Bridge at Andau — James A. Michener

The Bridge at Andau is James A. Michener at his most gripping. His classic nonfiction account of a doomed uprising is as searing and unforgettable as any of his bestselling novels. For five brief, glorious days in the autumn of 1956, the Hungarian revolution gave its people a glimpse at a different kind of future -- until, at four o'clock in the morning on a Sunday in November, the citizens of Budapest awoke to the shattering sound of Russian tanks ravaging their streets. The revolution was over. But freedom beckoned in the form of a small footbridge at Andau, on the Austrian border. By an accident of history it became, for a few harrowing weeks, one of the most important crossings in the world, as the soul of a nation fled across its unsteady planks.
 
Praise for The Bridge at Andau
 
“Precise, vivid . . . immeasurably stirring.” -- The Atlantic Monthly
 
“Dramatic, chilling, enraging.” -- San Francisco Chronicle
 
“Superb.” -- Kirkus Reviews
 
“Highly recommended reading.” -- Library Journal