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Hungary 56
The seminal history and analysis of the Hungarian Revolution and the workers' councils. Perhaps the single most important revolutionary event ever, and simply the best book on it.
80 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 20, 2017
When I read this book, I did not know what to expect. It's so thin to purport to be a comprehensive history of the run up to, the activities of, and the aftermath of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. I was emotionally and intellecutally charged up by this book. It's so well written without foregoing important historical context, emperical analysis, and other observational details by someone who was on scene, but also who had close contacts/friends who were involved in the revolution.
If you read this be prepared to be inspired and be jazzed up to fight! I was really moved by the descriptions of the events and how passionate and intense the revolution was. And according to the author's perspective, it was done for all the right reasons.
Anderson is a very committed Marxist - to the point where nobody is immune to his critique. The final chapter is his take down of everyone - Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky - of being obsessed with the development of a managerial class and remaining unconvinced that people could organize their own lives without managers. The big take away here is not only the strategy of communication and interaction with those who were sent to police you, but also how unnecessary leaders are to coordinate a revolution. The great point made again and again in this book is how there were no leaders - people got together and discussed what to do. There were dissenters and the like, but overall the people felt and knew what needed to be done and it was accomplished. The rise of democratic tribunals in the rural areas of Hungary was a great example of how collective democratic practice can and did work without reliance on technocrats, managers, or other defenders of the superstructure of capitalism.
The Hungarians were given an inch by Kruschev, and they not only took a mile but also too the entire measurement system with them. The massive force of the Russian army was needed to make an example of them. This is a great chronicle of what happened with lots of on the ground tales of the revolution day by day. There's a lot of great analysis of the history of Soviet annexation of Eastern Europe as well as the changes in leadership that happened across the Iron Curtain before, during, and after the revolution.
I loved this book so much, but it really excited me about the possibilities of actual democracy and how frightened most people are in the managerial class that we might just get it one day.
If you read this be prepared to be inspired and be jazzed up to fight! I was really moved by the descriptions of the events and how passionate and intense the revolution was. And according to the author's perspective, it was done for all the right reasons.
Anderson is a very committed Marxist - to the point where nobody is immune to his critique. The final chapter is his take down of everyone - Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky - of being obsessed with the development of a managerial class and remaining unconvinced that people could organize their own lives without managers. The big take away here is not only the strategy of communication and interaction with those who were sent to police you, but also how unnecessary leaders are to coordinate a revolution. The great point made again and again in this book is how there were no leaders - people got together and discussed what to do. There were dissenters and the like, but overall the people felt and knew what needed to be done and it was accomplished. The rise of democratic tribunals in the rural areas of Hungary was a great example of how collective democratic practice can and did work without reliance on technocrats, managers, or other defenders of the superstructure of capitalism.
The Hungarians were given an inch by Kruschev, and they not only took a mile but also too the entire measurement system with them. The massive force of the Russian army was needed to make an example of them. This is a great chronicle of what happened with lots of on the ground tales of the revolution day by day. There's a lot of great analysis of the history of Soviet annexation of Eastern Europe as well as the changes in leadership that happened across the Iron Curtain before, during, and after the revolution.
I loved this book so much, but it really excited me about the possibilities of actual democracy and how frightened most people are in the managerial class that we might just get it one day.
July 31, 2024
A very electrifying and interesting read. The key argument of the book is that the Hungarians, via the worker's councils they set up during the course of the uprising, were reigniting the promise and certainty of a worker's revolution. Much of the work is very much of its time, discussing fears of a World War III, or speaking of the USSR in the present tense, but much of it transcends those bounds as well. It speaks to the hectic creativity of workers and students who after being repressed by a "communist state" sought to usher in something new (whether a reformed communist state, a parliamentary republic, or a truly socialist society). I would be very interested in reading a newer and fuller Marxist analysis of the Hungarian Uprising of 1956.
Additionally, Anderson's best chapters are perhaps those in the beginning where he describes the understudied formation of the "people's" republics of Eastern Europe. I would like to read a book on the Bulgarian post-WW2 workers uprising on its own!
Additionally, Anderson's best chapters are perhaps those in the beginning where he describes the understudied formation of the "people's" republics of Eastern Europe. I would like to read a book on the Bulgarian post-WW2 workers uprising on its own!
February 22, 2024
Despite never using the word anarchist, it is very clearly written from that perspective. An assortment of impromptu structures created during war as an example of an alternate society - very reminiscent of the perspective found in Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. Still, the author (who I have to imagine was some kind of spy - although I have no evidence to support that) does a fine job of demonstrating the popularity of the Hungarian struggle. There is no airtime given to claims that this was truly a fascist uprising, and the greatest piece of evidence to dispute this is found in regular citations of the Writers Union and the significant number of striking workers. It is not a balanced assessment of the characters involved, but if one is able to recognize this as an ultra-left anti-soviet (read: Russian) polemic, it is kind of a fun read. My "Black and Red" 1976 edition has some really cool pictures, which was really my favorite part of the book.
June 6, 2024
Random notes::::::::
- Hungarian reparations to Russia, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia post-WW2 were estimated at 30-35% of national income in 1946.
- USSR imperialism as a source of crisis leading to the revolution of 1956. USSR "buying cheap and selling dear" to all the Warsaw Pact countries - in Hungary it's kept as a jealously guarded military secret.
- Hungarian reparations to Russia, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia post-WW2 were estimated at 30-35% of national income in 1946.
- USSR imperialism as a source of crisis leading to the revolution of 1956. USSR "buying cheap and selling dear" to all the Warsaw Pact countries - in Hungary it's kept as a jealously guarded military secret.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews