes in medicine; Dennis Gabor and Plilipp Lenard, who joined Eugene Wigner in winning the physics Nobel; and in economics, John Harasanyi, who won a Nobel for his work in Game Theory, the field pioneered by von Neumann, whose early death probably denied him his own Nobel. There were others--not all of them Nobel laureates. Marcel Breuer designed his famous chair and other Bauhaus masterpieces, as well as the Whitney Museum in New York. Bela Bartok’s disturbing harmonies started in Budapest and reached the world. For decades, Bartok’s students, as well as other products of Budapest’s Franz Liszt Academy, among them Fritz Reiner, Geroge Szell, Eugene Ormandy, Georg Solti, and Anatal Dorati, created the sound of the world’s’ great orchestras.
For some reason Marton did not include the Gabor sisters on her list. Maybe they were edited out for space reasons. At any rate, she chose the subjects of her history well, for all of these men led exciting, disturbing, and historically significant lives which should be better known than they are. Her writing is lively, and the book is structured to keep the narrative moving without losing track of any of the individual stories. Oh, and don’t let me forget the dozens of terrific photos. They range in subject and style from a snapshot of Koestler and Langston Hughes picking cotton in Turkmenistan to some of Kertesz and Capa’s best work. I wonder that this book and its content haven‘t received more play in the press. There’s no more significant story in the twentieth century and it deserves to be broadcast as widely as possible.
[Footnote: In July, I did a review on this website of Arthur Phillips’ Prague, which inexplicably takes place mostly in Budapest. Like all such travel and reading, the geography and color I picked up from that novel enhanced my enjoyment of The Great Escape. An intimate knowledge of Budapest is not an absolute prerequisite, but you will get more out of it if you google a bit of history and geography beyond the map Marton provides in the opening of the book.]
June 16, 2013
After I finished Marton's 'Paris: A Love Story'I wasn't sure I'd want to read anything else by her. I'd liked her book on Wallenberg well enough, but found some parts a bit ponderous. It felt like she had a mission, which she completed more than adequately, but her prose didn't fully resonate.
After those 2 books I wondered, quite frankly, how she'd earned her stellar reputation as a writer, and suspected that perhaps she'd benefited from the company she kept rather than her actual abilities. Since the subject of this book was of interest to me I figured I'd give her one more chance. And I wasn't disappointed.
From the very beginning this book had me hooked. Marton profiles 9 Jewish Hungarian expats, all men who were born either at the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century. Each was raised in Hungary, spent some formative years in an open, liberal, intellectual Budapest, either at its zenith, or as those years were waning, and each left the country when anti-Semitism became the national platform after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Each went on to earn international acclaim in a variety of fields--4 physicists including one future Nobel winner (Edward Teller, John von Neumann, Eugene Wigner and Leo Szilard), 2 photographers (Robert Capa and Andre Kertesz), one writer (Arthur Koestler), one director (Mike Curtiz of Casablanca fame) and one producer (Alexander Korda)--and each was a star in his own right, though none were acclaimed in Hungary till years later (if at all).
Marton's prose are well crafted and on occasion utterly beautiful (her paragaphs on how much the birth of Israel and being there to see it, meant to Arthur Koestler, Robert Capa and Martha Gellhorn brought tears to my eyes). I thought she managed to bring each of these gentlemen to life fluidly.
One of the reason I believe this book worked so well was that the overall subject was so close to Marton's own life and experience. After an oppressive early childhood in Hungary, during which (for some of the time) her parents were jailed, in 1956 the Marton family escaped to the west where they lived as expats in much the same way Marton's subjects did. Of course, her subjects flourished before, during and after WWII, earlier than Marton's own experiences. But the similarities are strong. And perhaps of equal importance, by the time Marton began working on this book, the secret of her Jewish origins had been revealed to her, and she clearly felt a kinship to each of these men.
One tiny quibble-I do wish there had been at least one woman among her subjects (ceramicist Eva Zeissel perhaps???), but the gender imbalance doesn't really detract from the overall effect of the book.
After those 2 books I wondered, quite frankly, how she'd earned her stellar reputation as a writer, and suspected that perhaps she'd benefited from the company she kept rather than her actual abilities. Since the subject of this book was of interest to me I figured I'd give her one more chance. And I wasn't disappointed.
