'89: The Unfinished Revolution

by Nick Thorpe

BBC journalist Nick Thorpe has witnessed first-hand some of the most tumultuous events of the past twenty-five years in eastern Europe: the Velvet Revolution in Prague; the bloody uprising in Romania; the bombing of Belgrade; and the economic crash of 2008.

But for Thorpe the revolutions of 1989 roll on, yet to reach their conclusion.

The old cold war has been replaced by a new cold war — this time between the people and the state.

In ’89: The Unfinished Revolution Nick Thorpe weaves the political with the personal, anecdote with analysis, to produce an energising and important account of history in the making.

It is the most detailed account yet published of the transition from Communism to capitalism in Eastern Europe.

'The jury is out on the [...] revolutions of 1989, their deliberations will be helped by this book.' Norman Stone

Nick Thorpe is the only British journalist to have been based full-time in eastern Europe since before the fall of the Iron Curtain.

Nick Thorpe began reporting from Budapest in February 1986 and was the first western journalist to be based there. He covered the dying years of eastern Europe’s regimes, and the revolutions which toppled them, for the BBC, the Independent and the Observer. He witnessed the collapse of Yugoslavia, popular uprisings in Bulgaria and Serbia and the transformation of non-violent to violent resistance in Kosovo. As the BBC’s Central Europe correspondent he continues to report the successes, and the failures, of a revolution which never quite reaches its goal. Nick Thorpe is married with five children and lives in Budapest.

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Genres: History, Nonfiction

435 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 9, 2009

Reviews

[Jeremy Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

How much do we value a man's life and commitment to his craft? In a time of unprecedented attacks on journalists and their integrity I found this a great book to read. Nick Thorpe was a prominent reporter for the BBC in East Europe - based on Hungary during recent decades. As result he was able to map the personal and political landscape of the region with great humanity and at a micro-level of detail.

I so thoroughly enjoyed this book having visited Hungary in the 1970's en passage to the former Yugoslavia and onwards. The complexity and fascination of Budapest as the one country 'behind the Iron Curtain' that one could visit remained with me for years. I remember the innocent shock of seeing a Roma woman begging and breastfeeding in the streets. One of those moments of difference that makes travelling such a crucible of maturity.

His personal story - weaved in with historical events and characters helped me better understand the current Hungarian reputation as an outlier in Europe. Complexity. We can only hope for the best.

Thanks Nick Thorpe. May your book be read for pleasure and education far into the future.

[Bryan Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid, informative personal account of the years leading up to the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, and the uneasy transition to democracy by the nations in the region in the decades that followed. Thorpe writes comfortably and sincerely about a region he has invested his entire adult life in, and does a good job at not getting preachy or letting personal biases get in the way of his reporting. A book worth reading to give you an overview of the challenges these countries faced during and after the revolution and an explanation of how the countries ended up where they are now.

[Toby Philpott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of Food for Thought - Even Now

A little dated now but still a wonderful inside view of the momentous changes that took place in Central and Eastern Europe in the late 80s and their failure to live up to the heady hopes of that time. Lots of good, thoughtful insight and well worth reading! I’ve worked in or visited many of the countries mentioned down the years (starting in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1997, Bosnia in Oct 1998, etc.) and found myself nodding my head in agreement in many places.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, important and very uneven. The author covers parts of the era very well and ignores others. Essentially nothing is devoted to the role of Soviet democrats in achieving the freedom for the satellites and Soviet Republics. Just Gorbachev. No credit is given to Pope John Paul II, Thatcher, Reagan. It is as if the Soviet Empire collapsed because of the anti-war movement and the ecologist. Seriously, that is the perspective provided. Very naive.

[Alina Girnet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive review of the most important events in the contemporary history of East-Central European and Balkan countries spiced-up with backstage journalistic details from Nick Thorpe’s experience as a BBC correspondent. “What attracted me about Eastern Europe from the start was exactly what repelled many western visitors. It was the disorder, the untidiness, the injustice.”

[Thomas Kus · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting but somewhat random account of the changes in Eastern Europe with a heavy slant on Hungary and Romania but surprisingly little on some other countries and virtually nothing on Russia.

[Alistaire King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reportage at its best

This is not a history book but is pure reportage. The author worked for the BBC and was based in Hungary during this period. What we get are insights from the street and the people. The book concentrates mainly on Hungary, Romania,Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia but not ignoring Poland. We learn about the environmental campaigns in the old Eastern bloc something I haven't seen discussed before. A worthwhile read for anyone interested in the period.

[Jimmy Kiteley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covers events in Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Yugoslavia very well. The beauty of this book is the chapers on what happened after 1989. Thrope's anyalsis of leaders and countries is intelligent and you learn about their cultures too.