The Bridge at Andau

Book excerpt: 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