Description
Sisa, Stephen . The Spirit of Hungary: A Panorama of Hungarian History and Culture. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Rakoczi Foundation, Inc., 1983. Second Edition. ISBN: 9780919545021. pp. x, 374. 4to. Green cloth over boards, gilt lettering to the spine and front board. Replete with black-and-white maps, photographs, portraits, illustrations, et al. No detectable flaws to extremities, contents remain bright, clean, and unmarked with tight, sound binding; near fine and housed in near fine slipcase. Hardcover. Sisa’s expanded second edition (a first appeared in Canada in 1983) seeks to “illuminate the spirit of Hungary” and “bring out the soul of a people” through “biographical close-ups.” It succeeds with a lively, fast-paced narrative abundantly enhanced by hundreds of engaging illustrations (of only medium quality of reproduction), numerous maps, and a plethora of apt quotations from chronicles, histories, poems, and literature (some without precise citation). Sisa’s limpid, careful prose also delves broadly into Hungarian art, music, science, and literature. This is a rich, popular amalgam of national legends, myth, and history, written for a broad novice reader ship. It could be nicely complemented by the more rigorous cooperative scholarship of History of Hungary, edited by Peter Sugar ( LJ 11/15/90). (#2781) $50.00
