Customer Reviews

Budapest: A Cultural Guide

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Contrary to the Ingram blurb, my copy lacks "30 rich photographs." But Jacobs balances Andras Torok's idiosyncratic native's "Budapest, a critical guide" with his Brit, ex-pat perspective, which adds artistic and critical context and helpful overviews of popular and obscure sights. In the first five chapters offer a succint history of the city. I found especially valuable "the Moving World," on the various accounts available to English-speakers from those who had endured the 20c in this city. Also consult George Cushing's Hungarian section from James Naughton's Traveller's Literary Companion to Central and Eatern Europe. Like Jacobs' book, out of print but still able to be found secondhand.

Jacobs' guided walks (with simple maps) sometimes cover lots of ground, literally and theoretically, but fill a lack for Budapest, a city which--unlike Prague-lacks many quality guidebooks and suggested itinaries for English-speaking visitors, armchair and real. His reading list's well-chosen, and his mixing of personal and historical narrative proves easy to read and packs a lot of thought into a couple hundred pages.