From the very beginning this book had me hooked. Marton profiles 9 Jewish Hungarian expats, all men who were born either at the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century. Each was raised in Hungary, spent some formative years in an open, liberal, intellectual Budapest, either at its zenith, or as those years were waning, and each left the country when anti-Semitism became the national platform after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Each went on to earn international acclaim in a variety of fields--4 physicists including one future Nobel winner (Edward Teller, John von Neumann, Eugene Wigner and Leo Szilard), 2 photographers (Robert Capa and Andre Kertesz), one writer (Arthur Koestler), one director (Mike Curtiz of Casablanca fame) and one producer (Alexander Korda)--and each was a star in his own right, though none were acclaimed in Hungary till years later (if at all).
Marton's prose are well crafted and on occasion utterly beautiful (her paragaphs on how much the birth of Israel and being there to see it, meant to Arthur Koestler, Robert Capa and Martha Gellhorn brought tears to my eyes). I thought she managed to bring each of these gentlemen to life fluidly.
One of the reason I believe this book worked so well was that the overall subject was so close to Marton's own life and experience. After an oppressive early childhood in Hungary, during which (for some of the time) her parents were jailed, in 1956 the Marton family escaped to the west where they lived as expats in much the same way Marton's subjects did. Of course, her subjects flourished before, during and after WWII, earlier than Marton's own experiences. But the similarities are strong. And perhaps of equal importance, by the time Marton began working on this book, the secret of her Jewish origins had been revealed to her, and she clearly felt a kinship to each of these men.
One tiny quibble-I do wish there had been at least one woman among her subjects (ceramicist Eva Zeissel perhaps???), but the gender imbalance doesn't really detract from the overall effect of the book.
December 19, 2013
At end of summer in my last trip to Alaska, one of the parishioners in Petersburg lent me “The Great Escape.” This was not the World War ii escape from a German prison camp but the escape from Hitler. The subtitle was: The Great Escape, Nine Jews who Fled Hitler and Changed the World.
It was written by an expatriate Hungarian. The 9 Hungarians mentioned are an incredible group:Robert Capa, Andre Kertesz, John von Neumann, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner (Wigner, Szilard to Einstein to start the Manhattan project),Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), Alexander Korda (propaganda, That Hamilton Woman)and Arthur Koestler.
Some great quotes:
Hungarians are the only people in Europe without racial or linguistic relatives in Europe, therefore they are the loneliest on this continent. This … perhaps explains the peculiar intensity of their existence…. Hopeless solitude feeds their creativity, their desire for achieving…. To be Hungarian is a collective neurosis. Arthur Koestler
pp. 210-211
“But success could never fill his well of pessimism. “A dispassionate observer from a more advanced planet,” he wrote, “who could take in human history from Cro-Mangon to Auschwitz … would come to the conclusion that our race is … a very sick biological product … there is the striking disparity between the growth curves of science and technology on the one hand, and of ethical conduct on the other…. Since the day when the first atomic bomb outshone the sun over Hiroshima,” he concluded, “mankind as a whole has had to live with the prospect of its extinction as a species.”
It was written by an expatriate Hungarian. The 9 Hungarians mentioned are an incredible group:Robert Capa, Andre Kertesz, John von Neumann, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner (Wigner, Szilard to Einstein to start the Manhattan project),Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), Alexander Korda (propaganda, That Hamilton Woman)and Arthur Koestler.
Some great quotes:
Hungarians are the only people in Europe without racial or linguistic relatives in Europe, therefore they are the loneliest on this continent. This … perhaps explains the peculiar intensity of their existence…. Hopeless solitude feeds their creativity, their desire for achieving…. To be Hungarian is a collective neurosis. Arthur Koestler
pp. 210-211
“But success could never fill his well of pessimism. “A dispassionate observer from a more advanced planet,” he wrote, “who could take in human history from Cro-Mangon to Auschwitz … would come to the conclusion that our race is … a very sick biological product … there is the striking disparity between the growth curves of science and technology on the one hand, and of ethical conduct on the other…. Since the day when the first atomic bomb outshone the sun over Hiroshima,” he concluded, “mankind as a whole has had to live with the prospect of its extinction as a species.”
September 25, 2015
Interesting to be reading about Hungary as the Syrian refugee crisis seemed to highlight its current xenophobia.A mindset so far from the Golden Age of 1870-1910, experienced so soon after Hungary's war for independence was
cruelly extinguishes in 1848. In 1867 Hungary's capital Budapest would become co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian [Habsburg] empire.
A generation later, Hungary would experience a period of great advances in the arts & sciences. Its Golden Age, 1870-1910, presented the world so much by so few including the persons below:
Scientists Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner and John von Neuman.
