Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1998 (15. évfolyam, 51-54. szám)
1998 / 53-54. szám
BOOKS/PUBLICATIONS: RECENT AND NEW In the revived first issue (No. 51-52) of the Hungarian Studies Newsletter we indicated that we would attempt to make up for the reviews we missed during the past eleven years. The number of such works is legion and will require the assistance of everyone who reads our Newsletter. Please bring to our attention the titles of books you think we should review and also let us know if you would be willing to review some of these works. The main criteria should be that the books have "staying power" as contributions to Hungarian studies, are still available for purchase, and are written in English or Hungarian. Fejős, Zoltán. A CHICAGÓI MAGYAROK KÉT NEMZEDÉKE, 1890-1940: AZ ETNIKAI ÖRÖKSÉG MEGŐRZÉSE ÉS VÁLTOZÁSA. [Two generations of Hungarians in Chicago, 1890- 1940: The Preservation and Erosion of Ethnic Identityl Budapest: Közép-Európa Intézet, 1993. Pp. 1-299. ISBN 963-8105-135 Zoltán Fejős traces the evolution of Chicago's Hungarian community from 1890 to 1940. To achieve this objective, he utilizes the insights and methods of cultural anthropology, history and sociology. He assumes that we can gain a more dependable understanding of Hungarian group identity in the United States if we focus study on the existence of specific local communities. This kind of developmental review will also enable us to describe settlements, and their major characteristics and differences. Describing the different groups and organizations of two generations of Hungarians in Chicago, demanded a thorough, systematic and patient research effort. It demanded in-depth interviews, the reconstruction of recollections, and the location of some new sources of data. The author admits that some of his first efforts were not crowned with success. He observes that: "In the lobby of the Sears Tower, the world’s tallest skyscraper, the informational computer for tourists provides a total of three lines about Hungarians in Chicago." At the Chicago Historical Society, which houses the historical museum of the city, "nothing could be found in the exhibition that would indicate that there were any Hungarian settlers in the city. The Society's rich archival collection contains almost nothing about Hungarians in the city." Fejős' multidisciplinary approach enabled him to describe the main lines of the Hungarian community’s evolution in Chicago. He was able to show how different the sense of identity had become between generations. With graphic examples he is able to demonstrate how the second generation attempted to form its own identity. Although Fejős has provided us with valuable insights for enhancing our understanding of the second generation, we still are left with many questions unanswered. We are still uncertain about their attempts to define their own identity or what their prospects were for mobility in American society. Still, the book provides us with a more realistic appraisal of the fate of Hungarians in the diaspora from the perspective of their national and ethnic self-consciousness. Julianna Puskás Goodwin, Jason. ON FOOT TO THE GOLDEN HORN: A WALK TO ISTANBUL. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1993. Pp. v+278. ISBN 0-8050-4082-X Paperback. $14.95. Jason Goodwin traverses through the plains, forests, hills, and mountains of East-Central Europe and walks his readers through villages and towns that exude centuries of tumultuous history. Medieval legends like that of the Wandering Jew are rediscovered and the ordinary people of the postcommunist era are introduced to us face to face. The Gypsies, whom Jason Goodwin meets throughout the vast area, serve as a common denominator on this tour and are cleared of some myths that surround their name. This book comes closer to my heart than the average travel book, perhaps because 128 of the 278 pages are about Hungary and Transylvania. After weeks of a grueling walk through Poland and Slovakia, Mr. Goodwin and his companion travel by train from Eger to Budapest, where a touch of luck and magic graces their trails. A Protestant minister is encountered who puts them at ease about walking through Transylvania and provides them with a little help: a letter of recommendation which would aid them in finding lodging. Henceforth the duo find themselves in the company of friends. They are welcomed as family in the homes of priests, ministers, teachers, and librarians, who provide personalized tours of the cities and towns that follow along the way. I, a native Transylvanian, am convinced that the author has understood my part of the Old Country, the ethnic Hungarians who became minorities in their own homeland, the empty Saxon villages, and the vacant synagogues left bare by the purging fire of persecution. I recommend this book with all my heart to both young and old and to all who have but the slightest interest in the region. I wish you good reading and good travels! Eva G. Kovács Kosztarab, Michael. TRANSYLVANIAN ROOTS: THE TRUE LIFE ADVENTURES OF A HUNGARIAN AMERICAN. Blacksburg, Virginia: Pocahontas Press Inc., 1997. pp. 1-232. $21.95. The author of Transylvanian Roots, Michael Kosztarab, begins his book by quoting Balázs Orbán who had written an outstanding monograph in 1868 about the land of the Székely people in Eastern Transylvania. Orbán stated that the main reason he undertakes this monumental task, is the gap in knowledge in the world about Transylvania. The quote summarizes Kosztarab's own motivation as well a hundred years later. He is a retired professor of entomology at Virginia Tech who resides in Blacksburg, where he too has come to realize that most people associate Transylvania only with Bram Stoker's fictional Dracula. To counteract this disinformation, Kosztarab, provides a fascinating description of the region via flashbacks from his personal life. In the process he profiles the history of 20th century East Central Europe. The book begins with the birth of Michael Kostarab in Bucharest, Romania, the son of a Székely Hungarian mother and a Csángó Hungarian father from the village of Tatrang in Brasov (Brassó) county. From the Romanian capital the flashbacks take us via childhood memories to the small Székely and Csángó villages where the grandparents resided. Closely tied to these recollections is a thumbnail sketch of the history of Transylvania. Following the Second Vienna Award in 1940, Northern Transylvania again became a part of Hungary. This provided the opportunity for Michael Kosztarab to move to Budapest where shortly thereafter he is involved in saving Jews, is arrested but escapes and witnesses the Soviet siege of the city. After the war he attended the Agricultural University and specialized in entomology. He gets married and lives the unassuming existence of (Continued on page 6) NO. 53-54, AUTUMN-WINTER, 1998-99, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER 5
