The Last Days of Budapest

The Destruction of Europe's Most Cosmopolitan Capital in World War II

By: Adam LeBor

Narrated by: David Thorpe

"The Last Days of Budapest is a masterpiece. Immaculately researched, it is packed with large-than-life characters and revelations about the unknown espionage history of the Second World War…. This is history as it should be written: utterly engrossing." -Malcolm Brabant, author of the New York Times bestseller The Daughter of Auschwitz

Budapest, autumn 1943.

After four years of war, Hungary was firmly allied with Nazi Germany. Budapest swirled with intrigue and betrayal, home to spies and agents of every kind. But the city remained an oasis in the midst of conflict where Allied POWs and Polish and Jewish refugees found sanctuary.

All that came to an end in March 1944 when the Nazis invaded. By the summer Allied bombers were pounding Budapest’s grand boulevards and historic squares. By late December the city was surrounded and under siege from the advancing Red Army. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians died in the savage fighting as Budapest collapsed into anarchy. Hungarian death squads roamed the streets as the city’s Jews were forced into ghettos or were shot into the Danube. Russian artillery hammered the city into smoking rubble as starving residents struggled to survive the winter.

Using newly uncovered diaries, documents, archival material and interviews with the last survivors, Adam LeBor has brilliantly recreated life and death in wartime Budapest.

Critic reviews

"The Last Days of Budapest is a masterpiece. Immaculately researched, it is packed with large-than-life characters and revelations about the unknown espionage history of the Second World War. Adam LeBor’s vivid, taut prose brings the story of the ‘Casablanca of central Europe’ alive in glorious technicolour. From the naïve optimism of the late 1930s to the depths of depravity and bloodshed during the siege in winter 1944, LeBor takes the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. This is history as it should be written: utterly engrossing."

—Malcolm Brabant, author of the New York Times bestseller The Daughter of Auschwitz

“The Last Days of Budapest is both beautifully written and revelatory, with the kind of quirky detail that confirms Adam LeBor’s love and fascination for his subject country. Pre-war Budapest comes alive as a nest of mischief and self-delusion, home for a beguiling cast of spies, adventurers, aristocratic lovelies, journalists, smugglers, thieves and fellow travellers... LeBor offers an unblinking account of the last spasms of a ruined city. Deeply shocking. And long overdue.”
—Graham Hurley, author of Dead Ground

“The Last Days of Budapest is not only an enthralling tale of wartime espionage and spycraft. It is a beautifully rendered portrait of heroism, tragedy, betrayal, and violence in the final hours of a grand city stuck between Hitler and Stalin. This superb account is not to be missed - and will haunt you.”
—David McCloskey, former CIA analyst and author of The Seventh Floor

“A staggering achievement. The Last Days of Budapest is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of European espionage, offering readers a riveting journey through Budapest’s turbulent past. This meticulously researched book delves into a complex web of astonishing intelligence operations, revealing how Budapest served as a crossroads for spies from East and West.”
—Charles Cumming, author of the Box 88 spy fiction series

“This is an extraordinary book – an enthralling narrative that is full of extraordinary characters, both heroes and villains, and packed with the insights and subtle judgements that only someone with the author’s knowledge of, and love for, the city can provide. What happened in wartime Budapest is virtually unknown outside Hungary. Now thanks to Adam LeBor we have the story laid out in grim and absorbing detail, told with all the power and passion that a writer of his class can muster.”
—Patrick Bishop, author of Paris ’44: The Shame and the Glory

Extreme inhumanity, echoes of today's hated & division

Unrelenting and horrible narrative. Almost had to stop listening, so sad and shocking. Pre war center of Jewish life and culture protective of its Jews, how Hungary devolved into barbarism. Anyone who favors Nazism should read this book to see where it leads.

MUST READ

This is a most amazing book.
As a student of history, I have read many books about the Holocaust, but never so extensive as this book, describing the persecution of the Jews in Budapest and throughout Hungary.
This should NEVER happen again, but I have my doubts.
My advice to all Jews is to move to Israel, there they have to fight one enemy, but in the rest of the world every nation is their potential enemy.
As the saying goes “history repeats itself”
The narration by Mr. David Thorpe is outstanding.
M thanks to all involved, JK

Sad history of Hungary during WW2

I heard the story of 1944 from my mother who was one of the fortunate ones that survived the war in Budapest. This book adds the horrific details that she only alluded to. The book provides excruciating details of Hungary’s position in WW2, the events leading up to the war, complicity in jewish genocide and the handful righteous gentiles that helped save Jews during this tumultuous time.

The horrible pronunciation of all words Hungarian

The consistent fake pronunciation attempts of Hungarian phrases and names. It completely destroyed the valuable research and contents of an otherwise remarkably written book. Investing in a Hungarian speaking person before releasing this volume would have been a smart idea. Also: the ending gave me the feeling that someone just wanted the writing process to be over very fast. Poor decision!

Outstanding and harrowing

Brilliantly written and narrated. No better description of the depths of depravity human beings are capable of.