Writer Arthur Koestler
Photographer/director Robert Capa
Photographer Andre Kertesz
Filmmaker Alexander Korda & Michael Curtiz
The gentleman outlined in this book give much credit to Budapest's cafe culture as much as the rigorous learning/schooling available in Austria/Hungary & Germany at the time.
Their journey from Hungary as it journeyed from an open society to a fascist anti-Jewish one mirrored the rise of fascism & Hitler. As a result, they were uniquely positioned to see the danger in Hitler's rise to power.
The book is a great introduction to the lives of these gentleman as they brought so much to the general public. Physics, photojournalism, etc.
cruelly extinguishes in 1848. In 1867 Hungary's capital Budapest would become co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian [Habsburg] empire.
A generation later, Hungary would experience a period of great advances in the arts & sciences. Its Golden Age, 1870-1910, presented the world so much by so few including the persons below:
Scientists Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner and John von Neuman.
Writer Arthur Koestler
Photographer/director Robert Capa
Photographer Andre Kertesz
Filmmaker Alexander Korda & Michael Curtiz
The gentleman outlined in this book give much credit to Budapest's cafe culture as much as the rigorous learning/schooling available in Austria/Hungary & Germany at the time.
Their journey from Hungary as it journeyed from an open society to a fascist anti-Jewish one mirrored the rise of fascism & Hitler. As a result, they were uniquely positioned to see the danger in Hitler's rise to power.
The book is a great introduction to the lives of these gentleman as they brought so much to the general public. Physics, photojournalism, etc.
August 19, 2011
This is a must read book for anyone with any interest in 20thC European history. The author (widow of Peter Jennings) came to the US from Hungary with her family in the mid 50's at the time of the Hungarian Revolution against the USSR. She writes of the linguistic and cultural uniqueness of Hungarians in Europe--making the point that the transition of Hungarians to the US was huge, given that they never really fit in well in their home continent. The impact of WWI and the rapid and extreme political changes that came with the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire cannot be under-estimated. The nine individuals the author describes were artists, scientists, directors, and mathematicians. You will learn details of film production, the Manhattan Project, the Spanish Civil War, the McCarthy era, and even Ingrid Bergman (not Hungarian!) in this instructive and entertaining book that makes profound points about politics, genius, and art.
February 1, 2016
Fascinating read. The only complaint I have is that while listening to it (in the car -- which means I sometimes had to pull my attention away from the book to concentrate solely on something happening on the road), I began to get confused about who was doing what. Especially since so many of the nine have names that begin with the same sound. Took until the middle of the book to get that part down. Other complaint has to do with the audiobook format. I wish the reader would have paused for a moment whenever switching to a different person. It would have helped a lot with the before mentioned confusion.
But in terms of the book -- it has inspired me to read her other books, and to learn more about WWI. I loved that part in the book which said that in trying to eradicate the jews for a superior society, Hitler actually lost many of the brilliant minds that could have led him there. Or something like that. Simply a great read!
But in terms of the book -- it has inspired me to read her other books, and to learn more about WWI. I loved that part in the book which said that in trying to eradicate the jews for a superior society, Hitler actually lost many of the brilliant minds that could have led him there. Or something like that. Simply a great read!
July 11, 2011
(Alexander Korda, Michael Curtiz, Arthur Koestler, Robert Capa, Andre Kertesz, Leo Szilard, Edward Teller, Eugene Wigner and John von Neumann) To be honest I know next to nothing about Hungarian history, but I found this group of men fascinating. Each one was driven and brilliant, but important for this story, and for the events of World War II, they were politically sophisticated and very pessimistic about the fate of Jews in Europe. As a group they were not so much forced out of Europe as they were quick to leave before the communists or fascists took over. Hungary had a very early taste of Soviet communism and police state fascism just after World War I. Years before the Germans experienced hyper inflation, when Hitler was almost unknown, Hungary's governments in 1919 revealed the disturbing possibilities of the two great political systems that would mark the 20th century.
January 17, 2011
This was an interesting account of nine Hungarians who left Hungary just as Hitler came into power. The book primarily focuses on their contributions to the world after leaving their homeland. While the book was interesting, the description of the men's lives seemed inadequate since the author was trying to give a full biography for nine different men. For example, on several occasions she describes in detail pictures taken by one man who revolutionized the photojournalist industry, but none of the pictures she describes were included in the photo section of the book. Another man's life is described in detail up to his mid-twenties and then he disappears from the book until his death fifty years later. The author would have done better to divide the men among two or three books.
