Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1980 (8. évfolyam, 23-26. szám)
1980 / 26. szám
Ml /Ul AMGRICAN HUNGARIAN FOUNDATION HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER BOOKS Basa, Enikő Molnár. SÁNDOR PETŐFI. Twayne Publishers (a division of G.K. Hall & Co.) 70 Lincoln Street, Boston MA 02111, 1980. 190 pages, illus., biblio. $13.50 in the U.S.; $15.50 abroad. Cloth.No.587 in the Twayne World Authors Series; A Survey of the World’s Literature. The Twayne series presents to the English speaking reader outstanding literary products long hidden behind language barriers. General editor for the Hungarian volumes is Dr. Basa, who, in addition, makes her own contribution to the series by preparing this volume. In a land where poets and writers have a relatively strong influence on public opinion, Petó'fi (1823-1849) excelled in presenting patriotic and progressive ideas in a simple style. In fact, he became a national hero, who during his short lifetime of 26 years left an indelible mark on the souls of Hungarians, more durable than those made by any of his contemporaries. His poetry served as inspiration to the patriots of the 1848 revolution, and according to A.N. Nyerges (see HSN no. 6, p.2) it continues to have an equally strong impact on the millions of Hungarians living beyond the boundaries of their country. His poetry is their focal point of identity. The volume under review will make this distinguished poetry accessible to the English reader. It is organized around the major events of Petőfi’s life with a generous number of translations focusing on content rather than on style. No attempt was made by the author to reproduce the metrical qualities or the rhyme of the poems. The author is in the employ of the Library of Congress. Dillon, Kenneth J., SCHOLARS’ GUIDE TO WASHINGTON, D.C. FOR CENTRAL AND EAST EUROPEAN STUDIES. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Smithsonian Institution Press, P.O. Box 1579, Washington, DC 20013,1980. xii + 329 pages, biblio. $25.00 cloth; $8.95 paper. This useful and important guide makes the unique resources of Washington more accessible to specialists, and to the broad reading audience with an interest in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East and West Germany, ancient and modern Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia. The first part of the volume (pp. 3-163) surveys the holdings of such research collections as libraries; archives; art, film, music, and map collections; and data banks. The second half of the volume (pp. I65-306) discusses the pertinent activities of Washington-based organizations including U.S. government agencies; foreign embassies (incidentally, the correct address of the Hungarian embassy is 3940 Shoemaker Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20008, and not the one given in the volume); international organizations; private, professional and cultural associations; cultural exchange organizations; and research centers and academic programs of major local universities. The No. 26, Winter 1960-1981, Hungarian Studies Newsletter guide also lists bookstores, library collections, and contains indexes (subject, country, personal-papers collections, library subject-strength, as well as institutions and organizations). Collections and organizations of Hungarian relevance are represented by 25 entries. In sum, the volume is indispensable to anyone wanting to do research related to central and eastern Europe. The author is a foreign service officer with the Department of State. Ferge, Zsuzsa. A SOCIETY IN THE MAKING; Hungarian Social and Societal Policy 1945-75. M.E. Sharpe, 901 N. Broadway, White Plains, NY 10603,1979. 333 pages, charts, tables. $22.50 cloth. The author, influenced heavily by György Lukács, takes a broad analytic view of social policy in a Marxist frame of reference. The tone of the study is set in the preface written by S.M. Miller (Boston U.), when he says: “economic policy is the basic social policy.” In this setting, the author provides an emic view of social dynamics in Hungary. First, she reviews principles and concepts interrelating social policy and social structure, including sections on the historical development of Hungarian social policy, and approaches to social policy in contemporary Hungary. A special chapter deals with the organization of work, division of labor, right and obligation to work, and unemployment. This is followed by an analytic evaluation of formal socialization. Three chapters are devoted to the distribution of income and redistribution of goods. The concluding two chapters deal with the price control, consumption characteristics, priorities, and finally with “Organizing Life in a Socialist Way,” elaborating on the socialist concept of "way of life,” and variations in the values responsible for the organization of life. The author, who has written her opus with great care, goes beyond analysis by recommending “deliberate social action in order to influence consumption, ways of life and the values organizing them in a way consistent with socialist values.” Miller says that this is “one of the very few broad, informed and tough-minded accounts of social policy in a socialist country, stressing consequences rather than intentions. It can be read on three levels: as a study of Hungarian social structure, as a casestudy in comparative social policy, or as a contribution to the theory of social policy.” The author is a senior researcher in the Institute of Sociology, HAS, and senior lecturer at the Eötvös U. Hann, C(hrlstopher) M. TAZLAR: A VILLAGE IN HUNGARY. Cambridge U. Press, 32 East 57th Street, New York, NY 10022,1980. xii + 206 pages, maps, charts, illus. $8.50 paper. The monograph examines the changes which have come to a Hungarian agricultural community during the past 35 years, and tries to show “how various forms of presocialist socio-economic organizations have persisted, adapted to, (Continued on Page 2) I
