Twelve Days

The defining moment of the Cold War: 'The beginning of the end of the Soviet empire.' (Richard Nixon)

Victor Sebestyen is the acclaimed author of TWELVE DAYS (W&N, 2006), REVOLUTION 1989 (W&N, 2009) and 1946 (Macmillan, 2014). He was born in Budapest. He was a child when his family left Hungary as refugees. As a journalist, he has worked for numerous British newspapers, including the EVENING STANDARD, DAILY MAIL and THE TIMES. He reported widely from Eastern Europe when Communism collapsed and the Berlin Wall came down in 1989. He covered the wars in former Yugoslavia and the breakup of the Soviet Union. At the EVENING STANDARD he was foreign editor, media editor and chief leader writer. He is an associate editor of NEWSWEEK.

Sebestyen's gripping description of the uprising is impressively researched and even-handed Observer Sebestyen's account is elegant and emotive Daily Telegraph Sebestyen's account of the doomed uprising is utterly enthralling and almost unbearable to read -- Simon Shaw MAIL ON SUNDAY A gripping and enlightening read... recommended for anyone wanting to learn more about a tragic and regrettable event in European history TRIBUNE