March 21, 2012
This was a real difficult read to get into. I was expecting to read about the life altering journeys of these nine men as they escaped the hands of the Hitler regime, but it just never really happened. It spent most of the time talking about the Hungarian lifestyle, the entertainment business such as film and production as well as photography and also a lot about famous people such as Einstein and movie actors long since dead. Although this in itself might have been an interesting read to many, I was really looking for the plight of freedom from the German devastation. One thing is correct though, the people in this book definitely left their impact on this world, but it could have been written better.
March 20, 2016
Marton's recounting of the experiences and influential lives of these nine men was excellent. She painted a picture of each man's contributions individually and as a remarkable group. This can't help but lead to thoughts of the unbelievable atrocities of Nazi Europe and the other unbelievable thinkers and artists that were lost.
March 25, 2024
The great escape - Kati Marton’s homage to the town of her birth, Budapest, and the creative genii who were forced to flee to realise their promise
Marton writes a beautiful and fascinating account of the genii in different fields, who influenced Western society so much in the diverse fields of physics, photography, cinema and literature. They all took a part of the Budapest of their youth with them when they left or fled Hungary due to political repression, anti semitism or the excesses of communism.
Four of them were centrally involved with the Manhattan Project, as mathematicians or physicists, two were pioneers in the field of photography and the photography of war, two were pioneers in the fledgling film industry, in Hollywood and Britain, and one was a renowned novelist who wrote the definitive novel exposing communism after he had devoted some of his best years to its cause and then opened his eyes to its flaws in practice.
Some of the characters Marton writes about were known to me, others not, but the way she interweaves their lives is beautiful and makes for a fascinating story.
Marton writes a beautiful and fascinating account of the genii in different fields, who influenced Western society so much in the diverse fields of physics, photography, cinema and literature. They all took a part of the Budapest of their youth with them when they left or fled Hungary due to political repression, anti semitism or the excesses of communism.
Four of them were centrally involved with the Manhattan Project, as mathematicians or physicists, two were pioneers in the field of photography and the photography of war, two were pioneers in the fledgling film industry, in Hollywood and Britain, and one was a renowned novelist who wrote the definitive novel exposing communism after he had devoted some of his best years to its cause and then opened his eyes to its flaws in practice.
Some of the characters Marton writes about were known to me, others not, but the way she interweaves their lives is beautiful and makes for a fascinating story.
October 11, 2023
This is a well-written work. It gives a lot of detail that gets left out of history books dealing with "the big picture". I'm glad to have bought the book.
How she shifts between the nine primary subjects as she moves along a time line is impressive writing. Keeping the shifts easy to handle and keeping the reader moving along is not a feat that many authors can manage so well!
It is important to note that "The Great Escape" is about nine Hungarian Jews who fled for their lives. That the focus is on Hungarian Jews is fine. Does the word "Hungarian" belong between "Nine" and "Jews" in the book's subtitle? Until starting the book, I was under the impression that the book was about nine Jews from several European countries. While the Hungarian focus is quite OK, I did find myself having to switch thinking upon realizing that the book includes interesting details about Hungarian history. I wonder if the subtitle's wording was an editorial rather than author decision.
Ultimately a word in or out of the title is no big deal; Kati Marton is an excellent a
How she shifts between the nine primary subjects as she moves along a time line is impressive writing. Keeping the shifts easy to handle and keeping the reader moving along is not a feat that many authors can manage so well!
It is important to note that "The Great Escape" is about nine Hungarian Jews who fled for their lives. That the focus is on Hungarian Jews is fine. Does the word "Hungarian" belong between "Nine" and "Jews" in the book's subtitle? Until starting the book, I was under the impression that the book was about nine Jews from several European countries. While the Hungarian focus is quite OK, I did find myself having to switch thinking upon realizing that the book includes interesting details about Hungarian history. I wonder if the subtitle's wording was an editorial rather than author decision.
Ultimately a word in or out of the title is no big deal; Kati Marton is an excellent a
March 28, 2018
I've just completed the audiobook, for the second time & wonder how I missed so much the first go a few years past. This brings up so many other interesting accounts that I've now made a list of all the other aspects I want to delve into. I like books that make me curious about the many references, it's like as a child I'd start looking up something the the great world book encyclopedias, I'd come across something equally interesting & simply forget where or why I opened the book in the first place. Some call this attention deficit disorder, I call it a curious, searching mind.
I believe this is a book I'll find in printed form just to add to my list of curiosities & searches with correct spelling. Something that has struck me strange is the comment of 'no stars' from the person who didn't like this read. Since I've not read any other by K. Marton I suppose this is another search. We all have different perspectives on the same event or time of each subject.
I believe this is a book I'll find in printed form just to add to my list of curiosities & searches with correct spelling. Something that has struck me strange is the comment of 'no stars' from the person who didn't like this read. Since I've not read any other by K. Marton I suppose this is another search. We all have different perspectives on the same event or time of each subject.
May 22, 2024
This is the second book by Kati Marton that I read in preparation for our trip to Budapest. I had no idea that these famous personalities were Hungarian. Each of them felt that there was something special about their childhoods in Budapest after WWI that created an environment for their striving to achieve greatness. These men were all exceptional in that they survived the Nazis, but also in their determination to succeed in their chosen fields. It was interesting to see that most of them never returned to Budapest. The world of their childhood was gone by the end of WWII, and changed even further under communism. I enjoyed her storytelling, and the way she wove the different life stories together to hold the readers interest. This book is much less about how they escaped, and more about their lives as thinkers, artists, and scientists.
August 30, 2024
This is the story of the golden age of Budapest. The first third of the 20th century this one city became a center of creativity and great minds. Most were Jewish Hungarians who subsequently left to escape Hitler’s wrath. Four of them were mathematicians and physicists who were the principals developing and spawning the atomic age. Two were renowned photojournalists. Two were the directors of some of the most memorable films of the 20th century. There were writers, many Nobel laureates, men who became captains of the new computer age. Another one of the world’s leading financiers and philanthropists. This mix of minds mingling in the Budapest coffee shops and schools crated a golden moment that was destroyed by Hitler’s storm troupers and subsequent Stalinist communist. What they had in common was their Hungarian origins and Jewish religion. Remarkable.
December 12, 2024
Great Minds, Remarkable Survival From A Tortured Place
This book is ponderous at time, loaded with names of famous people that morph from time and place. But its basic premise is fascinating: nine non-observant Jews from pre-WWII Budapest not only survived the Holocaust but have profound and lasting effects on science and art that persist and grows today, long after they have died.
This author would know, as she too is Hungarian by birth and Jewish.
It is mind-boggling to realize the contributions to such wide-ranging fields from people from such humble beginnings who might have just as easily been exterminated by Nazi and later Communist hatred.
The world would have been a lesser place without them. This book requires work to get through, but I found it well worth the effort.
This book is ponderous at time, loaded with names of famous people that morph from time and place. But its basic premise is fascinating: nine non-observant Jews from pre-WWII Budapest not only survived the Holocaust but have profound and lasting effects on science and art that persist and grows today, long after they have died.
This author would know, as she too is Hungarian by birth and Jewish.
It is mind-boggling to realize the contributions to such wide-ranging fields from people from such humble beginnings who might have just as easily been exterminated by Nazi and later Communist hatred.
The world would have been a lesser place without them. This book requires work to get through, but I found it well worth the effort.
December 24, 2023
This nonfiction book describes the lives and influence of 9 men from Hungary that left their country for the US or Europe prior to WWII. Four of them were key players in the development of nuclear weapons and computer technology, with Teller being the most well known, but also Szilard, Wigner, and von Neumman. They are also known for their politics after the development of nuclear weapons. On the arts side, the book discusses the director of Casablanca, Curtiz, the director, Korda, known for The Third Man, the photographers Kertesz and Capa, and author, Arthur Koestler. The book covers the history of the time as well as their accomplishments and touches on a number of other influential Hungarians.
October 9, 2023
This is a book about brilliant people in the arts, mathematics and physics who shared their early years i Hungary during its golden age the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. They were all Jews, mostly secular, who left because of oppression. These 8 people, including Edward Teller, made tremendous contributions to their chosen fields. The subject matter was excellent but the author jumped from one life to the next making it difficult to know who they were talking about at times.
June 16, 2024
“The Great Escape” by Kati Marton is a captivating audiobook that transported me to the streets of Budapest during a time of immense change. Through vivid narration, Marton tells the stories of nine remarkable Hungarians who fled Hitler’s regime and made an indelible impact on the world. Marton’s storytelling captures these men's resilience, talent, and cultural heritage, making their experiences feel deeply personal and relatable.
It’s hard to pick historical favorites, but John von Neumann, sometimes described as the smartest man ever, tops my list.
It’s hard to pick historical favorites, but John von Neumann, sometimes described as the smartest man ever, tops my list.
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